According to ministry data collected from 74 hospitals by noon, the strike did not disrupt in any major way the work in any of them.
In 33 hospitals, no doctor or nurse took part in the strike, the ministry said.
Union president Ivica Babic told Hina the turnout was 80 per cent on average - 100% in Dubrovnik, 92% in Cakovec, and 75% in Zagreb's Petrova hospital.
Asked if social dialogue with the ministry could be resumed, he reiterated his demand that Health Minister Rajko Ostojic state in writing his position on the unions' draft collective agreement.
Babic said that after receiving the minister's answer in writing, he was willing to begin negotiations on a new collective agreement which would be signed by the doctors' and nurses' unions and no third union.
The doctors' and nurses' unions reported that their members were exposed to pressure and intimidation throughout the day and that they would report this to the authorities.
The ministry vowed that it would not resort to any intimidation or prevention of the right to strike, saying it advocated negotiations and conciliation instead of striking, confident that a good agreement could be reached on the working conditions in the entire health sector.