Speaking at the 13th conference of the World Organisation of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA) and the 6th KoHOM convention in Dubrovnik, Dr. Balint underscored that the average number of patients per one family doctor in Croatia was 1,800, which was higher than the European average. Another major problem is that doctors working in rural areas do not attend training programmes to enhance their capacities because there are no doctors to fill in for them while they are absent.
"Administration in the health sector has to start taking account of the fact that every patient, whether they come from an urban or rural community, has the right to equal quality health care," Dr. Balint said, adding that KoHOM has been "screaming" for years that family doctors should be relieved of administrative tasks, which she said took up 30 percent of their working day.
"Medical teams should dedicate their working hours to their patients and not certificates. That is why we don't have time for what is important in family health care - preventive medicine which significantly facilitates subsequent treatment," she said.