Croatians Visiting Doctors More Often: Nearly a Million More Visits
HZZO records 16.3 million visits in the first three months of 2026, with doctors warning that some patients come without a real need.
HZZO records 16.3 million visits in the first three months of 2026, with doctors warning that some patients come without a real need.
In the first three months of 2026, Croatian doctors recorded 16,333,000 visits, which is 992,000 more than in the same period last year, according to HZZO data. The increase is straining practices across the country, and doctors warn that some of these visits are not medically justified.
An example is 73-year-old Stanko Lugar, who came to the doctor to get his blood test results after an examination. "I visit the doctor quite often, at least once a month. If nothing else, just to see him," Lugar admits.
Doctor Juraj Jug from the Zagreb West Health Center says not all patients are like him. "Unfortunately, we have some patients who come twice a week without a specific indication," he told RTL Danas.
In addition to visits, doctors are also facing an increasing number of electronic inquiries. In 2025, responding to emails accounted for 25 percent of practice work. "That's 10,000 emails on an annual basis," emphasized Dr. Jug.
Patients, he adds, call on the phone, send emails, seek opinions, and overwhelm doctors with various requests that they cannot fulfill.
HZZO data shows that the number of visits is increasing most in preventive programs for children and youth, with a 20 percent increase. General practitioners, dentists, and women's health specialists are seeing more visits, and pediatricians are also overburdened.
Along with the increase in visits, the number of filled prescriptions has also risen. Compared to last year, there are 1.1 million more this year.
To help doctors cope with the increased workload, HZZO and the Ministry of Health have allocated an additional 65 million euros for primary health care.
