In response to the Panhellenic Medical Association, which called on its members not to execute electronic prescriptions, pending the voting of the provision for strengthening public health structures by private doctors when there is a risk to public health, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis gave a statement.
Speaking today in Parliament, Mr. Georgiadis said, “I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Panhellenic Medical Association to call on its members not to execute electronic prescriptions from Friday until the bill is voted on. I believe that this decision should not be implemented and I think that if it is implemented, there will not be real participation from the doctors,” said the Health Minister. “It would amount to blackmail for millions of patients, who would endure, or will endure, a significant hassle if they take a paper prescription, as they would have to go to a public facility to convert it to electronic in order to be executed, otherwise they would have to bear the cost themselves. Therefore, I consider that the decision of the PMA, if indeed implemented, will be tragic. I hope they reconsider.”
I want to assure all concerned doctors, said Adonis Georgiadis, that the regulation has an extraordinary and temporary character only for where it may be needed. “Today I communicated with the presidents of the Medical Associations of Xanthi, Drama, and Sparta, and in these cities, the doctors expressed their participation, so it seems we will have a smooth evolution of the shifts. I am awaiting a response from the presidents of the medical associations of Kilkis, Rethymno, and Kos. I believe that in the end, the regulation will not need to be implemented anywhere and we already have proposals from doctors to move to these areas so that we can cover this three- to four-month period until new calls are made with the new incentives and the new salary scales we have established.”
The Health Minister addressed the PMA and the medical associations with a “spirit of respect and goodwill,” as he specifically noted, and urged them not to proceed with the decision they announced, as it is a “harmful” decision for the patients. “I can’t believe that the entire medical community of the country would do something like this. I inform the Assembly that hospital doctors will not participate in this mobilization and the public facilities will prescribe normally, even if the PMA insists on this mobilization. The regulation will not be withdrawn. It is a link in an overall policy. First, we establish financial incentives, increase the island subsidy, expand our underserved areas – Laconia is included in the underserved with increased funding – I hope that it will not need to be implemented. The regulation, even if it were ever applied, would be of a temporary character. Therefore, there is no reason for such a significant conflict. I believe that the doctors, whom I truly respect, and the local medical associations will empathize with their responsibilities toward the patients and will not proceed with this act,” said Mr. Georgiadis.
The Panhellenic Medical Association, the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers, and the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Unions expressed their opposition to the provisions for the “strengthening of public health structures by private providers and private doctors to address needs that could jeopardize public health.” These provisions have been included in the draft law for psychiatric reform, which is under discussion in the Social Affairs Committee of Parliament.
During the hearing of the stakeholders, the president of the Panhellenic Medical Association, Athanasios Exadaktylos, characterized the provision that states that when the state seeks the assistance of private sector doctors, if they do not comply, penalties will be imposed as “unacceptable and dangerous.”
“This article is dangerous for the NHS, as it will make the island and underserved areas even less attractive,” said Mr. Exadaktylos, warning that it will create disincentives for those wanting to settle as private sector workers. It will also serve as a major disincentive for the selection of specialties for which there is a shortage of doctors, such as pathology, anesthesiology, and radiology. The President of the PMA said that contracts with EOPYY will become even less attractive because they are the first who will be called upon, as well as the contracts of personal doctors. “If this provision is activated, what will happen is a complete blackout due to government responsibility. Imagine Kos being left without prescriptions,” said Mr. Exadaktylos.
The President of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers – POEDHN, Michalis Giannakos, said that neither through good will nor by force can the serious staff shortages faced by the NHS be resolved. “Private doctors, when called upon amicably or requisitioned during the pandemic, did not step up. Many cited their age, health issues, and we were expecting them in hospitals to assist during a difficult period, and they did not. However, these are not solutions. If we want to stem the tide of healthcare worker flight, and if we want to attract staff to the NHS, we must make it attractive again. It will become attractive if more money is allocated and gradually health expenditures reach the European average and salaries increase, if contract workers are made permanent,” said the president of POEDHN.
Aphrodite Retziou, president of OENGE, said that the government has recently engaged in posturing and communication fireworks, wagging a finger at the private sector in an effort to blame them for the tragic shortages in hospitals. “The government proposes measures that have been in place for years and have not resolved the problem,” said the president of OENGE and predicted that the proposed provisions may yield results contrary to the intended goals. “The policy of underfunding and understaffing applied by the government is detrimental and problematic for public health,” said Ms. Retziou.