"Being a doctor is not just a profession, but a calling. It is the art of healing both body and soul, a continuous pursuit of knowledge, selflessness in the most difficult moments and a beacon of hope for those in need," the HLZ said in its message.
It highlighted the courage, perseverance and altruism of doctors while emphasising the invaluable significance of their work.
Croatian Doctors' Day is celebrated in remembrance of 26 February 1874, when the HLZ, the oldest active association in Croatia, was established in Zagreb.
Doctors also received congratulations from the Association of Health Employers and the Medical Chamber.
The Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) noted that this day also honours doctors of dental medicine.
According to HZJZ data, Croatia’s healthcare system employs 16,408 medical doctors, 64% of whom are women. Additionally, 4,112 doctors of dental medicine are employed, with women making up 69%.
The KoHOM organisation of family medicine has raised concerns over alarming statistics in primary healthcare, citing a shortage of family medicine specialists, paediatricians and gynaecologists.
Croatia is currently short of 276 family doctors. According to the network established based on patient needs, 2,452 doctors are required, 2,294 teams have been contracted, 118 of which lack a doctor, meaning only 2,176 family doctors are available, KoHOM says.
It warned that since the beginning of this year, the number of family doctors has decreased by 10, with each doctor caring for an average of 1,500 patients. The organisation stressed that it is not difficult to calculate how many citizens are being left without adequate care.
A further concern is that 859 family doctors (39.5%) are over the age of 60, with more than 50 of them older than 70.
"All of them already meet, or will in the next five years meet, the conditions for retirement. This means that more than a million patients could be left without a family doctor, which will further burden and potentially overwhelm emergency hospital departments. There are currently only 303 doctors in training for specialisation, but they are already included in the overall figures and cannot be counted as additional medical personnel," KoHOM said.