Public-private partnership in the health care sector: The case of Albania

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the implementation of public-private partnership in the healthcare sector as a way to use private financing and expertise to achieve public policy goals in Albania. The study consists of an overview of the four public-private partnerships in the healthcare sector and the detailed analysis of major charateristics of two of them. The healthcare sector as a study object was chosen due to the implemented reforms aimed to improve the public health system, and the quality of service. The case study is based on the data collected from the analysis of the contracts signed between the parties, reports, interviews and the documents on the management of these contracts. The research also relies on secondary sources of information focused on legislation and other government legal acts. The article highlights the need to adopt a long-term strategy in the field of healthcare as well as applicable standards of monitoring of the implementation procedures. During the COVID-19 pandemic time, the implementation of these contracts became even more important for a the country where the contracts were treated as a way to improve the quality of public services. A number of offered recommendations in the paper may encourage further research in this field of study.