What is the difference between a sanatorium and a boarding house?

There is constant confusion between these two formats. Outwardly, everything is similar: accommodation, food, territory, infrastructure. The differences, however, are fundamental. It depends on where you are going, whether you will get a real therapeutic result or just change the situation.

What is a sanatorium

The sanatorium operates according to state license for medical activity. The license is valid as long as the institution complies with the conditions for obtaining it. In case of violations, the supervisory authority revokes it. Rooms in the sanatorium must be equipped according to the standard, doctors must have valid qualification documents, and sanitary standards must be observed. An institution without a license is not allowed to operate as a sanatorium.

Doctors work in the sanatorium. Internist, pediatrician, physiotherapist — the minimum number of specialists is established by the procedures for providing medical care. Each guest undergoes an initial inspection. The doctor records the results, then selects the procedures based on the diagnosis, concomitant diseases and general condition. During the course, he monitors the dynamics and adjusts assignments if necessary.

Sanatoriums are located where the natural environment complements the treatment. The marine climate affects the respiratory system and blood vessels, mountain air affects blood circulation, hydrogen sulfide and radon sources are used for a wide range of diseases, from joint to nervous and endocrine. The natural factor is taken into account when prescribing procedures along with the diagnosis. The trip to the sanatorium includes accommodation, meals and a course of procedures.

What is a boarding house

The boarding house has no medical obligations to the guest. A license for medical activity is not required, a doctor is not provided in the staff of the boarding house. The goal is to accommodate, feed, and organize leisure time.

There are no medical rooms in the boarding house. There is a massage room or cosmetologist, but these are paid services that are not related to treatment. The guest makes the decision to use them independently.

The guest determines the daily routine in the boarding house himself: there is no fixed schedule. This is suitable for those who go on vacation, not for medical treatment.

The main differences between a sanatorium and a boarding house

• Purpose of stay

In the sanatorium, everything is subordinated to treatment: the daily routine, nutrition, and a set of procedures are built around a medical task. In a boarding house, the goal is different — a full-fledged rest without a therapeutic component.

• Treatment programs and medical services

The sanatorium has a medical base. Physical therapy, Balneology, inhalation, swimming pool, physical therapy — the set depends on the profile of the institution. The procedures are prescribed by the doctor after examination, taking into account the diagnosis and contraindications. All this is included in the price of the tour.

There are no treatment programs in the boarding house. If wellness services are offered at the boarding house, they do not require a medical appointment, do not take into account the guest's health status and are paid separately.

• Guest accommodation requirements

The sanatorium operates according to the established schedule. Check-in by date, initial examination is required, medical documents may be required during registration. Meals at the sanatorium are part of the treatment course. 

At the boarding house, the guest chooses the arrival and departure dates himself. There is no binding to the duration of the course, no mandatory examinations. Meals at the boarding house are standard, without diet tables.

What to choose: sanatorium or boarding house

The choice depends on the purpose of the trip.

• When is the boarding house suitable

The boarding house is suitable for those who have no indications for course treatment. A short trip, a rest, a change of scenery — the boarding house copes with this. The price of a ticket to a boarding house is lower, and for some of the guests this is a decisive factor.

It is important to understand the main difference: a sanatorium will not replace a boarding house. Sea air and a change of environment are useful, but without prescribed procedures and medical supervision, there will be no therapeutic result.

• When you need a sanatorium

Spa treatment is indicated for specific diagnoses:

• diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
  
• diseases of joints and spine;
  
• recovery from operations and acute illnesses.

Some of the guests come to the sanatorium by their own decision. Others are recommended by a therapist: the doctor identifies the indications and makes a referral for spa treatment. The course lasts from 10 to 21 days. A shorter period of time, as a rule, will not give results: procedures have an effect with a course of application, not a one-time one.

The advantages of recreation in the sanatorium "Magadan"

Magadan is a sanatorium in Loo, on the Black Sea coast. It works all year round. Main directions: cardiovascular diseases, pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. For each of them, the sanatorium has a specialized doctor and the necessary medical facilities.

Separately, it is worth noting that a ticket to the sanatorium is one amount. It already includes doctors' appointments, procedures, and meals. The boarding house pays for medical services from above. Massage is paid separately, physiotherapy is paid separately, if they are at all in the price list of the boarding house. Put it all together, and the difference between a sanatorium and a boarding house in terms of money is more modest than it seems at first.

The sanatorium is the choice of those who travel with a specific medical task: to undergo treatment, recover from surgery, and receive procedures prescribed by a doctor. There is no doctor, no procedures, no treatment regime in the boarding house. The boarding house is suitable for recreation, but not for treatment.