Once you have been granted asylum or subsidiary protection, you are entitled to compulsory health insurance and can choose your primary healthcare providers: general practitioners/family physicians and dentists. Women have the right to choose a gynaecologist, and parents of children under seven can select a paediatrician.
You should choose doctors within your place of residence or, if unavailable, in the nearest location.
Important! Doctors are not obligated to accept new patients if they have reached their maximum capacity. To check availability of a specific primary health care practice, use the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) search engine.
Also, it's sometimes hard to reach the doctor's office by phone, so we recommend not giving up if you don’t get through after a few tries – check the clinic’s working hours and go there in person; that’s the fastest way to arrange your selection.
The Croatian Health Insurance Fund website provides a primary care provider search engine which helps you identify available doctors in each health centre.
To assist you in using the search engine, we provide a guide explaining its menus and features.
Picture 1. 
Naselje - Settlement (your place of residence, which determines your choice of doctor)
Odabir djelatnosti - Choosing an activity (select the type of doctor you need)
Picture 2.
1050000 - Dental health care (dentist)
1010000 - General/family medicine (general practitioner or family practitioner)
1020000 - Health care of preschool children (paediatrician)
1040000 - Women's health care (gynaecologist)
Picture 3.
List of doctors according to the search criterion. You can further refine your search by area (e.g. within Zagreb or another larger city) to see which doctors are accepting new patients and which are not.
Picture 4.
The colour indicates the availability of the doctor:
Red - the doctor is not accepting new patients
Yellow - the doctor has limited availability
Green - the doctor is accepting new patents
White - a team in formation; likely to have more availability for new patients
It is always easier to make an appointment in person. If you have the option between calling or emailing a potential doctor and visiting them in person, choose the latter. A direct visit allows you to inquire about availability and the possibility of registering as a new patient.
Choosing a doctor
Once you find a doctor who can register you as their patient, ask the nurse at the clinic for the Statement of Choice/Change of Chosen Healthcare Provider form. The Statement of Choice/Change of Chosen Healthcare Provider can be downloaded online HERE (in Croatian).
In the form, you must specify one of four activities: general/family medicine, dental health care, women's health care (gynaecological care) or health care for preschool children.
The second part of the form must be completed and signed by your gynaecologist, along with the official seal of the healthcare institution or private practice. The signed Statement is then submitted to the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) for verification and entry into their records. In some cases, insured individuals may need to handle this submission themselves.
HZZO will certify the information based on the registered address of the newly selected healthcare provider. Once certified, the regional office of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund will submit one copy of the certified Statement to your newly selected doctor, and one copy to your previous doctor or institution in which he or she works, if you are switching doctors.
When can you can start using your chosen doctor’s services?
You can begin receiving healthcare services from your chosen provider no later than 10 days after signing the Statement. If you are switching providers, your former doctor must transfer all your medical records to you within three days.
You commit to your chosen provider for at least one year. After this period, you may change providers if you wish. If you decide to keep your current doctor, no further action is needed.
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