BIRN looks inside the ‘wild west’ of private healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where even licencing rules are flouted.
Branka Mrkic
Under the law, a private polyclinic may operate only after it has been established as a legal entity, registered with the courts, and granted an operating licence by the relevant cantonal ministry of health.
A healthcare institution may begin providing services only after the ministry issues a final decision confirming that it meets all statutory requirements.
These include standards concerning the premises, employees, hygiene and sanitary measures, and medical equipment.
A clinic must also be included in the cantonal Register of Private Healthcare Institutions.
The West Herzegovina Canton health ministry told BIRN that Mart Polyclinic is not in its Register of Private Health Institutions. It said it was up to the Inspectorate to take any action. The Inspectorate said the clinic was closed and sealed.
According to business registry records, Mart Polyclinic reported total revenue of 5,000 Bosnian marks, roughly 2,500 euros, in 2024, and 1,700 marks in 2025.
Among the polyclinic’s staff is Zrinka Pribudic, identified as a specialist in plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery from the coastal city of Split in neighbouring Croatia. Business records also identify her as the director of the clinic.
However, according to the Medical Chamber of West Herzegovina Canton, Pribudic does not hold a licence to practice medicine in the canton where Ljubuski is located.
Hadzalic said Pribudic was “not currently providing” any services and that videos posted on the clinic’s social media accounts and showing Pribudic performing procedures were merely of a promotional nature.
“We’re promoting her in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Hadzalic said. “We have to prepare the market so that, once we start operating, we’ll already have patients.” She insisted Pribudic has been issued a licence to practice by the “Medical Chamber of Bosnia and Hercegovina”, a body that does not exist.
Hadzalic said Pribudic did not wish to talk to the media and declined to provide a contact number or address for her.
Google reviews of the clinic specifically refer to Pribudic.
“Zrinka is truly an excellent doctor,” wrote one satisfied customer. “She explained everything to me in detail and prepared me for the part of the recovery that worried me the most. I’m really happy with the results. I highly recommend them!”
BIRN was unable to reach Pribudic via the University Hospital Centre Split, where she is employed, or the Matulic Polyclinic in Split, where she also works.
BIRN also found that Dr. Josip Bakovic, an abdominal surgeon from the Croatian capital, Zagreb, is not licenced by the Medical Chamber of the West Herzegovina Canton despite the fact the Futura Polyclinic in Siroki Brijeg said he treats its patients roughly once a month. Bakovic could not be reached for comment.
In 2022, the Vatanmed Polyclinic in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, hailed the arrival of “famous Turkish doctor” Ozcan Ciklatekerlio
“Let pain become a thing of the past with revolutionary therapy,” it wrote in a social media post, and invited patients to book appointments for radiofrequency ablation treatments intended to eliminate pain in the back, knees, and neck.
The Sarajevo Canton Medical Chamber, however, said Ciklatekerlio did not hold a licence to practice in Bosnia.
Contacted on WhatsApp, Ciklatekerlio said he held consultations with patients in Sarajevo “once or twice”.
“As far as I remember, the procedure for obtaining permission was complicated, and we did not want to deal with it because I was very busy at the time,” he said. However, by law, even consultations require approval from the cantonal health ministry, which told BIRN Ciklatekerlio was not on its list of approved consultants.
Vatanmed Polyclinic did not respond to requests for comment.
Unapproved ‘consultancy’ work
