Medicina Fluminensis, Vol. 48 No. 2, 2012.
Pregledni rad
Palliative care in Croatia on the threshold of entering the European Union: medical-legal and medical-ethical review
Iva Sorta-Bilajac
; Katedra za društvene i humanističke znanosti u medicini, Medicinski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci
Morana Brkljačić Žagrović
; Poliklinika ”Sveti Rok M. D.”, Zagreb
Sažetak
In the year 2013 when Croatia is to become the 28th European Union member-state, a decade will have passed since the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has issued a Recommendation to the member states on the organization of palliative care – the REC (2003) 24. This paper analyzes the current situation in the Croatian health care system with special emphasis on the organization of palliative care. Observing the Croatian Medical Law in the light of European standards of palliative care, the medical-legal and medical-ethical assumptions and omissions are pointed out in their implementation in practice. The analysis of the Croatian Constitution, the Law on Health Care, the Law on Protection of Patients’ Rights, and the Code of medical ethics and deontology of the Croatian Medical Chamber in the context of the Recommendation Rec (2003) 24 of the Committee of Ministers and the “White Paper on standards and norms for hospice and palliative care in Europe” – Recommendations from the European Association for palliative Care, proves the flaw in the Croatian system of palliative care, with special emphasis on the need to prompt establishment of a national health policy of palliative care. The first step on this path should be the establishment of institutions for palliative care. Palliative care is an integral part of the health system and an inseparable element of citizens’ rights to health care and is therefore, the responsibility of the government of each member state to guarantee palliative care and make it accessible to those in need of it.
Ključne riječi
Croatia; medical ethics; medical law; palliative care; REC (2003) 24
Hrčak ID:
84187
URI
Datum izdavanja:
4.6.2012.
Posjeta: 4.436 *