Regional Specifics of Affordability of Higher Pharmaceutical Education in the Russian Federation

The structure of the Russian pharmaceutical market is changing rapidly under the influence of internal premises and external economic factors. Building up production and scientific potential, changing the structure of the industry and the policy of pharmaceutical companies means expanding the range of competencies of specialists in pharmacy. Graduates of pharmaceutical faculties of universities today are provided with ample opportunities for choosing a field of professional activity. The main purpose of this study is to analyze regional specifics of affordability of higher pharmaceutical education in the Russian Federation. We have made a comparative analysis of affordability of educational services of regional higher education institutions, as well as investigated the values of regulatory costs for the provision of public services for implementing higher pharmaceutical education programs in the Russian Federation. We have grouped regional higher education institutions by the pricing of educational services offered and revealed ratios of higher education institutions in different price segments. We demonstrate that the specifics of pricing at higher education institutions on the regional level are determined by the level of solvency of the population of regions of the Russian Federation. Finally, we have identified the regions of the Russian Federation with high and low levels of affordability of educational services for pharmacists training. As a result of our study of the regional specifics of affordability of higher pharmaceutical education in the Russian Federation, we have drawn conclusions about the existing price segments at the current market, the correlation of prices for educational services with the average income of the population in the region as well as the average cost of education. The use of the authors' research methodology allows all the subjects of this market to make balanced and well-grounded decisions on the basis of the data of the market situation in higher pharmaceutical education.