Prospects of a cluster development model in a health system

Abstract

In recent years, the effectiveness of national health systems has provoked wide-ranging public discussions. The rapid increase in the cost of medical services around the world has significantly exacerbated the problem of effectiveness of previously established health systems. As new priorities emerge, the need to search for innovative approaches to the medical industry and health services development, which can significantly reduce financial costs and increase their efficiency, broadens the problem field of health system research. Today, public health has become a space that requires managerial, institutional and political solutions to ensure the coordination of social and market interests. Currently, the market for new medical services is growing rapidly, but where is the money to increase the financing of high-tech medical care for poor citizens to be found? The article considers these problems within the framework of the cluster model as a possible institutional solution to promoting innovation in the public health realm. The analysis of the results of the clusterization strategy in the medical sphere of the European Union countries shows that health care clusters can be innovative tools for harmonizing public interests and particular interests of a purely economic nature. However, a number of factors impede the realization of such potential in practice. This is due to the lack of comprehensive programs for its development, which should coordinate the efforts of the main stakeholders – the State and local authorities, private companies, researchers and medical staff. Developing of “science cities” (“naukogrady”) as special areas where conditions for promoting international medical clusters are favorable for meeting public demands, market interests and innovative research can be an effective part of this agenda in Russia. The example of the science city of Troitsk shows that a developed infrastructure, a concentration of highly trained specialists and a conducive social environment constitute significant advantages for implementation of cluster programs.