Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/rsp.v29i3.1937
Legal Aspects of Recognizing COVID-19 As an Occupational Disease in The Republic of Croatia
Milan Milošević
orcid.org/0000-0001-9008-7645
; School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Hana Brborović
orcid.org/0000-0002-4852-2495
; School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Roko Žaja
orcid.org/0000-0001-9539-7685
; School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Neda Pjevač
orcid.org/0000-0002-1759-8956
; Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Jasna Pucarin-Cvetković
; School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Nada Pjevač
orcid.org/0009-0006-7834-0592
; Health Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Tajana Božić
orcid.org/0009-0005-4482-6917
; Polyclinic Dr. Zora Profozić, Zagreb, Croatia
Snježana Kaštelan
orcid.org/0000-0002-3983-1157
; Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Occupational diseases are diseases directly induced by work and working conditions. In the Republic of Croatia, according to the procedure set out by law, occupational diseases are reported and recognized by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund and registered and monitored in the Registry of Occupational Diseases kept by the Croatian Institute for Public Health – Department of Occupational Health. Diagnoses are under responsibility of occupational medicine specialists and are carried out according to modern occupational health criteria, which include determining the clinical picture of the disease and the damage caused by the work process. The recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease is extremely important for the worker considering the financial and pension benefits according to the applicable laws and regulations. Most workers who have had COVID-19 as a professional disease do not get the disease recognized as an occupational disease while they are sick. The length of the acute disease is shorter than the process of application and evaluation of occupational disease. However, the recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease may be important for the future. Should any of the complications (e.g. post COVID-19 syndrome) arise in the future, the worker holds their rights under health insurance. The scientific and healthcare community is still in the process of evaluating and recognizing complications of COVID-19 disease and their long-term impact on health and work ability.
Keywords
occupational disease; legislation; public health; occupational medicine
Hrčak ID:
294974
URI
Publication date:
31.1.2023.
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