PRIVATE MEDICINE IN THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT

Significance. The modern trend in the development of medical service providers represents the growing role of the sector of paid medical services and is becoming an important part of the national healthcare market. The purpose of the study is to analyze trends and prospects for the development of private medical activities in the Republic of Tajikistan. Material and methods. The study analyzed the development trend of the private medicine in the Republic of Tajikistan in 2005-2022 based on regulations and statistics of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan. Results. One of the development indicators of this sphere is the increase in the number of private medical institutions. At present, by January 2023, there are 791 private medical institutions are registered and successfully operating in the Republic of Tajikistan, including legal entities (n=352) with a branch (n=92) totaling to 444 (56.1%), and individuals – 347 (43.9%); compared with the same indicators in 2005 (16 legal entities and 63 individuals) the number increased by 27.7 and about 5.5 times, respectively. The total number of employees in private medical institutions of the Republic of Tajikistan is 4756 (22.9%) people, including doctors – 1919 (40.3% and 9.2% of the total number of doctors in the Republic), paramedical staff – 1840 people (38.7% and 3.0% respectively), auxiliary workers – 1012 people. Private medical institutions account for 7.4% (n=2871) of the total number of hospital beds in the country (n=38726 beds). Over the past two years, the share of paid medical services provided to the population in the Republic of Tajikistan amounted to 455.7 million somoni or 44.7 million U.S. dollars (in 2021 – 250.9 million somoni, for 9 months of 2022 – 204.8 million somoni). Conclusion. At this stage of the development of private medicine in the Republic of Tajikistan, there is an increase in the number of private providers of medical services. Productive interaction between the public health system and private health care providers is essential for improving efficiency of care delivery to the population.