title: [The position and role of occupational medicine and specific health care of workers].
abstract: Specific care for workers' health has been largely deficient during the past decade, despite the existing legislation. Consequently, the protection of workers' health has been seriously endangered, with the resultant long-term damage. The main reasons for this were the absence of clearly defined responsibilities regarding the financing and execution of the specific health care measures as well as lack of penalty for their non-implementation. As a result, there was indifference on the part of enterprises, indifference and inadequate organization of occupational health services as executors of the specific health care measures, and indulgence on the part of the court, inspecting services and other competent bodies. The situation could be helped only if a completely different approach, suited to the market economy, were adopted. The State should prescribe only the general rules, while the carrying out of specific health care should, with rare exceptions, be left to the interested parties, enterprises in the first place, and to the law of supply and demand. Naturally, such approach can be successful only in the legal State where the ownership of enterprises and professional services is strictly defined and the court and inspection services are free to act independently. Only then will the responsibility of the owners in respect to the breaking of rules, impairing workers' health and unprofessional work of health and other personnel be raised to an appropriately high level. In such an environment the place and role of occupational health activity as well as its name are bound to see a radical change.
authors.affiliation: Klinicki bolnicki centar Firule Split i Republicki fond zdravstvenog osiguranja i zdravstva Hrvatske, Split.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kurajica
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Curin
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D009787:Occupational Medicine; D015022:Yugoslavia
vernacular_title: Mjesto i uloga djelatnosti medicine rada i specificne zdravstvene zastite radnika u zastiti zdravlja radnika.