Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute mental health admissions in Croatia.

Background: The pandemic of COVID-19 had a profound impact on our community and healthcare system. This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on psychiatric care in Croatia by comparing the number of acute psychiatric cases before coronavirus disease (2017-2019) and during the pandemic (2020-2022).

Materials And Methods: The paper is a retrospective, comparative analyzes of the hospital admission rate in Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) classes related to mental diseases, and organic mental disorders caused by alcohol and drug use.

The importance of good governance in hospital payment reform - A case study from Ukraine.

In 2005, Ukraine embarked on hospital financing reforms that included the introduction of a Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) based payment system for acute inpatient care. The primary purpose of introducing activity-based funding was to provide incentives for hospitals to use their limited resources more efficiently. Following an extended period of preparation and planning during which technical assistance was provided by various development agencies, Ukraine took action to implement the DRG system at a national level in April 2018, through a World Bank project.

Impact of COVID-19 on inpatient care related to skin conditions.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected our society and healthcare system. This study aims to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the number of hospitalized patients with dermatological diseases in Croatia, as well as the number of these patients treated surgically and conservatively, before (2017-2019) and during the pandemic (2020-2021).

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective, comparative study of the hospital admission rate for patients with skin, subcutaneous tissue, and breast disorders both before and during the pandemic.

The effects of diagnosis-related groups payment on efficiency of the hospital health care in Croatia.

Aim: To assess the impact of Croatian reforms related to the funding of inpatient care on the efficiency of acute hospitals.

Methods: Between 2009 and 2018, the study analyzed resourcing, performance, and financing data for 33 acute hospitals. It used data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) and the Croatian Institute of Public Health and included hospital activity and diagnosis-related grouping; average length of stay (ALOS); hospital staffing; CHIF revenue streams; and hospital incomes and expenditures.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Admissions in Croatia.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted hospital care, as hospitals had to deal with a highly infectious virus, while at the same time continuing to fulfill the ongoing health service needs of their communities. This study examines the direct effects of COVID-19 on the delivery of inpatient care in Croatia. The research is a retrospective, comparative analysis of the hospital admission rate across all Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) classes before and during the pandemic.

Croatian pharmaceutical sector reform project: rational drug use.

The Croatian Pharmaceutical Sector Reform Project was one component of a larger Health Reform Project financed by the World Bank. The Croatian government was concerned that Croatia appeared to spend more money on medicinal drugs than most other countries in the region; that the price of drugs purchased in Croatia was higher than in some other countries, and that the prescribing habits of some Croatian physicians were perceived to be unnecessarily expensive. In addition, the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance (CIHI), which pays for most health care, had come under considerable financial pressure due to increasing health expenditure and a decreasing proportion of the population contributing to insurance.

New general practitioner payment formula in Croatia: is it consistent with worldwide trends?

We describe the history of general practitioner payment in Croatia, and assess the extent to which recent trends are consistent with developments in other countries. We provide a definition of a classification of payment methods, and summarization of the evidence about their merits as described in international literature and an outline of the history of payment methods in Croatia, with emphasis on the changes proposed for 2004. We conclude that the introduction of performance-based payment, as an adjunct to the capitation payments, is consistent with trends in well-managed health systems in other countries.