Slovenia - Medical EquipmentSlovenia-Medical-Equipment
Overview
As a result of limited and/or highly specialized domestic production, Slovenia’s health care equipment market is dependent on imports from Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States. U.S. exporters account for between 15 and 20 percent of Slovenia’s USD 420 million medical equipment market. The medical equipment market has grown over the last ten years, but the real potential lies ahead, as much of the medical equipment in Slovenia’s public hospitals is outdated and expensive to maintain. Slovenia is currently considering how to restructure the health care sector and consolidate several public health agencies. The government has increased investments in specialized hospitals in recent years, including the Oncology Institute and the Pediatric Clinic, and there will likely be increased demand for innovative instruments and equipment in the years ahead
The Ministry of Health is the main player in Slovenia’s medical equipment market. The Ministry develops health care policies, proposes the government’s health care budget and the sector’s investment program, and monitors the work of state-owned hospitals and health care institutions. Due in part to fiscal problems with the national health account, the Ministry was forced in recent years to take over purchasing programs and centralize hospital tenders, resulting in increased public procurement transparency.
Most dental services are private practices.
The Slovenian health care market is very price-sensitive. Institutions are prepared, however, to pay high prices for state-of-the-art equipment.
Leading Sub-Sectors
Diagnostic equipment
Scanners; CTI devices; magnetic resonance devices
Laboratory equipment
Opportunities
The best opportunities in Slovenia’s health care sector are for producers and distributors of diagnostic and imaging equipment as hospitals and clinics upgrade aging technology. Digital imaging and medical records management software also represent promising opportunities.
Web Resources
Ministry of Health, Štefanova 5, SI- 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: gp.mz(at)gov.si
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Dimiceva 13, 1504 Ljubljana, Slovenia E-mail: info@gzs.si
U.S. Commercial Service
Mirjana Rabič, Economic Commercial Specialist
Phone: +386 1 200 5500
Fax: +386 1 200 5555
E-mail: DoingBusinessinSlovenia@state.gov