Forms

Following the Regulation on the conditions, organization and manner of performing telemedicine (OG 138/11 i 110/12) an application for a permit to operate a telemedicine centre is submitted on the prescribed form to the Croatian Institute of Emergency Medicine (CIEM).
The application must include the following attachments:

• a decision of the Ministry of Health on meeting the requirements regarding the space, workers and medical-technical equipment (Decision on the commencement of work of health institutions),
• an extract from the Commercial Court register showing data on the name, seat and activity of the company/health institution (the activity of the company must be health care), not older than 6 months from the date of submission of the application,
• a proof of the availability of business premises in which telemedicine activities can be performed (proof of ownership or right of use),
• a certificate, not older than three months, confirming that no criminal proceedings are being conducted against the responsible person in the legal entity,
• technical documentation for program support, medical diagnostic equipment, computer and communication equipment and infrastructure, and other equipment required to provide telemedicine services (submitted by the applicant at the request of the CIEM).

Based on the applications received, the CIEM in cooperation with the applicant, determines the fulfilment of the conditions regarding the technical capabilities, correctness and security of the information system, software support, medical-diagnostic equipment, computer and information-communication equipment and infrastructure, other equipment and space intended for the telemedicine centre.The approval for the operation of a telemedicine centre is granted for four years.You can download the application:  Application for a permit to operate a telemedicine centre.

Based on the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on cooperation in promoting the application of information and communication technology for the needs of the healthcare system of the Republic of Croatia of 13 March 2013 (CLASS: 022-03/13-04/86, REGISTRATION NUMBER: 50301-04/12-13-2), the Agreement on cooperation in promoting the application of information and communication technology for the needs of the healthcare system of the Republic of Croatia of 11 July 2013 (CLASS: 022-03/13-07/16, REGISTRATION NUMBER: 534-06-2/1-13-4), the Decision on the implementation of the Agreement on cooperation in promoting the application of information and communication technology for the needs of the healthcare system of the Republic of Croatia of 9 March 2015 (CLASS: 650-01/15-01/09, REGISTRATION NUMBER: 534-11/1-15-1), and Annex I of the Agreement on cooperation in encouraging the application of information and communication technology for the needs of the health system of the Republic of Croatia of 21 December 2017 (CLASS: 650-01/17-01/24, REGISTRATION NUMBER: 534-02-2-2-17-2), it is possible to connect healthcare institutions to the common public health information and communication infrastructure – the HealthNet network.

Following the mentioned documents, the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET is operationally responsible for integrating healthcare institutions into the HealthNet network. CARNET is a network of the academic, scientific and research community of the Republic of Croatia, as well as institutions within the primary and secondary education system. The connection of institutions is carried out using various transmission technologies in the access part of the network via a self-built optical cable, a leased optical cable or a leased line of a certain capacity. CARNET implements leased lines through cooperation with network connectivity service providers, and before selecting a particular service provider and connection technology, conducts market research, including all service providers that have an available service in a specific area and selects the most economically advantageous service.

The Decision on the implementation of the Agreement and Annex I to the Agreement stipulate in more detail that the Croatian Institute of Telemedicine is responsible for coordinating the integration of the information and communication infrastructure between health institutions and CARNET into a single computer and communication network for the needs of the health system. Under Article 277, paragraph 1 of the Health Care Act (OG 100/2018 and 147/20), the Croatian Institute for Emergency Medicine, as the legal successor, took over and continued all activities of the Croatian Institute of Telemedicine.

With the goal of more efficient and higher-quality provision of information and communication technology services to the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, connecting a healthcare institution to the HealthNet network enables the following:

• the connection of the health care facility location into a unified network, with the possibility of logical isolation for specific user groups,
• access to external networks inside and outside Croatia (Internet) with connected user-friendly network services (network security, VPN, etc.),
• highly available network connection to the CARNET backbone (backup connection) using links from different operators and different routes,
• support for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and services, as well as the development of new functionalities through the network operations centre – CARNET NOC, and
• reporting and analytics on service usage connectivity due to better planning of future connectivity needs for institution locations.

All of the above is provided to healthcare system institutions at no additional cost, ensuring that institutions connected to HealthNet and the backbone of the CARNET network receive a complete, consolidated service.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health, based on Article 14, paragraph 1 and Article 26 of the Act on Data and Information in Healthcare (OG 14/2019), hereby, to save costs and ensure financial stabilization of the healthcare system, encourage healthcare institutions to connect to the HealthNet network free of charge.

Concerning the above, we are free to refer you to the technical and organizational conditions and the technical data questionnaire that need to be completed when expressing interest in connecting healthcare institutions to the HealthNet network.