Croatia scored 640 points out of a maximum 1,000, which was 16 points less than in the Euro Health Consumer Index in 2013, which led HCP analysts to conclude that something was wrong with Croatia's healthcare system, as it was regressing while other countries were making headway.
According to the EHCI study, access to medical treatment improved in Croatia in 2014, however, the quality of health protection deteriorated, and the report also quoted patients' associations as complaining about corruption among medical personnel.
EHCI researches urge Croatia's medial authorities to pay more attention to prevention, primarily prevention of diabetes and smoking-related diseases.
The report calls for reducing infections at hospitals.
Croatian member of the EHCI advisory committee Ana Stavljenic Rukavina said Croatia slid down the rankings due to its failure to reduce patient waiting lists and to implement prevention programmes. She said she was surprised by allegations of patients' groups about corruption, explaining that the results of opinion polls among patients' associations were introduced in the survey for the first time.
Croatia's health ministry explains that the findings of the EHCI study were based on statistical data collected last April with an emphasis given to polls conducted among patients. Minister Sinisa Varga believes that, burdened by long recession, patients were also more dissatisfied with the performance of the public healthcare system.
The minister is hopeful of better results for 2015.
On the other hand, one of the representatives of patients' associations in Croatia, Marijo Drlje, said Croatia should have fallen by more than four positions on the list if negative experiences of patients had been taken into account.
The Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) for 2014 is compiled from a combination of public statistics, patient polls and independent research conducted by Health Consumer Powerhouse Ltd, a Sweden-based private company, measuring the performance of healthcare in Europe and Canada to support patient and consumer empowerment.
The Netherlands stays on top, gaining 898 out of maximum 1,000 points, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In southeastern Europe, Macedonia fared best, moving upward to 16th place, ahead of Italy and Spain. Slovenia is 19th-ranked, Serbia 33rd, Montenegro 34th, and Bosnia is at the bottom, 36th.