ZDoctor.hr introduces digital patient guidance in Zadar County during the tourist season
Zadar County is entering the 2026 tourist season with a new digital tool for easier navigation of the healthcare system. It is the ZDoctor.hr platform, an information system intended for visitors and residents who need to quickly find an available clinic, emergency medical assistance or another healthcare service in the county. According to the announcement by Zadar County and Zadar General Hospital, the platform was presented on 24 April 2026 at the second round table entitled “If it is not urgent, it is not for the Emergency Department!”. The project was created in cooperation between Zadar County, the Zadar County Tourist Board and Zadar General Hospital. Its aim is to direct patients more simply toward the appropriate level of healthcare, especially in the period when pressure on clinics and hospital emergency admissions increases due to the large number of visitors.
A platform that guides the patient toward the nearest available service
ZDoctor.hr enables users to search healthcare institutions by location, availability and type of healthcare activity. The platform itself states that users can quickly find open clinics in Zadar County according to their current location and the healthcare service they need. The system brings together data on clinics, emergency services and other relevant healthcare points, reducing the user’s need to search for information in several different places. It is especially important that the platform also offers an overview of distances and locations of healthcare institutions, which can be crucial for people who are not familiar with the local network of healthcare services.
According to information published on ZDoctor.hr, the system is currently in the pilot phase and is being continuously upgraded and updated. The platform also highlights a notice that some data on clinics and working hours may be incomplete or subject to change. Users are therefore advised to contact the clinic before arrival in order to confirm the availability of the service. Such a notice is important because a digital system can significantly speed up patient orientation, but it does not replace direct verification in cases where working hours have changed, a clinic is temporarily unavailable or additional medical guidance is required.
Reducing the burden on hospital emergency admission as one of the main objectives
One of the key reasons for introducing the platform is the effort to direct patients with milder and non-urgent complaints toward appropriate clinics, instead of automatically referring them to hospital emergency admission. Zadar General Hospital announced that ZDoctor represents the first central place for information about emergency medical assistance in Zadar County. In the seasonal months, this problem is particularly pronounced because the number of people staying in the county increases many times over, while some healthcare needs do not require hospital emergency treatment. If a patient can more quickly obtain information about which clinic is nearest and which service is available, the likelihood of an unnecessary visit to the unified hospital emergency admission department is reduced.
Such guidance is also important for patients who truly need emergency hospital care. When emergency admission is relieved of cases that can be treated in a primary or tourist clinic, healthcare professionals have more room to process more serious conditions faster. According to announcements by Zadar County, the platform is conceived as a concrete step toward more sustainable functioning of the emergency system during the season. This does not solve only the issue of information availability, but also the organization of healthcare flows in a destination where the need for medical care increases significantly during the summer.
The tourist season places additional pressure on the healthcare system
Zadar County is one of the important tourist regions on the Adriatic, and seasonal pressure on public services does not concern only traffic, municipal services and safety, but also healthcare. According to data from the eVisitor system reported by tourism sources and media at the beginning of 2026, Croatia recorded more than 21.8 million arrivals and 110.1 million overnight stays in 2025, while Zadar County recorded about 15.5 million tourist overnight stays during that year. Such data show why healthcare infrastructure in coastal counties must be prepared for a period in which the number of service users significantly exceeds the number of permanent residents. In that context, digital tools can help existing capacities be used more rationally.
It is important to emphasize that ZDoctor.hr is not a substitute for medical assessment or for calling emergency services in life-threatening situations. Its function is informational: it guides the user toward an institution or clinic which, according to available data, could be appropriate for the user’s problem. In the case of serious symptoms, accidents, sudden deterioration of health or other urgent circumstances, it remains necessary to act according to the rules of the emergency medical service. The platform is particularly useful in a broad range of situations that require an examination, advice or a basic healthcare service, but do not necessarily have to end at a hospital emergency department.
QR codes, posters and digital totems for easier access to information
In order for information about the new service to spread among users as quickly as possible, the Zadar County Tourist Board prepared promotional materials with QR codes. According to the original information, leaflets, stickers and posters were distributed through local tourist boards throughout the county. In this way, the intention is to make the platform available precisely in the places where visitors most often seek information about their stay in the destination, from tourist offices to accommodation facilities and other contact points. The QR code is a practical way of accessing the platform because the user does not have to remember its address, but can open it directly on a mobile phone.
From June 2026, according to the announcement, the campaign will additionally expand to digital totems and billboards placed at motorway exits and along the busiest roads in Zadar County. Such an advertising layout shows that the project is aimed at users arriving in the destination by road, but also at residents who travel daily along the most heavily used roads. In a public health sense, timely information is often just as important as the availability of the service itself. If a user already knows upon entering the destination that there is a centralized platform for healthcare information, it is more likely that, in case of need, they will turn to a verified channel instead of uncertain or outdated data.
Cooperation between the county, the hospital and the tourism sector
ZDoctor.hr is an example of a project in which tourism management and healthcare are viewed as connected systems. Zadar County has the role of regional self-government and coordinator of public needs, Zadar General Hospital participates from the perspective of a healthcare system that feels the greatest pressure from emergency and hospital cases, while the Zadar County Tourist Board has a network of communication channels toward visitors and local tourist boards. According to data published on the website of the Zadar County Tourist Board, that organization is a regional destination management organization based in Zadar and with a network of members in the county. Exactly such a network can be important for spreading information about services that are not classically tourist services, but directly affect the quality of stay in the destination.
