Long-term patients feel underserved

Six out of 10 patients suffering from long-term health problems in Greece do not have a health adviser and four in 10 are forced to follow treatment regimens that do not suit their needs, according to the preliminary findings of a new study.

Another alarming discovery made in the pilot phase of the study being conducted by the Organization for Quality Assurance in Healthcare (ODIPY) and the University of Athens' School of Health Sciences as part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Patient-Reported Indicators Surveys (PaRIS), was the large number of patients (44.6%) who have to convey their medical history themselves, usually verbally, in the absence of a proper record.

Researchers surveyed more than 400 patients suffering from long-term health problems in the first phase of the study, ahead of the main part, which aims to question 10...