In crisis, Greece strives to consolidate medical care

In crisis, Greece strives to consolidate medical care

Two recent reports identified problems in the Greek health system.

The government cut Greece's public hospital budget by 25 percent between 2009 and 2011. [AFP]

Greece's health ministry is merging clinics and creating a new primary national healthcare network in an effort to make the system more efficient amid reduced government spending brought about by austerity measures.

Three million Greeks do not have health insurance and rely on free clinics for care.

The authorities closed the clinics for a month to improve how they operate, but the move set off strikes by doctors and invited public criticism that Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis is oblivious to the welfare of the uninsured.

Georgiadis imposed controversial measures, including charging a 5 euro admission fee to state hospitals and changing the pricing of drugs, saying it resulted in lower costs to patients and the state. He also said that in order to shorten waiting lists, doctors will soon conduct surgeries for a fee, a portion of which will go to the hospitals' budget.

The government is correct to consolidate clinics and make the system more cost-efficient, said Antonis Klapsis, head of research at the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy in Athens.

"Huge amounts of money have been wasted in the last decades on unnecessary medicine, overpriced equipment, and under-the-table payments. What Georgiadis is trying to do is to put an end to the chaos," Klapsis told SETimes.

But there has been resistance. An earlier proposal to make the hospital admission fee 25 euros was withdrawn, and doctors last month occupied clinics in protest. Some have heckled and jostled...