On the occasion of World Patient Safety Day, celebrated on September 17, the “Patient Safety – Serbia 2026” conference was held at ICT Hub in Belgrade.
The conference was organized by the Serbian Patients’ Association, the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers INOVIA, and the companies Genial and Heliant, with the aim of bringing together representatives of the healthcare system, institutions, patients, and the pharmaceutical industry and opening a dialogue on improving patient safety.
The event was opened by MD/PhD Arsen Ristić from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and Anđelka Zečević from the Serbian Patient Safety Association. The program was hosted by Filip Maljković from Heliant.
The first panel, “Towards a Patient Safety Ecosystem,” featured MSc Pharm. Spec. Jelena Mitrašinović from the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia, MD Ivan Ivanović from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut,” Savo Pilipović from the Serbian Patients’ Association, MSc Jelena Kovačev from the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina, and MD Marija Glavinić Mijić from Zemun Healthcare Centre. The panel was moderated by Anđelka Zečević.
The second panel, “Patient Safety for People with Chronic Diseases in an Era of New Therapeutic Opportunities and Global Challenges,” brought together MD/PhD Arsen Ristić from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, MD Milena Čavić from the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia and the Serbian Association of Cancer Researchers, MD Bojan Trkulja from the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers INOVIA, MD Željko Popadić from the National Health Insurance Fund, and Bojana Marković from the Blue Circle Association. The panel was moderated by MD Nevena Veljković from Genial.
As part of the program, MD Branimir Ljubić from Rutgers University in the USA delivered a presentation entitled “Patient Safety and the Development of Predictive Models in Medicine.”
This year’s World Patient Safety Day is dedicated to safe healthcare for people living with noncommunicable diseases. The World Health Organization highlights the risks patients face during long-term treatment and frequent interactions with the healthcare system, particularly in the case of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases.
The “Patient Safety – Serbia 2026” conference provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and address important issues related to patient safety, improving healthcare, and the role of different stakeholders in creating a safer healthcare system.