Medicinski Glasnik (Feb 2008)
Patients’ rights in the Republic of Croatia – between the law and reality
Abstract
Croatia was the first transition country to emerge after the breakupof the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, wherepatients’ rights were regulated by law. However, although the legislationon patients’ rights was a significant step in drawing closerto international standards of protection of patients’ rights, that is,the standards that exist in developed western democracies, legislationalone still does not have a significant effect on the actual positionof patients in the Croatian health care system. After an analysisof causes of the gulf between the law and the actual position ofpatients, the conclusion may still be drawn that the legislation onpatients’ rights in Croatia was at the beginning of a process, which,by the logic of the development of democracy and civilization, isimpossible to stop. This legislation is, however, only one elementin the process of protecting and improving patients’ rights – ashuman rights. The second and no less important element in thatprocess is the development of a culture of respect for and protectionof human rights in general and the human rights of vulnerablecategories of people, and citizens being patients, especially whenthey are sick, certainly make those vulnerable categories. Alongsidethe political will shown through legislative and other strategicdocuments in the field of health and social policies, in order toachieve these goals, information and education on human rightsare the key issues, that is, patients’ rights at all levels – in generalpublic and at a scientific and professional level.
