Espicom's in-depth medical device market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in medical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. The healthcare sector in Belarus faces all the problems usually associated with conditions in former Soviet countries. The hospital sector is inefficient, underfunded and obsolete, while primary care remains neglected. Hospital budgets rarely allow the purchase of modern equipment, while medical staff are often overspecialised and underpaid.

Moreover, unlike most former Soviet countries, Belarus has made little effort to reform its healthcare system; bed numbers remain very high, and the country continues to train excess medical specialists. Nor have any efforts have been made to introduce a health insurance scheme, which would at least provide some much-needed extra cash. The healthcare situation in Belarus remains very much along Soviet lines, in sharp contrast to central European countries such as Hungary or the Czech Republic, which have placed a far higher priority on healthcare.

The procurement of most medical equipment is undertaken centrally through the state-run firm, Medtechnika. Purchases are funded either by the state budget or from humanitarian aid, where available. There is a preference for goods manufactured locally or in Russia, since these will usually be cheaper, easier to maintain and service, and simpler for staff training purposes.

The only practical way to enter the market at present is through the appointment of a local agent. The establishment of joint ventures or wholly-owned subsidiaries is theoretically possible, but is fraught with the dangers posed by an arbitrary and ever-changing series of government regulations. Local agents are certainly not immune to these, but are better able to cope with the uncertainties of doing business in such an unpredictable country.