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3054.0: Monday, November 8, 2004: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM | |||
Oral | |||
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| A growing amount of research has been conducted on out-of-pocket expenditures and informal payments in transitional economies in Central and Southeastern Europe. Whatever their origin, informal payments practices have been found to cause several negative effects on health system performance. Informal payments can have serious implications on the governance of the health system, can negatively affect access, equity, efficiency and utilization of health care services; and can lead to perverse incentives among managers and health care providers. In some countries, informal payments have been found to cause individuals, particularly the poor, to delay or forgo treatment due to financial barriers. Finally, informal payments can both be a cause, and a symptom, of a lack of trust of government. This session will focus on the findings of two recent studies conducted in Albania that provide insights regarding the scale of out-of-pocket expenditures for health care in Albania, including informal payments; the process through which informal payments are made in the Albanian health sector; and patient and provider perceptions about informal payments. The session will begin with an overview of the health financing situation in Albania, present research findings from both studies, and conclude with a discussion of the various policy options for reducing the negative effects of informal payments for health in Albania. | |||
| Learning Objectives: Understand the magnitude of out-of-pocket expenditures for health in Albania; learn about the process of, and perceptions surrounding, informal payments; and describe a range of policy options that may contribute to reducing informal payments for health within the existing health reform environment. | |||
| Mark McEuen, MA | |||
| Introductory Remarks | |||
| Organization and financing of primary health care in Albania: Problems, issues, and alternative approaches Alan Fairbank, PhD, Gary Gaumer, PhD | |||
| Poverty, out of pocket payments and utilization of primary health care: Evidence from Albania David R. Hotchkiss, Paul Hutchinson, PhD, Andres Berruti | |||
| Informal payments in the public sector in Albania: Qualitative research on citizen and provider perspectives Kristina Gryboski, PhD, Rachel Hall, MS, Taryn Vian, MSc | |||
| Reducing informal payments through policy reform and management strategies in Albania Taryn Vian, MSc | |||
| Discussion | |||
| See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information. | |||
| Organized by: | International Health | ||
| CE Credits: | CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing | ||