Albania
Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south. Tirana is its capital and largest city. Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic and a developing country with the economy dominated by the service sector, followed by manufacturing. It went through a process of transition following the end of communism in 1990, from centralized planning to a market-based economy. Albania provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.
Healthcare budget
$ 3.1 billion
Inhabitants
2.9 million
GDP per capita
$5.909
Currency
ALL (1 ALL = 0,0081 euro)
World Ranking
GDP 123rd
Albanian healthcare
Albania has a universal health care system which has evolved from the Soviet model into one nearer to the Bismarck model, based on both mandatory and voluntary contributions, supplemented by funding from the state budget. The Constitution of Albania establishes the right to health insurance for all Albanian citizens.
The public hospitals are owned and managed by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. The government is investing in modern equipment at Mother Teresa Hospital and the Trauma Center.
Pharmaceutical environment
Albania’s pharmaceutical sector includes 200 pharmaceutical warehouses, one thousand pharmacies, 210 pharmaceutical private agencies, and 42 pharmacy hospitals.
The Ministry of Health monitors the pharmaceutical industry, and all drugs must be registered with the National Agency for Drugs and Medical Equipment. The government sets profit margins for actors involved in the distribution chain for both reimbursed drugs and non-reimbursable drugs.
The Compulsory Healthcare Insurance Fund (ISKSH), which manages the public health coverage plan, includes a mix of Bismarck and Beveridge models. ISKSH develops an annual reimbursement list of drugs that will be subsidized by the government for primary and hospital healthcare.
Two drug commissions annually approve the list of drugs reimbursable by ISKSH. The commissions also define profit margins for importers and secondary distributors, as well as pharmacies.
Todays challenges
Expected life at birth is 78 years (2019), a significant increase since 2000, but is still 3 years below the EU-27 average (81 years).
The healthcare budget is under significant pressure due to the low GDP/capita and historically under resourced healthcare infrastructure in rural parts of the country.
The expert in Albania
Jiri Hermanek
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