Physician labor market in Croatia

To analyze the physician labor market in Croatia with respect to the internship and employment opportunities, Croatian needs for physicians and specialists, and trends in physician labor market in the European Union (EU) in the context of EU enlargement.

Data were collected from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Croatian Employment Service, and the Croatian Institute for Public Health. We compared the number of physicians waiting for internship before and 14 months after the implementation of the State Program for Intern Employment Stimulation. Also, the number of employed specialists in internal medicine, general surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, and pediatrics was compared with estimated number of specialists that will have been needed by the end of 2007. Average age of hospital physicians in the four specialties was determined and the number of Croatian physicians compared with the number of physicians in EU countries.

The number of unemployed physicians waiting for internship decreased from 335 in 2003 to 82 in 2004, while a total number of unemployed physicians decreased from 436 to 379 (chi2=338, P<0.001). In October 2004, 79.3% of unemployed physicians waited for internship <6 months; of them, 89.2% waited for internship <3 months. In February 2005, 365 unemployed physicians were registered at the Croatian Employment Service and that number has been decreasing in the last couple of years. The number of employed specialists was lower than the estimated number of specialists needed in the analyzed specialists, as defined by the prescribed standards. A shortage of 328 internists, 319 surgeons, 209 gynecologists, and 69 pediatricians in Croatian hospitals is expected in 2007.

The lack of employment incentive seems to be the main reason for the large number of unemployed physicians waiting for internship before the implementation of the Employment Stimulation Program. According to the number of physicians per 100,000 population, Croatia is below the EU average. Croatian labor market will not be able to meet the needs of the health system for physicians by the end of 2007.