Croatia faces family medicine shortage and aging workforce

The 3rd KoHOM symposium for young doctors opened in Osijek, focusing on cardiovascular health and the critical shortage of family medicine specialists in Croatia. Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of mortality in the country, making preventative care by family physicians a central priority.

Experts highlighted a growing crisis in the healthcare workforce. Currently, Croatia has 2,274 contracted family medicine teams, falling short of the required 2,445. Significant deficits are reported in Primorsko-Goranska, Zagreb, and Osječko-Baranja counties.

A major concern is the aging physician population; 1,133 family doctors are aged 55 or older, with 893 being at least 60 years old. Leonardo Bressan, an executive board member of KoHOM, warned that relying on doctors to continue working past retirement to maintain the system is not a viable strategy, describing it as ‘a lottery’ rather than a plan.