Health Minister says Croatian medicine must truly focus on prevention

The Croatian Health Minister is looking to raise the overall standard of health among Croatian citizens through preventive medical exams and awareness raising campaigns. Experts repeatedly advocate for early detection as the best way to limit disease and premature death.

Health Minister Vili Beroš presented a pilot project of preventive systematic check-ups, which, he says, aims to test the concept in practice in order to create a system that will improve the overall health of the population. Touching on the amendments adopted in parliament today, Beroš pointed out why this pilot project is being presented today: “Because laws have been put in place that will allow for the implementation and financing of these kinds of projects. And by testing it in the field through this pilot project we will be able to see if something needs to be changed in order to adjust to certain specifics. A country that produced Andrija Štampar and is the cradle of preventive medicine as a school of thought, we truly have to begin implementing preventive action.”

He went on to highlight what the Croatian health care system's strengths and weaknesses are: “We are substandard in terms of speedy diagnosis, beginning treatment and subsequently the final outcome in those cases. But the truth is that on the other hand we are achieving excellent results in terms of organ transplantations, in which we are among the European leaders.”

Source: HRT