The draft law of the Ministry of Health “Reform of the institution of Personal Physician – Establishment of University Health Centers and other provisions of the Ministry of Health” was introduced in the plenary session of the Parliament today.

The Bill proposes to reform the institution of the personal physician, given that, according to the explanatory memorandum, “the majority of currently existing physicians in the specialties of general/family medicine and internal medicine do not wish to join the institution of the personal physician because the financial incentives are lower than the alternatives available to them in the private sector. These have resulted in the personal physician reform being unimplemented by about fifty-five percent (55%) of all health care recipients.”

In regard to the personal physician, with the provisions of the bill:

– Remains as mandatory for the population to register with a personal physician.

– Maintains the function of the personal physician as a gateway to public health services, but other physicians also have a relevant right of referral, after informing the personal physician about the issues of their specialty

– The right to register with only one personal physician, with the possibility of transferring up to two times per year

– The limits of two thousand (2,000) and one thousand five hundred (1,500) patients per staff physician and pediatrician, respectively, remain

– The possibility of designating, as staff physicians, physicians in specialties other than general/family medicine and internal medicine is eliminated

– Include among the categories of personal doctors private doctors, doctors serving in field service positions and graduates of medical schools if they wish to obtain a specialist qualification in Greece,

– Incentive of forty thousand (40,000) euros is established for the acquisition of the specialties of general/family medicine and internal medicine.

The bill provides for the conversion of Health Centers into University Health Centers, which are linked to Departments of Medicine of public Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). “The proposed reform is expected to make a decisive contribution to the upgrading of primary health care services”, “to ensure the continuous and optimal training of health professionals throughout the country”, “to provide high quality medical services to the residents of the country, regardless of their geographical dispersion, with the use of modern digital telemedicine tools”, as stated in the explanatory memorandum.

In the Social Affairs Committee, where the bill was discussed in the previous days, New Democracy supported the bill. SYRIZA, KKE, New Left and “Niki” voted against. PASOK, Hellenic Solution, Plefsi Eleftherias and “Spartans” made reservations about their final stance in the plenary session.