Dear Sir/Madam,

The Medical Chamber of Montenegro hereby submits an initiative proposing that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Health Insurance Fund and the ministry responsible for tourism, a special seasonal allowance be introduced for physicians who are directly exposed to an increased workload and greater intensity of work during the tourist season.

During the summer tourist season, and in certain municipalities also during the winter tourist season, the number of people staying in Montenegro increases significantly. This results not only in a higher number of medical examinations and interventions in tourist centres, but also in additional pressure on emergency medical services, primary healthcare centres, general hospitals, the Clinical Centre and other referral institutions. During these periods, physicians work under conditions of increased on-call duties, standby obligations, overtime work and greater professional responsibility, often without the possibility of reducing the workload by engaging a sufficient number of additional staff.

Such seasonal pressure adds to the long-standing shortage of physicians within the public healthcare system. When a limited number of physicians are required to meet both the regular healthcare needs of the population and the sudden increase in demand during the tourist season, the risks of professional burnout, staff attrition and reduced accessibility of healthcare services increase.

The revenues and other benefits generated by the tourist season are distributed among a wide range of stakeholders: hoteliers, hospitality businesses, accommodation providers, tourism organisations and agencies, transport operators, retailers, citizens, local and state-owned enterprises, as well as national and local budgets. The healthcare system, however, directly bears part of the cost arising from the increased number of healthcare service users.

Accessible and high-quality medical care is an integral part of destination safety and an important prerequisite for a successful tourist season. It is therefore both fair and justified in the public interest that a portion of public revenues generated through increased tourism activity be directed towards physicians who bear the additional seasonal workload.

The proposed approach is also supported by comparative legal and practical experience, as demonstrated by the practice of the Republic of Croatia, where part of the funds generated from tourism is allocated towards additional remuneration for physicians due to increased workload, responsibility and professional burden during the tourist season.

The Medical Chamber of Montenegro considers it essential to formally recognise the link between increased tourist activity and the increased burden placed on the healthcare system, and to establish a stable, transparent and pre-planned mechanism through which physicians would receive additional compensation throughout the entire duration of the tourist season.

We propose that the Ministry of Finance initiate interdepartmental consultations and establish a working group composed of representatives of the Ministry of Health, the ministry responsible for tourism, the Health Insurance Fund, representative healthcare institutions, local self-government units and the Medical Chamber of Montenegro.

The task of the working group would be to define the categories of eligible beneficiaries, measurable criteria, the payment mechanism and any necessary regulatory amendments, so that the measure could be implemented from the beginning of the next tourist season, or earlier should budgetary conditions allow.

We kindly request that the Ministry of Finance consider this initiative as soon as possible and propose a date for a meeting.

The Medical Chamber of Montenegro is ready to participate in the preparation of the regulatory and financial model.

Yours sincerely,

PRESIDENT
Dr Žanka Cerović

Attachments (original language):

• MIF - turisticki dodatak - odgovor.pdf