External factors primarily determine the competition in the medical services market. These include the level of income and consumer preferences of patients and the degree of development of public medicine in a specific region. Also, the competition extended by competing medical organizations is another factor.
In Moldova, the medical services market is represented by many private players, leading to a high level of competition. The features of the business model of various medical organizations (format, geography, number of branches, price segment, marketing activity, etc.) provide each clinic with its own audience. The medical industry is developing, and the market leaders will be those who can adapt to this development on time.
Invitro Diagnostics is the largest private healthcare institution in the Republic of Moldova, specializing in laboratory diagnosis and medical consultation. The international quality standards, exceptional service, and innovative diagnostic solutions are the main priorities of our work.
The quality management system is at the highest level, respecting the requirements and rigors of the specialty standards: SM SR EN ISO 15189:2014, ISO 9001. The RIQAS – Randox (UK) external assessment program is a remarkable achievement in quality confirmation. According to this program, RIQAS quality control was performed in Invitro Diagnostics, covering several programs such as immunology, chemistry, hematology, and coagulation.
Initially, Invitro Diagnostics began as an exclusive diagnostic laboratory. Today, patients can avail of daytime hospital services and medical consultations.
The move was driven by consumer demand for a comprehensive offering of medical services in a healthcare facility. Patients prefer to go to clinics where medical services are available, from laboratory tests and consultations with specialists to complex diagnostics and inpatient care. Visiting a large multi-profile medical center provides convenience and time savings for the patient. For example, at Invitro Diagnostics, a patient can undergo a comprehensive medical examination or receive a consultation from a necessary specialist based on test results in just one day. This, in turn, distinguishes us favorably from other medical institutions, where obtaining such services quickly is still problematic. One of the biggest problems we face is the progressive decline in the population’s ability to pay, serious competition for good specialist doctors, and of course, in the last year, problems with logistics and the ability to acquire the necessary equipment.
In the future, we hope for the consolidation of efforts by market players to establish a dialogue with the government on critical regulatory issues and the effective participation of private companies in the healthcare system. Given the current shortage of medical care for the population, the government should use all possible resources to improve the scenario. It would be possible to include commercial organizations within existing formats or for the development of new forms of collaboration aimed at solving the common task of providing high-quality medical services to patients.
We often get questions about the government’s support in the private medical sector. This is an interesting question. But, instead, the opposite is true. As the main difficulties, I can highlight the complex interaction in the CNAM sphere, strict regulation of their activities by the state, and growing competition from state clinics.
Difficulties in the interaction in the CNAM sphere are caused by the opacity of quotas for providing highly qualified medical care, low tariffs for medical services, and payment delays. In recent times, there has also been an increase in competition from state clinics. State medical institutions have increased their competitiveness thanks to technological equipment, improved service components under state health modernization programs, and entering the market for paid services. As a result, there is a noticeable outflow of low-income patients to state clinics and hospitals.
By Olga Hadjicova, Commercial Director at Invitro Diagnostics