Ten years development of human resources in Serbian health system

A key component of any healthcare reform process is to ensure that the services are delivered by the right numbers of staff with appropriate skills and training. In 2007, public health institutions in Serbia had 2% more employees than before the economic transition. Nevertheless, the trend of the total number of employees in the Serbian health care system still preserved a mild rising trend. The most prominent changes in the structure of human resources were effectuated in the total numbers of physicians, nurses and administrative and technical staff. Development of medical science and practice in Serbia is characterized by more intensive processes of specializations, resulting in increased number of specialists among medical doctors. Health care provided in in-patient institutions still employs most of the doctors. The number of unemployed physicians, dentists and pharmacists has been rising since 2000. Another aspect that explains the rise of unemployed, university educated human resources is the rising number of graduated physicians, dentist and pharmacists. Health care policy makers may recognize the need for more integrated planning of human resources in health care, in particular, making management of human resources responsive to system needs and design, instead of vice versa.