"Between two systems", Mira Kazhani shows the differences between Italian and Albanian healthcare
2025-11-16 21:08:03
TiranaPost
“A good doctor cannot fix the health system, but a good health system produces hundreds of such doctors.” With this reflection, journalist and author Mira Kazhani describes her personal experience between Albanian and Italian healthcare after being diagnosed with breast cancer, in a conversation with publicist Veton Surroi on the PIKË podcast.
Kazan shared the great contrast between two realities: on the one hand, Albanian doctors who deal with dozens of patients a day, on the other hand, the Italian system where one doctor sees only 7 patients — and where humanity is not a luxury, but part of the mechanism.
She shows that despite individual professionalism, in Albania the "rule of the jungle" prevails, while in Italy everything is designed so that the patient does not get lost, neither physically nor emotionally.
"I was cured in Albania, God saved me, because I caught the disease early. But in Italy, there is humanistic medicine. There, the system gives dignity to doctors, gives them the peace of mind to answer the patient before you ask them questions," Kazhani recounts.
Kazan also shares moments of personal doubt — whether staying in Albania was the right choice — and claims that her truth would have been less painful if she had been a patient in Italy.
She recounts that in Italy even the doctor's assistant ("little Giuseppe") was careful, proactive, and dedicated in communication.
"And little Giuseppe was very careful to give me information even when I didn't ask. So, in Albania, with all the love, I had to ask the doctors. No one writes you in advance. We are warm-hearted people, but we missed the system. The system that Italy has," the journalist said.
