“IN EUROPE MEDICINA IS A SCIENCE AND IN RUSSIA IT IS AN ART. MY GOAL IS TO COMBINE THOSE TWO PHILOSOPHIES INTO ONE”.
I’m on my way to meet Tamaz Mchedlidze, the owner of the prestigious MEDI clinics in St. Petersburg. Tamaz has asked me to meet him at his largest clinic on Nevsky Prospekt, which is housed in a classic building that has been fully refurbished and modernized inside.
At the clinic, an assistant shows me to a meeting room on the top floor with panoramic views over the city. After a few minutes Tamaz enters in a doctor’s white coat, apologizing profusely for making me wait.
MEDI St.-Petersburg by white nights
As the assistant serves tea, I ask Tamaz when he opened his first clinic. “MEDI is my baby,” he says with a warm smile. “I have been working on these clinics for many years. The first clinic was tiny and opened 22 years ago. I spent all my energy and money to expand and improve the concept and soon we had moved from a small dental practice to a chain of 19 high-end medical clinics in St. Petersburg and Moscow operated by a team of qualified professionals.”
“Amazing! What areas do you work in?”
“We offer a full range of treatments and specializations from dentistry to family medicine and plastic surgeries… More importantly, we are constantly striving to work with the most advanced equipment. MEDI is one of the few medical institutions in Russia that works with an international standard quality certificate. I am really proud that the MEDI clinics have become a recognized brand in Russia.”
“So what motivated you to study medicine?”
“I think it’s in my blood,” Tamaz says with a smile. “My great-grandmother was a herbal doctor, so I think my desire to help people and make them healthy and beautiful comes from there. It was my brother who said I should become a dentist or a plastic surgeon because I like to see fast, visible change. He was right. But I also wanted to take a different approach to healthcare, to make sure all patients received proper attention.”
“That must have been very challenging back then! Do you still use this approach?”
“Yes, every patient in clinics is treated as a relative or a close friend, with all the care and consideration they deserve. All my employees work such way.”
Tamaz Mchedlidze telling about his project to Katerina Rogova
“I also heard you were working on project in Georgia. Can you tell me about that?”
“Yes of course! I’m developing an advanced health center in a beautiful location in the mountains with mineral springs, mud baths, fresh air and healthy food,” he says with a smile.
“Sounds like the perfect place to get away from the daily stress of modern life!”
“Exactly! That’s the idea I want to convey to people: that you need to learn to have a good rest.”
“I live in Europe and I see how medicine there is different from what I am used to. Do you see the difference?” I ask.
“Definitely!” says Tamaz. “In Europe medicine is a science and in Russia it is an art. My goal is to combine those two philosophies into one. And I hope that one day MEDI will gain an international reputation for medical excellence.”
By Katerina Rogova
Tags: around the world in 80 brands, Brands with a purpose, CoolBrands Storytelling, third party storytelling, Global Storytelling Campaign, Katerina Rogova, Russia, Russian Brands, storytelling, MEDI, Tamaz, Tamaz Mchedlidze, medicine, healthy life, branding in Russia, branding trends, Connecting Russia, Ekaterina Rogova, HowISeeRussia, Katja Rogova, Russian stories, Катерина Рогова, Куратор Брендов России, Россия и Голландия, инстории из России, Грузия, СПА комплекс, здоровый образ жизни, Тамаз Мчедлидзе, МЕДИ Санкт-Петербург, Клиника МЕДИ, MIG812, brand psychologist
Katerina Rogova 