Sector Analysis

The rapid deterioration of the health care system in Georgia after 1990 has been well documented from a historic as well as a socio-economic perspective.  The lack of financing leading to decreased quality of care, services, and professional ability in a system characterized by an absence of modern technology, equipment, and infrastructure.

Primary Health Care (PHC) reform is currently being supported by several international organizations providing assistance with policy reforms aimed at building a financially sustainable, community based primary healthcare system able to provide quality services.  

However, rebuilding over the last few years has been slow and ineffectual.  This may be attributed to the multiple interests in opposing directions characterizing Georgian politics, the frequent changes of Ministers, the lack of a coherent governmental policy, as well as the lack of management skills in developing and implementing Public Health Policy.

One of the largest obstacles in the development of this sector is the lack of appropriately trained PHC individuals.  Therefore Georgia needs to develop sustainable institutional infrastructure for PHC staff training that will generate human resources with appropriate skills and competences in the mid to long term.

In Georgia private expenditure on health is 73% of the total expenditure on health, while out-of-pocket expenditure on health as a % of private expenditure on health is 98%. The inability of the state to provide for the healthcare needs of the population coupled with rising incomes of the urban population, have given a recent boost to private healthcare clinics. There are two western-standard medical clinics in Tbilisi: Medi-Club, Georgia and International Medical Support Services

Further statistics on healthcare may be downloaded from the right panel of this page.

Hospitals

In an attempt to modernize hospitals in Georgia, the Government plans to privatize 100 hospitals in 2007 & 2008. The 2007 decree includes the physical rehabilitation of old hospitals and construction of new hospitals, including catastrophic emergency care.  According to the plan:

•  The investor for each hospital will be allocated an Old Site and New Site. The Old Site will sell for a nominal amount and the investor provide a legal function on the property and it will be kept as his private property. The investor must build a new hospital on the New Site.
• On the New Site, the investor must build a new hospital and maintain it as a fully equipped hospital for 7 years. The medical equipment does not have to be new; it can be 2^nd hand, if it meets certain specific conditions.

There are several stages in this plan and standards for quality, geographical distribution, multi-profile hospitals and access requirements for urban and rural areas of Georgia are included.  However some are concerned that this plan has opened the door to wild real estate speculation, given many of the old sites are prime real estate sites.  In addition, there are concerns about the transparency of the process used for identifying the investor and the quality of healthcare that will be provided.

Pharmaceuticals

Drug and pharmaceutical imports into Georgia are approximately $131 million for the ten months of 2007 (Jan.-Oct.). Georgia has the highest consumption in the region of pharmaceutical production. The local industry in pharmaceuticals is dominated by three companies: PSP, Aversi and GPC. At the present time many drugs in Georgia may be purchased in drugstores without a doctor’s prescription.

According to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the World Health Organization in 2005 did an evaluation of the pharmaceutical per capita spending and ranked Georgia with Romania, Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan with a US $10-20 per capita spending. A separate Drug Agency (www.gda.ge) was established to handle pharmaceuticals, combining 4 or 5 separate organizations into one Drug Agency, under the Ministry of Health.  Separate systems for approved drugs and those requiring approval were initiated.

Health Insurance

Recent polls indicate that after employment, healthcare and healthcare financing are the most important issues to the Georgian public. Voluntary private health insurance covers approximately 150,000 Georgians and today it is all employer related coverage; only one company, Aldagi-BCI, sells to the public and consumer market. However, the government plans to provide medical coverage for those in poverty, using a means tested, based on a database of economic need from the government.  According to experts in the Georgian insurance industry, by 2008 all 1.5 million people in the government database of those in poverty will be able to purchase health insurance from their vouchers and all financial flows will be privatized.

AmCham and/or EUGBC Members

 International Medical Support Services Ltd.
Tel: +995 (32) 920 928
Website: http://www.imcc.ge
IMSS Ltd. in Tbilisi and Poti are an established Western Medical Service company catering for individual and corporate healthcare needs. IMSS offer a traditional family practice in Tbilisi, group practice schemes and a project medical and health support services with rates second to none. IMSS have US & EU ex-pat emergency and general physicians present 24 hours a day in addition to qualified western-trained highly skilled Georgian medical staff. IMSS provides: General Practice health care, 24 hour emergency with ambulance service, local and international medical evacuation services, advanced first aid training, remote site medical support and occupational medical services.

MediClub Georgia
Tel: +995 (32) 251 991
Website: http://www.mcg.com.ge
Medical service company based in Tbilisi, Georgia. With a choice of expatriate or national doctor, MediClubGeorgia provides a wide range of medical service: 24-hours a day emergency medical care with a modern, fully equipped intensive care Toyota ambulance on standby & a duty emergency doctor in the clinic at all times