Health resort treatment as a form of investment in health capital

Relevance of the topic under consideration is connected with the necessity of studying indicators which characterize the state of the sanatorium-resort complex. This will allow for identifying the most problematic factors in decision-making when taking decisions concerning the complex's development. The paper justifies the importance of health resort treatment as a factor of health capital, which contributes to increasing the effectiveness and duration of human capital's functioning in general. The dynamics of indicators characterizing activities of sanatorium-resort institutions in the territories of the Russian Federation and the Volga Federal District, including Perm region, is evaluated. The following methodological principles were used in the course of research: the system principle, which helps to identify the most problematic indicators characterizing activities of the sanatorium-resort organizations, the principle of unity of methodology, theory and practice, allowing for accurate testing of theoretical hypotheses by means of correlation analysis of indicators. It is concluded that the abovementioned activities are effective in terms of the population's general health but not effective in terms of specialized treatment. The authors also conducted analysis of the influence of income as a dominant factor on the demand for sanatorium-resort services. According to the analysis results, in Perm region there is a fairly high correlation between money income per capita and income of sanatorium institutions. The article also provides the results of studying duration of staying in sanatorium institutions, motives for acquiring health resort vouchers, and sources of funding such vouchers characteristic of Perm region. The evaluation allowed us to make an integral rating of the sanatorium complex of Perm region among the neighboring regions of the Volga Federal District. Besides, the article identifies some problems of the sanatorium-resort complex's development, such as low profitability, poor profiling, and reduction in the number of patients.