PRIVATE HOSPITAL MARKETING IN HEALTH SYSTEM OF ALBANIA

The last decade private hospitals play a significant role in health system in Albania. Access to private hospital services however, is still very limited largely because they cost significantly more than services in the public sector. Despite the country’s low economic level, private hospitals have experienced substantial growth with the total number of beds increasing and they are located mainly in capital city Tirana. The high standards of quality of care, services, medical equipments and facility premises are far better as compared to public hospitals. Health care marketers use advertising in its many forms to sell their products and services. Promotional campaigns, television spots, brochures and leaflets are the main marketing tools utilized to convey their message to general public. The private hospital industry consistently attracts the attention of health care funders and regulatory authorities attempting to include some of their services into public scheme of reimbursement. Patients frequenting private hospitals act more like "consumers" of health care. Like consumers in most other industries, health care consumers are required to choose from an array of products and services offered to them. The study focuses on the distribution of private hospitals in Tirana and the types of services provided by those hospitals and hospital marketing techniques.