For the first time in Albania, a single clinical language for cancer treatment is being built: 38 national guidelines that will be transformed into binding protocols in all municipal and regional hospitals so that every patient, wherever they live, receives the same standard of care as in the best European centers.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Evis Sala, during the inspection at the Librazhd and Pogradec Municipal Hospital, said that the 38 tumor guidelines, approved in collaboration with the Tumor Institute in Milan, will be turned into clinical protocols that will be used throughout the Albanian healthcare system, guaranteeing that every medical decision is based on the most advanced scientific evidence and the best European standards.
"We are moving from a system that reacts to disease, to a system that prevents it. Cancer is not fought only in operating rooms or chemotherapy centers; it is fought in the community, in health centers, in vaccination programs, in early screening and in health education. For this reason, the new guidelines put prevention, screening and early diagnosis at the center. Our goal is for the disease to be detected as early as possible, when the chances of treatment and recovery are higher, and not when the patient arrives late in the system", emphasized Minister Sala.
Focusing on the innovations of the new hospital reform, Minister Sala emphasized that a system is being built where the quality of care will not depend on the city where the patient lives, but on the same national standards that will be applied in every hospital in the country.
"One of the biggest changes that the reform is bringing is the creation of an integrated national network for oncological care. From the family doctor, to the district hospital, to regional centers and the QSUNT, the patient will no longer be left alone to find the path to treatment. The system will be the one that will guide the patient, with electronic referrals, with clear protocols and with full coordination between health structures," she underlined.
Minister Sala announced that Librazhd Hospital, Pogradec Hospital and all municipal and regional hospitals will no longer be simply referral links to Tirana. They will be an active part of a modern oncology network, with a clear role in prevention, screening, diagnosis, follow-up and palliative care.
"We want citizens to receive more services near their place of residence, with the same clinical safety and the same professional standards that are applied in the most advanced European centers," concluded the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Evis Sala.
