Regional Medical Cluster. Analysis and Prospects of its Organization. The Core of the Cluster

Alexandr V. GUBIN, Evgenij N. OVCHINNIKOV, Natalia V. GORODNOVA and Anastasiya A. PESHKOVA

Abstract:

The article deals with the actual problem of the regional economy - the prospects for the organization and development of a medical cluster. The authors analysed a number of existing models of medical clusters’ organization and structure considered within the context of defining territorial production complexes. The article highlights the prerequisites for creating a regional medical cluster based on the characteristics of a particular region - the Kurgan region. The definition of a medical cluster and the principal model of cluster organization, as well as the model of interaction of organizations participating in the cluster by certain sectors are proposed. The article proposes the idea of ​​integrating the scientific sector with technological innovations, on which it is based and which determines the main components of the medical cluster applicable to the conditions of the Kurgan region. The objectives of a cluster are achieved through the mutually beneficial and rational use of the total organizational, human, transport, and technical capacity, which is the basis for developing, testing, and producing medical products and equipment, postgraduate training of medical personnel, and training of technical staff to serve the medical field. As a cluster core, the authors consider a separate scientific and medical institution. The paper presents the key characteristics of the institution that determine the main feature of the cluster “core” - its scientific and clinical effectiveness (business activity) demonstrating steady six-year growth, which is the basis for the development of all the other members of a cluster. The authors separately assessed the advantages, disadvantages, and problems of creating a medical cluster and proposed the stages of its development. Several prerequisites are identified, under which it is possible to develop interaction of state regional- and federal level healthcare institutions with enterprises of the real sector of the Kurgan region’s economy within the medical cluster. The theoretical approaches proposed by the authors can be the basis for the practical implementation of the cluster development concept for individual sectors of the regional economy, in particular, regional health care.