HZZO: There were no interruptions in work due to new certificates for CEZIH

From July 1, access to the Central Health Information System of the Republic of Croatia (CEZIH) can be accessed. is exclusively through the new cards of authorized health workers with qualified certificates, which replaced the previous HZZO smart cards. The new certificates enable secure electronic identification and legally valid electronic signing of medical documentation, and by introducing them, the healthcare system is aligned with new security and regulatory requirements.

In response to Hina’s query, the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) states that by June 30, it had received around 52,000 requests for the issuance of new qualified certificates, noting that this number is not final because part of the requests were independently received and processed by large hospital systems, including clinical hospital centers.

At the same time, the HZZO does not have data on how many healthcare workers have not yet received the new ID card, pointing out that the project holder is the Ministry of Health, while the Institute provides professional and operational support for its implementation.

In the last 48 hours, 63 requests for the issuance of temporary certificates were received, all of which, according to the HZZO, were issued upon receipt of the request.

Temporary certificates will be valid until July 15, after which their validity is not expected to be extended.

The HZZO emphasizes that due to the exchange of ID cards, there have been no downtimes in the work of surgeries, hospitals or other health institutions, nor problems in the work of CEZIH.

“The goal is to ensure a higher level of security, protection of personal data and reliability of electronic services that are used daily by healthcare workers,” said the HZZO about the introduction of new qualified certificates.

They add that information about the transition to new certificates and ID cards was sent in a timely manner and on several occasions to all relevant stakeholders of the health care system. Healthcare workers who have not yet received their personalized ID cards can contact the regional offices of the HZZO in order to complete the issuing process and enable access to CEZIH.

In order to implement the project, HZZO employees contacted all large hospital systems and health centers, and mobile teams were formed in all 20 regional offices that visited health institutions to receive requests and issue new ID cards.