Research shows that our society is rarely as united on any issue as it is on healthcare. Citizens, political party representatives, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scientists, and healthcare managers—all key stakeholders in the system—agree that a comprehensive transformation of the healthcare system, centered on the patient, is urgently needed.
We all rely on an increasingly burdened healthcare system that was designed for a society that no longer exists. Croatia’s population is dwindling, aging, and has a shorter life expectancy compared to other EU countries. This demographic crisis is also present in the rest of the EU. Health has become our critical national resource, and investing in healthcare is an investment in the future. Therefore, it is a pivotal moment for a comprehensive transformation of healthcare to create a modern, accessible, functional, and sustainable system that focuses on the patient and leads to better treatment outcomes.
Advancing technological and scientific achievements offer us remarkable opportunities for improving our lives. However, this transformation cannot be achieved by a single government alone. It requires building trust and collaboration among all stakeholders. We need to reach a consensus on the desired outcomes for our healthcare, which should be part of a broader social contract. We have already taken the first step.
At the HealthComm Forum conference, all key stakeholders in Croatian healthcare endorsed a manifesto outlining seven priority areas for comprehensive healthcare reform:
- Healthcare must be accessible to every citizen when they genuinely need it.
- Prevention is crucial for longevity. We must focus more on primary and secondary prevention, timely diagnosis, treatment, and disease control to minimize the burden on patients and the healthcare system.
- Patients must have the right to access the latest scientific and technological advancements in the treatment process.
- Further digitalization, system networking, and data collection are essential for successful reform, with a focus on tracking treatment outcomes.
- The hospital system must meet the needs of modern healthcare and of patients.
- Patients deserve individualized treatment in centers of excellence, where top experts with the latest knowledge in treating specific diseases are available.
- The Croatian healthcare system needs a sustainable financing plan and the level of investment in healthcare must reach the levels of the most successful EU member states.
Healthcare policy is the most important public policy. The future of our country and its citizens depends on its success. Therefore, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has the responsibility to bring together all key stakeholders in our society to create new solutions for the modern healthcare system we desire.
