Exercising the right to a second expert (medical) opinion in Serbian law

Upon personal request, a patient has the right to seek a second expert opinion on the state of their health from a medical doctor or dentist who has not been directly involved in providing the initial healthcare service. This right is declaratively stipulated in the Law on Patients' Rights. However, the legal system of Serbia lacks by-laws that would more closely regulate the matter of exercising the right to a second expert opinion. This right is exercised upon a patient's personal request, but it is not covered by mandatory health insurance and, therefore, the patient must pay for this service out of their own funds. The paper discusses the normative regulation of the second expert opinion and how this right is exercised in Serbia highlighting the inadequacies in its current regulation. The paper proposes to include the service of a second expert opinion among the rights covered by mandatory health insurance (with a limitation on the number of requests).