Health services
Tourist health care
There are hospitals and clinics in all major cities, and ambulance and pharmacies in all towns.
EU citizens travelling to or temporarily visiting Croatia, having been covered by the statutory health insurance in one of the EU member countries, are entitled to immediate health insurance services under the European Health Insurance Card with copayments.
Health services are charged directly to tourists coming from a country which has not signed the Convention according to a standardized price list.
Services of private physicians and dentists are also at tourists’ disposal in which case a full price is charged for medical services.
»» More information: Croatian Institute for Health Insurance, www.hzzo.hr.
»» European Health Insurance Card: more information
Emergency pharmacy/chemist (ljekarna in Croatian) is open 24 hours. You need to ring a bell for service.
It is located in Pula:
Ljekarna Centar, Giardini 14, T. +385 52 222 544, centar@istarske-ljekarne.hr
194 Emergency Medical Service
Only call 194 when life is at risk and emergency services will come as soon as possible
In all other cases guests can get assistance:
- at the nearest tourist medical clinic (www.idz.hr)
- at the nearest Istrian Health Centre on working days (www.idz.hr)
- at the Pula General Hospital on weekends
- during the night, by calling 194
Remain in constant phone contact with the 194 service and the patient in case of need, as all information about the event is of great importance.
Whilst waiting for the arrival of emergency services for the patient, his/her escort should prepare:
- ID or passport
- European health insurance card, travel insurance policy, cash card or money for settling the cost of intervention
Health services for tourists in Region of Istria’s public institutions
Pursuant to the contractual obligations with the HZZO (Croatian Health Insurance Fund), the Region's health institutions provide services both for national and foreign tourists staying in the area of the Istrian Region. Should the need for immediate medical assistance be required, all tourists are entitled to health care under the same conditions as Croatian insured parties provided they have a valid European Health Insurance Card (EKZO). Domestic tourists access health care on the basis of a valid HZZO card. The following text provides information on the conditions and ways of achieving health care for tourists.
In case of life-threatening emergencies or serious health-affecting conditions, call 194 for emergency medical assistance
(sudden breathing difficulties, choking on a foreign body, cardiac and respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness, sudden chest pain, spasms (convulsions), speech difficulty, weakness or paralysis of a part of the body, facial distortion, traffic accident injuries and other sudden injuries (falls from height, gunshot wounds), abnormal bleeding, electrical and lightning injuries, hypothermia, heat stroke, drowning, medicine poisoning).
In the event of acute events occurring outside the working hours of tourist medical clinics or family doctors, emergency care is provided 24/7 by medical clinics at branch offices of the Istrian Region’s Institute for Emergency Medicine.
The location of the medical clinics of the emergency healthcare service in Istria as well as all additional information can be found on the website of the Istrian Region’s Institute for Emergency Medicine: https://zhmiz.hr/
In the case of acute illness and non life-threatening conditions contact a doctor for help using the Istrian Health Centres website information or visiting a tourist medical clinic.
(conditions you would normally go to your doctor for, such as airway inflammation, viral infections, high fever, minor burns, minor accidents, abdominal pain, back pain…)
You can find information about your nearest doctors, their contacts and addresses, including working hours on the Istrian Health Centres’ website www.idz.hr (under Branch offices/Ispostave).
On weekdays and Saturday mornings, tourists are received by the GPs in the branch offices of the Istrian health centers. Patients are admitted for medical services if they hold a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), otherwise, they are charged for the medical treatment.
Tourist medical clinics are organized in Poreč, Rovinj, Labin, Pula and Umag in the main buildings of the Istrian Health Centres branch offices.
All information about the operation of tourist medical clinics can be found on the Istrian Health centers website www.idz.hr which is updated daily.
If you need the services of a paediatrician, gynaecologist or dentist, you can find their contact information on the Istrian Health Centres’ website
You can find information about the nearest paediatricians, gynaecologists and dentists, their contacts and addresses, including their working hours on the Istrian Health Centres’ website www.idz.hr (under Djelatnosti).
On weekends and public holidays, a paediatrics and gynaecology emergency clinic are on duty at Pula General Hospital, Santoriova 24A.
If a patient has completed a medical examination and needs to be admitted to hospital …
Pula General Hospital, situated in Santoriova 24A in Pula, manages emergencies requiring urgent diagnostic workup or urgent treatment through an emergency system comprising the Comprehensive Emergency Hospital Admission Service and the emergency clinics of the following units: Paediatrics, Gynaecology, Infectiology, Psychiatry as well as Laboratory, Transfusion and Radiological Diagnostics.
Hospital units that DO NOT provide emergency examinations are: Dermatovenerology, Physical Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and Cytology.
For further information, visit www.obpula.hr
If a patient needs an out-of-hours pharmacy, all relevant information can be found on the Istrian Pharmacies website
The Centar Pharmacy, Giardini 14, Pula, is open 24/7 (on duty at night-time).
Working hours and addresses of all other pharmacies can be found on the website www.istarske-ljekarne.hr
If you need emergency services in the field of epidemiology and microbiology, or emergency disinfection, disinsection and rat extermination, call 112 for information about services on duty.
For further information, visit the Istrian Region Public Health Institute website: www.zzjziz.hr
Patients with injuries of the locomotor system, cuts or suspected bone fracture can also receive treatment at the Martin Horvat Hospital in Rovinj.
The Martin Horvat Hospital in Rovinj operates a medical clinic for traumatology of the locomotor system, which is open every weekday from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. Contact numbers: +385 52 811 011 or +385 52 537 126
For further information, visit www.bolnica-rovinj.hr website
Dialysis Service
Guests staying in the Region of Istria who require dialysis can utilize haemodialysis services at the Istrian Health Centres in Umag and Labin:
Umag
IDZ - Istrian Health Centres - Haemodialysis Team
Address: Edoardo Pascali 3A,HR-52 Umag
Location on the map: https://idz.hr/mapa-ustanova/?oid=000000206
Contact: +385 52 702 218, +385 52 702 228
Working hours:
Morning shift 07:00 am - 2:00 pm (break 10:30 am - 11:00 am)
Afternoon shift 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm (break 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm)
Labin
IDZ - Istrian Health Centres - Haemodialysis Team
Address: Svetog Mikule 2, HR-52220 Labin
Location on the map: https://idz.hr/mapa-ustanova/?oid=000000206
Contact: +385 52 650 985
hemodijaliza.labin@idz.hr
Working hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 07:00 am - 9:00 pm
