On Friday morning, the Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, revealed the details of a phone call he had with a doctor from the Mytilene Health Center. According to investigations by EOPYY (National Organization for Healthcare Provision) and IDIKA (eHealth Governance Center), the doctor had been prescribing medications worth thousands of euros to her husband and two daughters, even during the late hours of the night.
Speaking to Action24, Georgiadis shared the story: “At first, I called the mobile number listed in the IDIKA system, but no one answered. So, I called the health center, and spoke to the director, and he gave me the phone number for her home. I called, and her husband answered, and told me to call back in five minutes. Eventually, she picked up.”
“I don’t think she was surprised by why I was calling. I told her, ‘Dear doctor, the anti-fraud systems have flagged the doctors with the highest levels of irregularity, and you’re number one by far,'” Georgiadis continued.
During the conversation, the Minister confronted the doctor about the sheer volume of drugs she had prescribed: “I see that you’ve prescribed thousands of euros worth of medications to Mr. [name omitted] just for August, thousands more to a 14-year-old girl, and even more to a 12-year-old. She responded, ‘They’re my husband and children.'”
Georgiadis also noted that the prescriptions were written during unusual hours—between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.—either from her home or the health center. Additionally, she was prescribed drugs that were incompatible with each other, with no medical protocol to justify their use.
When asked why she had prescribed three different types of statins to her eldest daughter, the doctor replied, “She has a very serious condition, but don’t worry, it won’t happen again.” Georgiadis retorted, “I didn’t know I had the power to heal as well!” At that point, the doctor seemed flustered and offered to explain herself, but Georgiadis cut her off: “No need, you can explain it to the authorities. I called you because you’re first on the list.”
To recap, as announced by the Health Minister on Wednesday, this doctor had written a total of 705 prescriptions for 1,818 packages of medications to her husband, two daughters, and herself.
