Croatia faces potential collapse of family medicine system

Croatia is facing a potential collapse of its primary healthcare system due to a severe shortage of family physicians. Dr. Leonardo Bressan warns that the country could lose half of its family doctors within the next three to five years as a large portion of the current workforce reaches retirement age.

In the Primorsko-Goranska County, 50 percent of family doctors are over the age of 60. The crisis is even more acute in the Lika-Senj County, where there are reportedly no family doctors under the age of 60. Regional disparities are significant, with critical shortages identified in Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska, Virovitičko-Podravska, Brodsko-Posavska, Požeško-Slavonska, and Istria counties.

Several factors contribute to this imbalance. In Istria, high living and professional operating costs deter new doctors, while in more isolated areas like Lika and Gorski Kotar, young professionals avoid the region due to professional isolation and a lack of experienced mentors. Furthermore, Bressan noted an imbalance in medical specialization, stating that Croatia has more surgeons per 100,000 inhabitants than family physicians, despite primary care being responsible for 80 to 90 percent of citizens' health needs.