National Healthcare Congress 2024 releases business programme architecture

The business programme of the 3^rd National Congress with International Participation “National Healthcare” has been posted on the event’s official website. The Congress is being organized by the Russian Ministry of Health and the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian government. The organizing partner is the Russian Research Institute of Health of the Russian Ministry of Health. The event will take place at the Lomonosov Cluster of the Sparrow Hills ISTC of Moscow State University on 28 October 2024 and the Great Hall of the State Kremlin Palace on 29 October 2024.

The content of the business programme sessions of the Congress, which is being held in the year of the 150^th anniversary of the birth of prominent Soviet healthcare organizer Nikolay Semashko, was prepared based on his world-famous Principles of Building a State Healthcare System, which remain relevant to this day, as they continue to be applied in numerous countries around the world. During the Congress, the participants will discuss key issues and strategies that aim to bolster and develop healthcare in accordance with Semashko’s ideas, such as the accessibility of medical care, disease prevention, and the protection of motherhood and childhood.

“The business programme of the National Healthcare Congress not only reflects the key achievements of the country’s healthcare system in recent years, but is also an important milestone that demonstrates the industry’s development from the past to the future. The conceptual palette of discussions covers all the main aspects and components of human health and provides a comprehensive view of current challenges and prospects. The model of building a programme through time slices not only makes it possible to assess the path that has been traversed and the successes that have been achieved, but also facilitates a deep analysis of past mistakes and achievements, which helps to avoid repeating failures and to consolidate positive results. Ultimately, this leads to the more effective planning of future actions and the achievement of long-term goals, which makes the Congress not just an event, but a powerful catalyst for progress and development,” Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.

The track ‘Uniting Prevention and Treatment’ is based on the principle of preventive medicine advocated by Nikolay Semashko, including mass preventive examinations, vaccination, and the prevention of occupational risk factors. The track ‘Accessible Medical Care Wherever You Are’ continues Nikolay Semashko’s ideas of the regional- and locality-based principle in cities and rural areas, as well as the hierarchical system of state institutions that ensure the universal accessibility of medical care through the development of a network of rural health stations and medical outpatient clinics, telemedicine, air ambulances, and the creation of mobile medical units and specialized and high-tech care centres. The ideological cornerstone of the track ‘Managing Health Scientifically’ was Nikolay Semashko’s creation of a single healthcare management body – the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, eliminating overlapping areas, and ensuring that decisions have greater scientific validity. The track, which is dedicated to the principles of supporting human health, will include the sessions ‘Healthy Children: An Integrated Approach to Maternal and Child Health’ and ‘The Foundation of a Healthy Nation: A Healthy Family Across Generations’. The track ‘Affordable Modern Medical Production’ is based on Nikolay Semashko’s system of prioritizing the production of mass-market drugs, which enabled the USSR to become a leader in the manufacturing of these types of drugs. A discussion about combatting obesity and diabetes will be held as part of the track ‘Providing Everyone with Affordable, Healthy Food’, which was based on Nikolay Semashko’s principle with the same name and resulted in the creation of the Institute of Nutrition, the introduction of therapeutic nutrition at medical organizations, and the development of the health resort business. The semantic component of the track ‘Involving the Public in Public Health Policy’ is based on the principle of the same name about involving famous contemporaries in promoting a healthy lifestyle, creating posters, and introducing widespread health education by disseminating preventive information through workers’ communities, theatres, and demonstrations and creating a mass culture of prevention. The track ‘Ensuring Sanitary Well-Being’, which is dedicated to Nikolay Semashko’s introduction of sanitary norms and rules at companies, schools and universities, as well as in everyday life, includes the session ‘National Medical Protection: New Development Horizons’.

The National Congress with International Participation “National Healthcare” will officially open with an awards ceremony for the winners of the National Competition of Doctors and Specialists with Higher Non-Medical Education; the National Competition ‘Best Specialist with Secondary Medical and Pharmaceutical Education’; and the National Olympiad in Healthcare Organization, which is dedicated to the 150^th anniversary of Nikolay Semashko’s birth.

The two-day programme of the Congress includes more than 25 events in various formats.

The Congress will conclude with a plenary session in the Great Hall of the State Kremlin Palace, where an official discussion concerning key areas of the development and accomplishments of the Russian healthcare system will take place through the lens of Nikolay Semashko’s achievements. The discussion participants, which will include opinion leaders and experts in the healthcare industry, as well as representatives of the Russian federal executive authorities, will present information in the ‘past–present–future’ format on each thematic area of the session: dating back to Nikolay Semashko’s times, modern achievements, and what the future holds, with a focus on the strengths of the Soviet and Russian healthcare systems and the replication of the Soviet Union’s experience of building a healthcare system in other countries.

The discussion participants will include opinion leaders and experts in the healthcare industry, representatives of the Russian federal executive authorities, and the heads of government agencies, major research centres, as well as medical and pharmaceutical companies. Experts from other countries will also take part in the Congress.

Official website of the Congress: nzdrav.ru