This model of cooperation is important because the healthcare needs of visitors cannot be viewed separately from the overall management of the destination. A tourist who does not know where to seek help will often turn to the most visible or best-known institution, and that is usually a hospital or emergency service. A local resident, on the other hand, may wait longer for a service during the season if the system is not well organized. The platform therefore has a double benefit: it provides visitors with a clearer path to information, and it can help the local population by reducing unnecessary burdens on parts of the system that are already the most exposed.
Tourist clinics and the existing healthcare system
ZDoctor.hr builds on existing forms of healthcare organization during the season. For earlier tourist seasons, the Health Centre of Zadar County published information on its website about tourist clinics intended for non-urgent forms of medical assistance and healthcare services for tourist patients. In the 2025 season, locations of tourist clinics were listed, including Zadar, Biograd na Moru, Starigrad, Pag, Neviđane and Vir, with notes on the period of operation and availability. Although data for each season may change, that system shows that there is a need for special seasonal capacities outside the regular network of practices.
A digital platform can make such information clearer and more easily accessible. Instead of the user searching for lists of clinics on different official websites, ZDoctor.hr seeks to bring them together in a single interface. This is especially important in an area that includes the coast, islands and hinterland, because the distance to the nearest clinic is not the same for all users. For a person located on an island, in a smaller place or outside a larger urban centre, clear information about the nearest available healthcare point can significantly shorten the time needed to find help. The system is therefore important also as a tool of spatial orientation, and not only as a list of healthcare institutions.
What foreign visitors and insured persons from the European Union should know
For visitors from the Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the rules for using healthcare during a temporary stay in Croatia are important. The Croatian Health Insurance Fund states that persons who are mandatorily health insured in another EU Member State, EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom may use healthcare during a temporary stay in Croatia in the same way as insured persons of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, but at the expense of their own health insurance institution. The European Commission also states that the European Health Insurance Card facilitates access to medically necessary healthcare services during a temporary stay abroad.
In earlier information on healthcare for tourists, Zadar County emphasized that citizens of the European Union who are staying temporarily in Croatia and are mandatorily insured in one of the Member States have the right to necessary healthcare on the basis of the European Health Insurance Card, with payment of co-payment where prescribed. For visitors outside those systems, the rules may depend on international agreements, private travel insurance or direct payment for the service. ZDoctor.hr does not change those rights and obligations, but it can help the user more quickly find the institution they should contact and check availability before arrival.
The pilot phase requires data updating and responsible use
Since ZDoctor.hr is in the pilot phase, the key challenge will be the regular maintenance and updating of data. An information system for healthcare services has value only if the user can count on locations, working hours, contacts and types of services being displayed as accurately as possible. That is why the notice about possible incompleteness of data is important both for users and for institutions. The user receives useful initial guidance, but whenever the situation is not urgent, should check the working hours and availability of the clinic. Institutions, on the other hand, receive an incentive to ensure that the data relating to their work are aligned with the real situation on the ground.
The pilot phase also enables the platform to develop according to the real needs of users. If during the season it turns out that certain information is particularly sought after, that some locations are more burdened than others, or that users often need additional language and practical instructions, the system can be upgraded. This is especially important in a destination where the healthcare system must adapt to large seasonal fluctuations. Digital solutions cannot compensate for a shortage of healthcare staff or spatial capacities, but they can help existing resources be used more efficiently and prevent the patient from losing time in the wrong place.
Digital availability as part of a safer destination
Healthcare is an increasingly important part of the overall quality of a tourist destination. Visitors expect that in the case of illness, injury or a sudden need for an examination they can quickly obtain clear and reliable information. The local population at the same time expects that the increased number of people during the season will not significantly disrupt the availability of basic services. ZDoctor.hr is trying to respond precisely to that intersection of public health and tourism. According to announcements by the institutions involved in the project, the platform should contribute to faster patient guidance, reduced pressure on hospital emergency admissions and better coordination of healthcare during the peak of the season.
In practical terms, the success of the platform will depend on three elements: visibility among users, accuracy of data and the readiness of healthcare institutions to keep the system up to date. Promotional materials with QR codes, posters, stickers, digital totems and billboards should solve the first part of the challenge, that is, inform as many people as possible that the platform exists. The second and third parts will be a constant operational task during the season. If it proves functional, ZDoctor.hr could become an important model for other destinations facing similar seasonal pressure on the healthcare system.
Sources:
- ZDoctor.hr – official platform with information on searching clinics, availability, locations and a notice on the pilot phase (link)
- Zadar County – announcement on the presentation of the ZDoctor platform and the cooperation between Zadar County, the Zadar County Tourist Board and Zadar General Hospital (link)
- Zadar General Hospital – announcement “ZDoctor – all clinics in one place” on the purpose of the platform and its presentation at the round table “If it is not urgent, it is not for the Emergency Department!” (link)
- Health Centre of Zadar County – information on healthcare for tourists and tourist clinics in the seasonal period (link)
- Croatian Health Insurance Fund – information on using healthcare in the Republic of Croatia during a temporary stay (link)
- European Commission – information on the European Health Insurance Card and access to healthcare services during a temporary stay abroad (link)
- Croatian Bureau of Statistics – overview of official statistical releases on tourist arrivals and overnight stays in Croatia (link)