Private medical practice

Health-care services may be provided by health-care workers with suitable professional education who are professionally competent to work independently in their profession and meet the conditions determined separately for each profession.

Certain professional tasks in health care may also be carried out by health-care workers with suitable professional education of in a field not related to health care.

Health-care workers and co-workers, except physicians, may work independently in health care after concluding their traineeship and passing professional examination.

Nevertheless, the following persons may work independently in health care:

•  a registered nurse (link) and a registered midwife (link) after concluding at least a three-year study or a study comprising 4,600 hours that include theoretical and practical education;
• masters of pharmacy (link) after concluding at least a five-year university study that comprises at least four years of theoretical and practical education, and at least six months of practical training at a chemist or hospital under the leadership of a pharmaceutical department at the hospital, and have passed professional examination.

 In addition, a registered nurse (link), a registered midwife (link), a head nurse (link) and masters of pharmacy (link) must be entered in the register and have a valid licence to work independently in health care.

Private health care workers who may provide private health-care services:

•  specialist doctors;
• doctors of dental medicine;
• specialist doctors of dental medicine;
• masters of pharmacy;
• specialist masters of pharmacy;
• pharmaceutical engineers;
• pharmacy technicians;
• specialist medical biochemists;
• clinical psychologists;
• professors of health education;
• head nurses;
• registered nurses;
• midwives;
• patient care technicians;
• nursing assistants;
• registered midwives;
• sanitary engineers;
• senior sanitary technicians;
• sanitary technician;
• occupational therapists;
• radiological engineers;
• physiotherapists;
• specialist senior neurophysiotherapists;
• engineers of laboratory biomedicine;
• laboratory technicians;
• orthotists and prothetists;
• dental hygienists;
• prothetists;
• dental technician;
• dental assistant;
• specialist clinical speech therapists;
• specialists in medical genetics;
• medical microbiology specialists.

Private health-care activity may be pursued by the following private health-care co-workers:

• laboratory co-worker I in health care,
• laboratory co-worker II in health care,
• speech therapist in health care,
• defectologist in health care,
• psychologist in health care,
• dietician in health care,
• social worker in health care,
• medical physicist,
• chemical technician.

Legal basis

• Health Services Act (ZZDej)
• List of professions of healthcare workers and co-workers
• Rules on the requirements to be met by the persons engaged in private health activities
• Pravilnik o vodenju registra zasebnih zdravstvenih delavcev
• Rules on traineeships and professional examinations for healthcare and allied professionals in healthcare activities
• Rules concerning curriculum and requirements of the phramacists' specialization programmes
• Rules on specialisation in medical biochemistry
• Rules on the specialisation of healthcare and allied professionals
• Rules on the register and licences of nursing and midwifery providers
• Rules on the professional training of medical and non-medical professionals
• Rules on the register and the licensing of operators physiotherapy activities
• Order on the List of health care providers that have to be entered in the register
• Rules on designation of professions for which will be examined professional qualification of tender, before first performing of services

Registration and appropriate status form are required in order to pursue the activity.

Private health-care activity may be pursued by private health-care workers as natural persons or legal entities.

Evidence

Extract from the Business Register (AJPES) the competent authority acquires it ex officio.

Legal basis

• Health Services Act (ZZDej)

Private health activities can be performed by natural or legal entities.

Private health-care workers who are natural entities acquire the permit with entry in the register of private health-care professionals.

Private health-care workers who are organised as legal entities, apply for the permit at the Ministry of Health after the registration in the Companies Register.

They must fulfil the same conditions in both cases, only that legal entities do not fulfil the condition on working relationships.

The conditions for performing private health-care activities are:

•  appropriate education and qualification for independent work;
• not in a working relationship;
• no final court judgement was issued to them to prohibit the performance of health-care services or profession;
• they have appropriate premises, equipment and if required by the nature of work, also appropriate staff;
• they acquire the opinion of the competent chamber or professional association.

The entry in the register of private health-care workers is performed upon the submission of the application.

The candidate must attach the following documents to the application for the issue of the permit for performing private health-care activities:

•  confirmation on the registration of legal entity (decision of the court on the entry of the establishment of the entity in the court register);
• confirmation that the holder of health-care activities has the required education for performing the envisaged activity and is qualified for independent work (final exam certificate, diploma;
• confirmation on professional exam, licence), certificate of no criminal record that cannot be older than three months (confirmation that the court has not issued a final judgement to the holder of the health-care activity to prohibit the implementation of health-care services or entry into the profession);
• legal basis for the implementation of activities with the holder of the health-care activity (employment contract or other legal basis) and the confirmation that the holder of the health-care activity is not in a working relationship;
• confirmation that appropriate premises and equipment, and if required by the nature of work, appropriate staff are provided (land register extract on the ownership of premises, sales contract or lease contract or the contract on the use concluded with the appropriate health-care institution or other legal or natural entity),;
• operating permit for the premises where the health-care activity will be implemented (issued by the competent administrative unit) – this appendix is not necessary if option a is circled under item 2 of the application form;
• the opinion of the competent chamber or professional association for the holder of health-care activity.

A health-care worker (natural entity) who fulfils the above-mentioned conditions may begin providing private health-care services as of the day of issuing the decision on entry in the register of private health-care workers.

The entry in the register of private health-care workers is performed upon the application of the individual which must contain:

•  name and surname, date and place of birth;
• permanent residence address (place, street and house number);
• profession or professional education;
• type of health-care activity which the person wants to perform;
• the head office or premises where private health-care activities will be implemented, including the description of premises;
• equipment and staff;
• knowledge of Slovenian or on bilingual areas, the language of the local nationality.

The application for the entry in the register of private health-care workers must contain evidence on the fulfilment of all prescribed conditions. The application for the issue of the decision on the entry in the register of private health-care workers must also contain the following documents:

• certificate of no criminal record that cannot be older than three months (confirmation that the court has not issued a final judgement to the holder of the health-care activity to prohibit the implementation of health-care service or profession);
• the confirmation that the holder of health-care activity is not in a working relationship – this must be submitted at the start of the implementation of health-care activity at the latest;
• the confirmation that appropriate premises and equipment, and if required by the nature of work, appropriate staff are provided (land register extract on the ownership of premises, sales contract or lease contract or the contract on the use concluded with the appropriate health-care institution or other legal or natural entity);
• operating permit for the premises where health-care activity will be implemented (issued by the competent administrative unit) – this appendix is not necessary if option a is circled under item 2 of the application form;
• the opinion of the competent chamber or professional association for the holder of health-care activity.

Details