The business activities of the president of the Athens Medical Association, Giorgos Patoulis, will come under the scrutiny of the National Transparency Authority following information that came to light in the course of the investigation into the death of Giorgos Mazonakis.

As Adonis Georgiadis announced on Tuesday afternoon during a press conference at the Ministry of Health, all the information that had been sent by the Panhellenic Medical Association regarding Giorgos Patoulis and his companies, which had been the subject of reports in recent days, was forwarded to the National Transparency Authority. “Since public opinion has been provoked, I was obliged to do so,” the Health Minister said, adding that “we are all subject to scrutiny”.

It is recalled that Mr Patoulis had responded several days ago to the specific case and reports of his involvement in two facilities in Thessaloniki, speaking of the “systematic distortion of my professional activities through inaccurate and defamatory reports, aimed at creating false impressions and politically exploiting the loss of one of our fellow citizens”.

The First Results from MedWatch

At the same time, the sweeping inspections carried out by the MedWatch digital tool over the past ten days appear to be putting a brake on the illegal provision of regenerative medicine treatments, following the death of Giorgos Mazonakis on a plasma exchange machine at the medical practice on Karneadou Street.

The Health Minister presented the first results of the inspections carried out by MedWatch at a press conference he held this afternoon.

According to what he said, since the new tool began operating, online advertisements for various medical procedures have fallen by 91%. Specifically, from 141 advertisements “picked up” by the tool approximately 10 days ago, there were just 13 yesterday. “The ‘red’ findings are also steadily declining. So it appears that there is compliance,” Mr Georgiadis noted.

The Findings

More specifically, MedWatch found 119 findings at dental practices for hyaluronic acid and Botox treatments. The Health Minister stressed that the tool is expected to “move into” dental practices as well as physiotherapy centres in the coming period, areas where various treatments may be illegally advertised despite the fact that they do not have the legal authority to provide them.

At the same time, 231 findings were identified for stem-cell treatments in facilities where such activity is not permitted by law. These were broken down into 135 at ordinary medical practices, 29 at clinics and 24 at beauty centres. In addition, 911 findings were recorded for Botox and injectable weight-loss treatments that are being advertised despite advertising being prohibited. At the same time, the new digital tool found 468 “red” findings involving non-doctors who nevertheless advertise medical procedures.

Overall, according to the data presented at the press conference, there are 197 “red” medical practices to date, while the “yellow” ones — meaning cases requiring professional-ethics intervention — number 2,606. These findings are provided to medical associations, as well as to the National Transparency Authority, which are responsible for carrying out the inspections. MedWatch has already been implemented in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and over the next 5–6 days it is expected to be expanded throughout Greece, wherever medical associations have up-to-date registers.