Inpatient care

The Center’s 405-bed clinic annually treats more than 7,000 patients from all over Russia and CIS countries.

The Center’s clinic is a multi-specialty medical facility, fully equipped with cutting-edge equipment and boasting a team of highly qualified professionals, to deliver the best medical care possible. To treat its patients, the clinic employs the pioneering multidisciplinary approach, which involves well-coordinated work and combined effort of all specialists of the Center.

How can Russian citizens (including Saint Petersburg residents) receive special and high-tech inpatient care at the Center, covered by state-sponsored mandatory medical insurance?

1. The patient should seek health care at a medical facility (for example, a cancer center) in their home area to have a definite cancer diagnosis established. The patient’s doctor at this medical facility, providing primary or special medical care covered by mandatory medical insurance, will prepare and give the patient their diagnostic conclusion. In the conclusion, the doctor should state that the patient is recommended to seek further high-tech or special medical care at the Center.

   a) If the patient is recommended to receive special medical care at the Center, the doctor should write a referral letter and upload it to the federal healthcare information system together with the patient’s medical documentation to be considered by the specialists of the Center. If the doctor is unable to do so, they should print out the referral letter and give it to the patient. The patient will need to bring the printed out referral letter and their medical documentation, including histology slides, paraffin blocks and CDs with CT/MRI/PET-CT scans to the Center.

   The patient should schedule an appointment either with the Center’s general oncologist Dr. Temerova or with a specialist oncologist depending on the diagnosis by calling +7(812)43-99-555 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the appointment, the doctor will explain what the patient should do next.

   Click to see information on referral letters.

   b) If the patient is recommended to receive high-tech medical care, the referring medical organization should send the patient’s medical documentation to a local healthcare government agency at the place of residence of the patient (e.g. a local department of health or local public health committee etc.) Such local healthcare government agency will set up a panel of experts to make a decision on whether there are any valid indications for the patient to receive high-tech medical care at the Center.

   The process will take 10 working days once the patient’s medical documentation has been received.

   After that, the local healthcare government agency will either issue a referral letter for the patient to receive high-tech medical care at the Center, or give their reasons for not doing so. This referral letter is formed in the federal healthcare information system and together with the patient’s medical documentation sent to the Center.

2. The medical panel of the Center will receive the referral letter requesting either special medical care or high-tech medical care via the federal healthcare information system or the patient will bring the referral letter requesting special medical care to the Center themselves; after that the medical panel will make a decision on whether the patient has any medical indications or contraindications for hospitalization.

   The process takes 7 working days from the day when the referral letter requesting high-tech medical care has been issued or 3 working days from the day when the referral letter requesting special medical care has been issued.

The medical panel of the Center may make one of the following 5 decisions:

1. The patient has medical indications to receive special medical care or high-tech medical care at the Center and a provisional date of hospitalization has been set.
2. The patient does not have any medical indications for hospitalization at the Center, in which case the patient will receive recommendations on their further health care and treatment depending on their diagnosis.
3. The patient should undergo additional investigations, which will be specified.
4. The patient has indications for receiving special medical care at the Center, although initially the patient has been referred to the Center to receive only high-tech medical care.
5. The patient has contra-indications for hospitalization at the Center.

The decision of the Center’s medical panel will be communicated to the patient by the referring medical organization within 5 working days (high-tech medical care) or within 3 working days (special medical care).

What should the patient do after they have received the decision of the medical panel of the Center?

1. If the medical panel has made a decision to hospitalize the patient to receive high-tech medical care at the Center, the referring medical organization will receive an invitation stating the date of hospitalization. The referring medical organization should communicate the panel’s decision and the date of hospitalization to the patient, and give the referral letter requesting high-tech medical care to the patient.

   The patient should arrive at the Center on this date between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and visit the front desk of the consultative and diagnostic department.

   It is highly likely that the patient will have to stay in Saint Petersburg for a few days waiting for an available bed. Patients should make all necessary arrangements for accommodation beforehand!

2. If the medical panel has made a decision to hospitalize the patient to receive special medical care at the Center, the referring medical organization will receive an invitation stating the date of hospitalization. The referring medical organization should communicate the panel’s decision and the date of hospitalization to the patient, and give the referral letter requesting specialized medical care to the patient.

   The patient should call +7(812)43-99-555 to the Center between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. to schedule a primary appointment with an oncologist (the patient should state their diagnosis on the phone). The patient will be charged for the appointment.

   Important! Referral letters requesting high-tech medical care or special medical care may be issued electronically via the federal healthcare information system (which has two branches – one for high-tech medical care, and one for special medical care). We recommend to print out the referral letter, so that the patient could produce it at the front desk.

   During the primary appointment the patient may be asked to undergo more testing to be hospitalized or to undergo some tests again if their quality has been deemed subpar. Some diagnostic tests and doctors’ appointments are not covered by state-sponsored mandatory medical insurance. Click to see the list of tests covered by mandatory health insurance (provided the patient has a 057/u-04 referral letter). Thus, the patient will be charged for such tests.

   In is most likely that the patient who has a referral letter requesting special medical care may have to spend some time living in Saint Petersburg, while either undergoing further tests or waiting for an available bed. Patients should make all necessary arrangements for accommodation beforehand!

3. If the patient has been declined hospitalization, because they need further tests or a consultation with a Center’s oncologist to work out the treatment strategy, the patient is required to follow all recommendations listed in the medical panel’s decision.

The patient can seek health care at the Center themselves if they have results of tests and investigations confirming their diagnosis, regardless of the stage of cancer or whether they have already received any treatment from any other healthcare provider. The patient should call +7(812)43-99-555 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Mon-Sun to schedule an appointment with an oncologist and then arrive at the Center with their medical documentation, including histology slides, paraffin blocks and CDs with CT/PET-CT/MRI scans, if any.

The doctor will take the patient’s medical history and ask them to undergo further tests. Once the patient has followed all recommendations of an oncologist of the Center or an oncologist in their home area, the patient will have a consultation with the head of a Center’s department depending on the diagnosis. During the consultation, the doctor will make a decision on whether the patient can be hospitalized at the Center to receive special or high-tech medical care and based on that decision the Center’s medical panel will decide whether the patient will be hospitalized.

If the medical panel has made a decision to hospitalize the patient to receive high-tech medical care at the Center, this decision will be communicated to the local healthcare government agency at the place of residence of the patient to issue a referral letter requesting high-tech medical care via the federal healthcare information system.

If the medical panel has made a decision to hospitalize the patient to receive special medical care at the Center, the referral letter requesting specialized medical care will be issued by specialists of the Center via the federal healthcare information system.