Today, private medical clinics are not uncommon. In every city and almost every locality there are private clinics that provide various kinds of paid medical services, ready to receive patients at any time. The article presents an analysis of the number of licensed private medical clinics in the Russian Federation in the context of federal districts with an emphasis on the Southern Federal District. In addition, in order to identify consumer preferences in the market of medical services provided by private medical clinics over public ones, the author conducted an anonymous questionnaire survey, which was attended by 434 respondents living in the Krasnodar Territory. The respondents' preferences when choosing a medical service are determined, the degree of satisfaction from admission to a private or public medical organization is revealed. The conclusion is made about the high degree of customer orientation of private medical organizations.

paid medical services, consumer preferences, private medical clinics, public medical organizations, sociological survey.