Healthcare Technologies Resource Guide - Export.gov

Bulgaria
Summary
The Government of Bulgaria is implementing a fundamental reform of its
healthcare sector.
The health sector reform project has several components, the first one being
reform and sustainability of the primary and ambulatory care sector. It provides
practice equipment for primary health care and training in general practitioner
(GP) practice management. The project also funds physician’s offices’
information systems, an information campaign and a labor adjustment strategy,
as well as a health reform investment program to provide low-interest loans to
physicians.
The second component targets reform of the hospital system, including
introduction of Clinical Paths, similar to Disease Related Groups (DRG),
assigning critical-diseases‘ tenders to be run by hospitals instead of Ministry
of Healthcare; funding hospital information systems, financing a health reform
investment program, reduction in number of hospitals; optimizing their
functionality and funding a labor adjustment strategy.
The third component aims at assisting the National Health Insurance Fund
(NHIF) in establishing the technological infrastructure for efficient functioning
of the insurance system, including necessary hardware and software systems,
as well as training and technical assistance required. The fourth component
is aiming at strengthening the management and institutional capacity of the
Ministry of Health, the NHIF, and the health system in general.
Another aspect of the healthcare reform relates to measures taken for the
eradication of pandemic diseases. As an entry point to EU veterinary markets,
Bulgaria is required to undertake strict sanitation and eradication measures
relating to veterinary pandemic diseases such as Classic Swine Fever, Foot-and-
Mouth disease, and Bird Flu. The Bulgaria Ministry of Agriculture and Food is
responsible for these efforts.
Bulgaria’s healthcare budget for 2009 and 2010 amounted to 1.573 billion EUR
and 1.329 billion EUR respectively. The healthcare budget for 2011 amounted
to 1.659 billion EUR (4.2% of GDP) and for 2012 it is estimated at approximately
1.875 billion EUR. For the long-term period 2001 through 2012 the healthcare
budget ranged between 3.8 to 4.4% of GDP. The current health sector strategy
urges increasing the demand for all subsectors‘ modernization and upgrades,
which in general translates into:
Statistics
Capital: Sofia
Population: 7,476,000
GDP: USD 53.51 billion
Currency: Bulgarian Lev
Language: Bulgarian
U.S. Commercial Service Healthcare Technologies Resource Guide | 2012–2013
Contact
Uliana Kanelli
Commercial Specialist
uliana.kanelli@trade.gov
+359-2-939-5706
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