In public electronic consultation The Ministry of Health’s bill “Reform of the institution of the Personal Physician – Creation of University Health Centers and other provisions” was delivered today, Wednesday morning.
The bill will remain open for public consultation until 9:50 pm on October 8.
According to the Ministry of Health, all citizens will now be able to register free of charge with a doctor in the area where they live and reside, as the number of people who have the opportunity to become Personal Doctors is increasing significantly.
They are also given financial incentives for young doctors. In particular, each doctor who chooses to train in the specialties of General/Family Medicine or Internal Pathology in 2025 will receive a fixed amount of 40 thousand euros in terms of gross income.
At the same time, the Personal Pediatrician is being established. In the first phase, around 530 thousand children will have free access for the first time, according to the Ministry of Health.
In addition, 7 University Health Centers will be established, one in each Faculty/Department of Medicine in the country, where professors will work. Telemedicine Centers will operate in these centers, while the Telemedicine Network will have 3,500 home care points throughout the country. According to the ministry, patients will therefore be able to receive home care with uninterrupted medical monitoring 24 hours a day, wherever they live in the country.
The 7 main changes
In more detail, the seven main changes introduced by the proposed law:
- More personal doctors: The ranks of Personal Physicians are increasing as all field service physicians and physicians who wish to acquire the specialty of General/Family Medicine during their training are added. The Ministry of Health emphasizes that all Personal Physicians in each rank will be trained so that they can perform their function more effectively, especially in relation to Prevention.
- Financial incentives for young doctors: For the first time, 40 thousand euros are being awarded as a fixed gross income to doctors who choose to train in the specialties of General/Family Medicine and Internal Pathology in 2025.
- Automatic registration. Citizens who do not register with a Personal Doctor of their choice by 01.06.2025 will be automatically registered by the system with a Personal Doctor. It should be noted that registration will be done at the level of the Municipality or Neighboring Municipalities so that the citizen has access to a doctor close to where he or she lives, reducing access barriers.
- Establishment of a performance indicator system for private doctors. An efficient system of performance indicators for private doctors is established, based on objective data, such as the participation of the registered population in prevention actions, etc.
- Personal pediatrician for children: The first phase of free access to a personal pediatrician for 530,000 children aged 0 to 16 has begun. The Ministry of Health notes that it intends to increase the number of available pediatricians by 100, in order to cover more than half a million children in the first phase and in a subsequent phase to increase the coverage rate of the child population.
- Seven University Health Centers: University Health Centres are established, one in each Faculty/Department of Medicine in the country. Lecturers will serve in the University Health Centres (5 in each Health Centre for Attica and Thessaloniki and 4 for the remaining regions), focusing on providing Prevention and Health Promotion services to citizens, training PFY doctors for community health promotion programmes and providing telemedicine services.
- Telemedicine centers and 3,500 home care points across the country: Telemedicine stations are being introduced at University Health Centers so that Emergency Medicine faculty can examine citizens living in remote areas and provide appropriate advice to their colleagues so that emergencies can be treated in a timely and efficient manner and unnecessary transfers can be reduced. In addition, the Telemedicine Network includes 3,500 home nursing sites across the country so that patients can receive home care with 24-hour uninterrupted medical monitoring, wherever they live in the country.
Announcement. Georgiadis: Next year, citizens will have access to Teleconsultation from their mobile phones
In his statement, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said that “strengthening primary healthcare is at the heart of our reform project. With our new bill, which was put out for public consultation today, we are strengthening the role of prevention and preventive medicine in our country by establishing a Personal Doctor for every citizen, while also extending the measure to paediatricians with the aim of covering free visits for 530,000 children aged 0-16. Furthermore, from 1/1/2025, with the aim of including more pathologists in the system than already exist, we will provide doctors who choose Pathology or General Medicine as their specialty with a one-off financial incentive of 40,000 euros, in addition to their salary.”
Georgiadis added that “but beyond the Personal Doctor measure, the new bill introduces a very innovative idea that I believe will completely change the map of healthcare. We intend to establish seven University Health Centres, which will function as Telemedicine Stations with the aim of monitoring and effectively dealing with medical incidents for the inhabitants of islands and remote areas. By next summer, on all islands in Greece, citizens will have the option, wherever they are, to access Teleconsultation from their mobile phones. For me, this is a revolution in healthcare that will solve the eternal problem of access to primary healthcare for patients located in remote areas like our islands and, at the same time, will lead to the saving of thousands of lives of our fellow human beings.”
Sr. Agapidaki: Every citizen should have his own personal doctor
In turn, Deputy Minister of Health Irini Agapidaki stressed that “all citizens must have access to healthcare without discrimination, which is a priority for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. At the Ministry of Health, we are constantly working towards this. With this specific bill, we want the system to function more fairly and efficiently. Every citizen must have their own Personal Doctor who will guide them and play an important role in the care and prevention of their health.”
“For the first time, we are encouraging young doctors to choose a specialty that will lead them to become Personal Doctors, while ensuring that 530,000 children have a free Personal Paediatrician. At the same time, the creation of University Health Centres and the introduction of telemedicine are an important first step in strengthening Primary Health Care, seeking to reach all citizens, even if they live in the most remote corners of our country. We continue steadily and effectively with the National Prevent Programme with free preventive examinations and changes in Primary Health Care, to strengthen the Health of the population to prevent diseases, gain more years of healthy life and reduce health inequalities. Our commitment to social justice is realized through tangible results”, added Ms. Agapidaki.