Choosing a primary health care physician

As a person insured with the CHIF, you are free to choose your general practitioner and dentist. Women are also free to choose their gynaecologist, and parents of preschool children choose a paediatrician

As a person insured with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (CHIF), you are entitled to freely choose a general practitioner and a dentist in your place of residence.

Women over the age of 12 also need to choose a gynaecologist, and if you are a parent to a child under the age of seven, you need to choose a paediatrician.

Physicians are chosen for a minimum period of one year and may be changed once this period passes.
 

Process of choosing a physician

To choose a physician, you need to fill in a form called Statement on choice/change of physician, which you can obtain at the office of the physician you have chosen. 

Depending on the physician you are choosing, you need to enter one of these four branches: general practice/family medicine, dental health care, gynaecology or preschool health care. You certify the accuracy of the data entered by signing the form.

The second part of the form is filled in by your physician, who then certifies it with their signature and seal of their office, which can be a private practice or an office within a community health centre. 

You can download the Statement on choice/change of physician in the Documents section.

Time limits
You can start using health care services of the physician of your choice no later than 10 days from signing the Statement. Your previous physician will hand over all of your medical records to your newly chosen physician immediately or within three days.