Healthcare in Tirana

Healthcare in Tirana

Albania sits outside the EU health insurance arrangements entirely. A European card that works across the border is worthless in Tirana. Foreigners pay privately or claim on travel insurance afterwards.

Mother Teresa University Hospital Centre is the main public tertiary hospital and the national referral point. Private hospitals including Hygeia, American Hospital and Salus run the services most foreigners use. Complex cases are commonly referred abroad.

One detail shapes every insurance decision here. The United States embassy states plainly that Albania does not have air ambulances. Evacuation cover is the load-bearing part of a policy, not an optional extra.

Getting seen as a foreigner in Tirana

Two emergency numbers are live and they are different desks. The national line is 112 and the medical line is 127. British government advice still tells you to call 127 and ask for an ambulance.

Buy the private hospital membership card if you are staying. It costs about the price of one scan and includes a free ambulance inside Tirana. It also takes twenty per cent off outpatient imaging and laboratory work.

Ask for the named package, never the individual tests. A twenty-one test blood panel lists at more than double what the package actually sells for. The difference is asking by the right name.

What healthcare costs in Tirana

Private clinics here publish dental and imaging prices. No Tirana hospital publishes an emergency tariff, and the public schedule in circulation dates from 2014. Expect to ask before you commit.

No Tirana hospital publishes an emergency tariff, and the public schedule still circulating dates from 2014.

Pharmacies

Albanian pharmacies dispense far more freely than European ones. A survey of community pharmacies found antibiotics handed over without a prescription in more than nine cases in ten. Treat that as a hazard rather than a convenience, because nobody is checking the interaction with what you already take. Ordinary medicines are cheap and widely stocked. Bring the generic name of anything you rely on, since brands differ. Larger pharmacies cluster around the centre and keep longer hours than neighbourhood ones.

Health tips

Common visitor health risks in Tirana

Emergency

Emergency number: 127

127 is the medical emergency line and 112 the national one. Both are live and separately staffed.

Albanian first, English at private hospitals

Private hospitals used by foreigners work in English. No official source confirms what languages the emergency lines answer in.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [1] US Embassy in Albania, Medical Assistance
2. [2] US Embassy in Albania, Entering and Residing
3. [3] UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Albania travel advice, Health
4. [4] NHS Business Services Authority, Where you can use your card
5. [5] NaTHNaC TravelHealthPro, Albania
6. [6] Qendra Spitalore Universitare Nënë Tereza, Urgjencat Mjekësore
7. [7] Qendra Spitalore Universitare Nënë Tereza, Sigurimet Shëndetësore
8. [8] Fondi i Sigurimit të Detyrueshëm të Kujdesit Shëndetësor, Karta e Shëndetit
9. [9] Spitali Hygeia Tiranë, Pacientë dhe Vizitorë
10. [10] Hygeia Hospital Tirana, Imaging
11. [11] Spitali Amerikan, Paketat Check-Up
12. [12] Spitali Amerikan, Vizitat mjekësore 2900 lekë
13. [13] Intermedica, Ofertat e plota
14. [14] Finesa Dental, Lista e Çmimeve
15. [15] Gazeta Shëndeti, QSUT, tarifat e ekzaminimeve radiologjike dhe endoskopike
16. [16] ResearchGate, Survey on how antibiotics are dispensed in community pharmacies in Albania
17. [17] PubMed, Evaluation of use of antibiotics without prescription among young adults in Albania
18. [18] Albanian Centre for Quality Journalism, Tirana that cannot drink tap water
19. [19] Politiko.al, The court decision, water supplied to Tirana is non-potable
20. [20] Tirana Times, Tirana's Water Crisis Hits Diplomats
21. [21] Bulgarian Journal of Veterinary Medicine, First isolation and sequencing of rabies virus detected in a red fox in Albania
22. [22] IQAir, Tirana Air Quality Index and Albania Air Pollution
23. [23] PubMed Central, Factors Associated with Fatal Traffic Accidents in Tirana, Albania
24. [24] World Health Organization Data, Road traffic mortality rate per 100 000 population
25. [25] Bank of Albania, Official exchange rate

Country guide

• CountryHealthcare in Albania