The importance of improving healthcare quality and placing patients at the center of the health system was highlighted on the second day of the First International Conference on the Quality of Health Services, held under the theme “Investing in Quality – Building Trust”.

Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly Albulena Haxhiu said healthcare quality should not be measured solely through institutional standards and assessments, but also through patients' experiences and the treatment they receive in health institutions.

She stressed that citizens expect timely assistance, to be heard and to be treated with professionalism and dignity.

“The patient wants to know whether they will receive the help they need, when they need it, whether someone will listen to them, explain their condition and care for them with professionalism and dignity,” Haxhiu said.

She also emphasized that access to quality healthcare should not depend on a person's place of residence, economic status or personal connections.

Haxhiu called for patients' complaints to be taken seriously and translated into concrete improvements.

“I believe it is not enough to simply register them; they must lead to concrete improvements so that other patients do not face the same problems,” she added.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Arben Vitia said the second day of the conference focused on professional discussions, presentations and the exchange of experiences from Kosovo and abroad.

Topics included patient safety, clinical audits, healthcare guidelines and protocols, the rational use of medicines, technological innovation and patients' experiences.

Vitia stressed that healthcare standards and policies are meaningful only when they result in better services and safer treatment for citizens.

He also highlighted the importance of the health information system, whose development has already begun, saying digitalization would improve communication, coordination and decision-making.

The minister added that clear responsibilities, monitoring mechanisms and measurable performance indicators are essential to improving healthcare quality, from primary healthcare to the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo (UCCK).

He reiterated that patients must remain at the center of every investment and reform, while service quality should also be assessed through waiting times, communication with healthcare professionals and respect for patients' dignity.