Russian Ministry of Healthcare has allocated additional funding to the state programs named “Rural Doctor” and “Rural Physician Assitant to attract health care personnel to work in rural areas and small towns.
The key change in a recently adopted policy was the introduction of a lump-sum compensation payment to medical workers who returned to their place of residence in a rural area after receiving medical education in a city, or to already practicing health care professioals who decided to relocate into a rural area.
To be elibile to receive payments, medical workers must live in a rural settlement or a city with a population of up to 50,000 people. The adopted changes are aimed at attracting qualified healthcare workers to serve patients in rural areas and small towns of the Russian Federation.
About 6 billion rubles (103 000 USD) are allocated to the implementation of the program in 2022 from the federal budget. Each doctor who chooses a career as a rural physician receives between $17 100 – 25 600 USD as one time payment, each physician assistant (“feldsher”) gets between $8 600 – 12 800 USD, depending on the geographic location.
News source: Ministry of Healthcare, Russian Federation
Photo credit: Political Party “Edinaya Rossiya”
