Possible Applications of the Korean Experience in the Development of Croatian Healthcare System
Predrag Bejakovic, Romina P Družeta, Ohmin Kwon
Keywords :
Croatia, Healthcare insurance, Healthcare service provision, Republic of Korea
Citation Information :
Bejakovic P, Družeta RP, Kwon O. Possible Applications of the Korean Experience in the Development of Croatian Healthcare System. 2023; 2 (1--2):26-35.
Healthcare is a very important and complex system in every country, and a huge expenditure for it is not a guarantee of successful prevention and cure of illness. Around 98% of the population in Croatia is covered by the public health insurance system, which is an admirable achievement. Healthcare institutions in Croatia are organized on three levels. Primary healthcare levels are community healthcare centers, healthcare facilities, institutions for home healthcare, and organizations for palliative care. Healthcare services on the secondary level include hospitals, treatment, and outpatient centers. Tertiary-level healthcare is realized in clinics, mostly clinical hospitals and clinical hospital centers. Serious challenges of the Croatian health system are the neglected role of primary healthcare, a vast concentration of healthcare institutions in the big cities, suboptimal implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in disease diagnostics and medical treatment, a lack of structured data, and the long waiting list. Croatia is reforming its healthcare system, and in this process, an adequate adjustment of Korean experiences and the best practices can be more than useful. The part dedicated to the situation in Korea particularly provides information on the Korean healthcare system, outcomes, and challenges, as well as explains the importance of digital automation in the healthcare service and a push for Nationwide Health Screening in Korea.
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