Asst. prof. Sc.D. Vanja Slijepčević Saftić awarded international scholarship for the course “Law and Health”

Asst. prof. Sc.D. Vanja Slijepčević Saftić was awarded international scholarship enabling her to attend a 7-day course Law and Health organised by Maastricht University and Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), attended by 32 medical and legal professionals from 25 countries.

The interdisciplinary approach to solving problems related to protecting patients’ rights within the framework of human rights protections, was based on the lectures delivered by pre-eminent lecturers from the USA and Europe and intensive work in small groups.

Continuous cooperation between the legal and medical professionals with the implementation of the general principles of human rights in patient care, including the rights and responsibilities of both the patients and the health care providers improves the quality of problem solving within the framework of health care. Special attention was focused on system issues, discrimination, social exclusion and risk groups.

Studying the interaction of law and public health with implementing bio-ethical principles was especially interesting. Each of the participants had to design and structure a ‘case’ of violating human rights in the health system and to present it. After the presentation, followed by discussing suggestions made by colleagues in the audience, s/he was expected to present the best possible solution for the individual patient.