[The direction of Croatian health care in the post-war period].

A radical transformation of the health-care system in Croatia has begun after the first free and democratic elections in the country. Changes were initiated along the lines suggested by the World Health Organization experts and in accordance with the positive experiences of the earlier health-care organization and practice. The newly introduced changes involved the introduction of market mechanisms in health care (private medical practice and contracting for medical services), establishment of health insurance funds, formulation of rules and standards for the provision of medical services, and reorganization of management in medical institutions. With the start of the armed aggression against the Republic of Croatia, all of these activities ceased and the health-care system switched very quickly from peace-time to war-time operation. At the same time, preparatory work continued on the definitive reorganization of the health-care and health insurance systems. The present paper discusses the underlying principles for the three basic pieces of legislation: Health Care Act, Professional Chambers Act, and Health Insurance Act. The Health Care Act will be based on new patterns of property relations in health-care organizations. Three types of ownership are envisaged - state, private and mixed. Most of the existing health-care institutions will be state-owned, and the owner (government, district or municipal authority) will appoint a governing board in each case, which, in turn, will appoint the director or manager. A separate piece of legislation will regulate the status of health workers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)