Croatia: legal regulation of doctors.

Accompanying changes in the way health services in Croatia are organised has been a significant change in the way the medical profession is regulated. In 1995 the Croatian Medical Chamber was established, with legal powers. The responsibilities of physicians to their patients are spelled out in considerable detail. Most of these responsibilities are matched by provisions in Croatia's criminal law. Croatia has about 10,000 doctors and dentists and since 1998 19 cases have been resolved by the Medical Chamber and its commissions. Public health providers offer protection in medical negligence cases but this could change as more market-oriented health-care provision is introduced. In 1997 and 1998 only 60 malpractice claims under the criminal law were brought and most of those were dismissed.