Institutional medical tourism as a promising form of the service sector

Medical tourism continues to develop dynamically. This is due, on the one hand, to the dynamic development of medical technologies and services, and, on the other, to the uneven development of these technologies both in the world as a whole and in the Russian Federation. At the same time, discussions are still ongoing about whether this type of activity should be classified as tourism or medical services, whether medical tourism, which has developed in the territory of the Russian Federation, is synonymous with medical tourism or should it be considered as an independent direction, and then a clear elaboration of this concept, the development of “end-to-end” terminology is necessary. and the legal framework. And, what role should the state play in this, to what extent it should be involved in co-financing the implementation of infrastructure development projects for this area. The object of this study is medical tourism. The subject of the research is the current state of medical tourism and the prospects for its institutionalization. The authors conducted a review and analysis of various approaches to defining the concept and essence of medical tourism; the most common medical services within this area of tourism, and gave examples of their classifications. Special attention is paid to the comparative characteristics of the organization of medical tourism in the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and the resorts located on the territory of Baltic region states with similar natural and climatic conditions. The conducted research allowed the authors to propose a new concept of “institutional medical tourism” as a promising form of health care for the purpose of saving people through the provision of highly qualified medical services in specialized centers integrated into a single system “specialized medical center (clinic) – rehabilitation center – sanatorium- resort complex, represented by a medical institution or resort hotel.