October the 8th, 2024 – The Croatian startup Brave Bear has created the innovative EUDoctor platform, which aims to connect patients from Croatia with medical professionals throughout the bloc.
As Borivoje Dokler/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian startup Brave Bear emerged from Algebra’s business incubator at the end of spring. It has already made waves, seeing the future of its innovative platform EUDoctor, which connects patients with doctors through online consultations, reach outside of Croatia.
“The creation of a legal framework for the operation of such projects in other European Union countries is changing much faster than it is here. That means the potential utilisation of this service, which has provided medical services to a larger number of users, is much greater on the other side of the border,” those behind the Croatian startup Brave Bear believe.
the croatian startup brave bear’s eudoctor platform provides another path
According to the startup’s co-founder and marketing director Tonka Hibler, their business idea was to facilitate access to healthcare for patients through the use of very modern technologies. They did this by creating the EUDoctor platform that enables patients to get consultations with doctors faster.
“Our desire isn’t to replace the current traditional healthcare system, but to open an additional channel for healthcare advice and consultation to all those in need. Currently, we’ve got services that provide general consultations, and our goal is to include a wide range of specialist services”, emphasised Tonka Hibler.
In Croatia, this kind of platform is a complete novelty, but in other European Union Member States, this kind of practice already exists. “Our EUDoctor platform gives patients the opportunity to consult doctors without waiting and travelling, which is already common in other EU countries. We believe that this is the future of healthcare, especially when it comes to specialist examinations that don’t require the physical presence of the patient,” explained Tonka Hibler.
help for an overburdened healthcare system
The Croatian startup Brave Bear see their EUDoctor project as an addition to the healthcare system, which they know is extremely overburdened. There are long waits for examinations, and there’s a possibility that queues in waiting rooms can be reduced, and the help that patients both need and want can be accelerated.
“This innovative platform enables patients to get advice or a second opinion without physically going to the doctor’s office, and gives doctors the opportunity to work with patients from all over the EU, without leaving their country. Just try to imagine how good an option it is to be able to get a second opinion on your medical issue in a short time from the best experts on the other side of Europe?
legal challenges in croatia
“Unfortunately, Croatia still hasn’t fully harmonised its laws with EU directives, meaning that we’ve been forced to move our operations to another EU country so that we can continue to provide services”, Tonka Hibler stated. From the very beginning of their work, they say, they’ve been cooperating with top legal experts to ensure that their business is in full compliance with current laws.
Tonka Hibler added that the Croatian startup Brave Bear team are working to ensure that Croatian citizens can use the EUDoctor platform without problems. That includes not only consultations, but also the possibility of using prescriptions issued through the EUDoctor platform. Currently, users in Croatia can use the service for accessing a psychologist through the application, and soon they’ll expand the availability of other services as well.
transparency and ethics are of paramount importance
“We’re aware that what we do is interesting to many people, and we’ve always been and want to remain a transparent and responsible startup that operates in accordance with the highest ethical standards.
Our mission is clear – to improve healthcare through innovative solutions that are already common in many EU countries and thus help not only Croatia but people all over the EU. I can proudly say that the quality of our EUDoctor app has been recognised even outside of Croatia.
Negotiations with a new round of investments in our startup are ongoing, and there are several interested investors. We’re sure that EUDoctor will become a leader in telemedicine in the entire EU. However, we’re aware that we’re still at the very beginning of everything, and that there are still challenges waiting for us along the way”, concluded Tonka Hibler.
