Healthcare in Croatia

Croatia has a universal health care system, whose roots can be traced back to the Hungarian-Croatian Parliament Act of 1891, providing a form of mandatory insurance of all factory workers and craftsmen.[1] The population is covered by a basic health insurance plan provided by statute and optional insurance and administered by the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance. In 2009, annual healthcare related expenditures reached 20.6 billion kuna (2.75 billion euro).[2]

Healthcare expenditures comprise 0.6% of private health insurance and public spending.[3] In 2010, Croatia spent 6.9% of its GDP on healthcare,[4] down from approximately 8% estimated in 2008, when 84% of healthcare spending came from public sources.[5] Croatia ranked around the 50th in the world in life expectancy with 73 years for men and 79 years for women, and it had a low infant mortality rate of 6 per 1,000 live births.[6]

There are hundreds of healthcare institutions in Croatia, including 79 hospitals and clinics with 23,967 beds. The hospitals and clinics care for more than 700 thousand patients per year and employ 5,205 medical doctors, including 3,929 specialists. There are 6,379 private practice offices, and a total of 41,271 health workers in the country. There are 63 emergency medical service units, responding to more than a million calls.[2]

The principal cause of death in 2008 was cardiovascular disease at 43.5% for men and 57.2% for women, followed by tumours, at 29.4% for men and 21.4% for women. In 2009 only 13 Croatians had been infected with HIV/AIDS and 6 had died from the disease.[2] In 2008 it was estimated by the WHO that 27.4% of Croatians over age of 15 are smokers.[7] According to 2003 WHO data, 22% of the Croatian adult population is obese.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Siniša Zrinščak (February 2003). "Socijalna politika u kontekstu korjenite društvene transformacije postkomunističkih zemalja" [Social Policy in the Context of Thorough Social Transformation of Post-Communist Countries]. Revija za socijalnu politiku (in Croatian) 10 (2): 135–159. doi:10.3935/rsp.v10i2.124. ISSN 1330-2965. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "2010 – Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia" (PDF). Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Marijana Matković (27 September 2011). "Ulaskom u EU Hrvatska će imati najveću potrošnju za zdravstvo" [After the EU accession Croatia will have the maximum healthcare spending]. Vjesnik (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "Svjetska banka podržava gospodarski oporavak Hrvatske" [World Bank Supports Economic Recovery of Croatia] (in Croatian). World Bank. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Etibar Jafarov; Victoria Gunnarsson (May 2008). "Government Spending on Health Care and Education in Croatia: Efficiency and Reform Options" (PDF). International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Croatia". World Health Organization. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  7. ↑ Marija Crnjak (10 January 2008). "U Hrvatskoj se puši manje nego u EU" [Fewer smokers in Croatia than in the EU] (in Croatian). Poslovni dnevnik. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Croatia". World Health Organization. Retrieved 12 October 2011.

External links