Conditions for health-care workers as health-care providers
Health-care practice or services may be provided by adequately qualified health-care workers (who have a professional education and are qualified to work independently).
Health-care workers may generally perform independent work in health care after completing their internship and passing a professional examination. In order to perform independent work in health care, health-care workers exercising individual medical professions must also be entered in the register; for certain professions, a valid licence is also required. The licence is issued for a period of seven years, with the possibility of renewal on the basis of evidence of professional qualification for further work.
Health-care services may be provided by specialist doctors, doctors of dental medicine and specialist doctors of dental medicine in accordance with their professional qualifications, provided they fulfil the conditions determined by law:
- specialist doctors may perform a health-care service in accordance with their professional qualification if they have been awarded the title of Doctor of Medicine with the indication of a specialisation, and fulfil further conditions determined by law;
- doctors of dental medicine may perform a health-care service in accordance with their professional qualification if they have been awarded the title of Doctor of Dental Medicine or Specialist Doctor of Dental Medicine with the indication of a specialisation, and fulfil further conditions determined by law.
Further conditions for doctors refer to:
- adequate qualifications (internship, professional examination)
- entry in the register, and
- (after completing a specialisation and passing a specialist exam) the acquisition of a permit for independent work in a particular field of health care (licence).
A pharmacy may be managed by a pharmacist who, apart from the general conditions for concluding an employment relationship, also fulfils the following conditions:
- has passed a professional examination;
- has mastery of the Slovenian language;
- is not prohibited, with a final judgement, from exercising his/her profession or providing pharmacy services.
Professional training
A health-care worker has the right and obligation to participate in continuous professional training (monitoring of development, practical training, assessment of knowledge).
Educational institutions and institutions for internship and specialisation
A public health care institution which is awarded the title of educational institution by the Minister of Health must enable clinical practice for students of the medical faculty and other medical schools.
In cooperation with chambers, the Minister of Health shall also determine the conditions to be met by a public health- care institution for the provision of internship and specialisation of health-care workers.
Temporary provision of health-care services
Health-care workers who are citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland providing health-care services and exercising their profession in accordance with the regulations of the country of establishment, may provide health-care services in Slovenia on a temporary basis. Prior to the first provision of temporary services, a health-care worker must notify the Ministry of Health, which makes a temporary entry in the register (or submits the application to the chamber with public authorisation for keeping the register). If the profession of a health-care worker affects public health or safety, his/her professional qualification shall also be verified prior to the first provision of services, and no automatic recognition of professional qualifications shall apply. Health-care services shall be provided with the title of a health care worker’s profession applicable in the country of establishment, and the title shall be indicated in the language of the health-care worker’s country of establishment.
Emergency medical assistance and continuous health care
Emergency medical assistance means the implementation of necessary measures by emergency medical assistance teams for persons whose lives are directly endangered due to an injury or disease or for persons whose lives could become endangered in a short time due to their medical condition. Emergency medical assistance includes emergency services the omission of which would soon result in irreparable and severe damage to health or in death. A doctor is obliged to provide such assistance in accordance with the Medical Deontology Code and in accordance with scientific achievements and scientifically verified methods. A doctor may not condition the provision of emergency medical assistance on advance payment.
Emergency transport is he transport of patients whose lives are directly endangered due to an injury or disease or patients whose lives could soon become endangered due to their medical condition. Emergency transport shall be provided with a reanimation ambulance, emergency ambulance or, exceptionally, a non-emergency ambulance.
The Emergency medical assistance service, which is an integral part of the public health-care service network, is organised for the provision of continuous Emergency medical assistance and the emergency transport of injured and ill persons in the Republic of Slovenia.
In private health-care institutions, health care in the form of a duty service which also performs the duties of Emergency medical assistance is provided:
- on holidays,
- on weekdays, from 8 pm until 7 am the next day, and
- from Friday from 8 pm until Monday to 7 am.
Continuous health care means the 24-hour provision of health-care services, including the implementation of regular health care practice, continuous emergency medical assistance and continuous supply of medications.
