Healthcare

Any entrepreneur visiting a Slovak public hospital would immediately notice that the Healthcare industry offers a gigantic opportunity for improvement. Such a visit offers a strong reminder that Slovakia used to be a communist country, indeed. Dilapidated hallways, unsterile environments, very old waiting seats, overcrowded waiting rooms, enormous inefficiencies, and a lack of urgency in monitoring expenses are common scenes in these places. Some doctors still use typewriters to keep medical records about their patients. The Ministry of Health has been the most challenging and also the most frequently vacant and frequently changed ministry seat of all.

Not all sectors of healthcare in Slovakia are gloomy, however. Privately owned dental offices, cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery, and eye clinics are among those that have profited immensely in the last few years. They earned large profits because of the huge gap in service quality when compared to the public centers and the simple lack of competition in the industry. The private clinics can be described as relatively small centers mostly run and operated by local medical doctors with a lack of managerial experience or entrepreneurs with a lack of medical knowledge. Solid international experience and a mixture of excellent management skills with in-depth medical know-how are still lacking in most doctors’ offices or health centers.

The lack of leadership from the government in the health sector and numerous administrative obstacles make it less attractive for new entities to enter the market. However, those that come now and are willing to stay longer will lay a strong foundation and will be able to reap the greatest benefits in the future.