Authorities vow to punish doctors who take bribes, write for-profit prescriptions in designated pharmacies.
TIRANA, July 22 – Albania’s government says that after 300 days in office it has improved many elements of the country’s healthcare system, though it admits there is a lot more to be done.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry held a meeting on the results of the first 300 days of the reform in the health system.
Healthcare Minister Ilir Beqaj said that hospitals now do not suffer from the lack of the basic medicine and also strongly urged the staff to keep up with the continuous training and keeping up to date with the latest developments in medicine. He has also warned the doctors that unless they follow the continuous training they may be fired.
The new Socialist-led government has also pledged to totally turn the health system into a truly free-access one for all citizens and residents. It plans major reforms, including one in health insurance.
The new authorities have strongly complained about the weak situation they found in the health system last year, when the new government took over.
But Prime Minister Edi Rama, also present at the meeting, said that nothing can be achieved overnight and urged hard work from everyone involved.
He also strongly criticized doctors who prescribe expensive medicine and direct the patients to certain drug stores in order to get a percentage of the profits and said that corruption in healthcare would be harshly fought.
The health system in post-communist Albania suffers much from the lack of the proper care, service e and also presence and use of updated equipment. But most of all people complain of the corruption they find in the medical staff who demand bribes and tips to offer their services.
Although technically public healthcare is free under the social insurance coverage in Albania, bribing doctors for their services is widespread.
In 2011, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime published a report on bribery in the country, with findings indicating that “in many cases bribes are paid to facilitate bureaucratic procedures Š70 percent of citizens who participate in a bribery act do so to receive better treatment.”
More than 70% of citizens who pay bribes pay them to doctors, while almost 50% bribe nurses, the report said.
It is a situation the 10-month-old government of Prime Minister Rama has vowed to change.
