Improving the Performance of the Public Health Care System in Greece

Abstract

Greek health outcomes compare favourably with the OECD average. However, the health care system is seen as not working well by the population. One source of dissatisfaction is the high proportion of private household spending on health, including informal payments, while public health spending relative to GDP is one of the lowest in the OECD. This situation leads to inequities in access to certain medical services. Also, there is a weakening of efficiency of the system, which should be addressed sooner than later in view of a rising demand for medical services, which is going to intensify in the coming decades, and the need to keep government health care spending in check. This calls for reforms in four areas: (i) reviewing the excessively fragmented structure of the health care system and its governance; (ii) enhancing the quality of public primary health care services; (iii) modernising hospital administration; and (iv) further tightening control over pharmaceutical expenditure. Améliorer la performance du système public de santé en Grèce Les résultats de la Grèce dans le domaine de la santé se comparent favorablement avec la moyenne de l’OCDE. Cependant, le fonctionnement du système de soins n’est pas satisfaisant selon la population. Une source d’insatisfaction concerne la proportion élevée des dépenses privées de santé des ménages, y compris des paiements informels, alors que les dépenses médicales publiques en proportion du PIB sont parmi les plus faibles de l’OCDE. Cette situation conduit à des problèmes d’équité d’accès à certains services médicaux. On observe aussi une baisse d’efficacité du système à laquelle il import de remédier au plus tôt compte tenu de la hausse de la demande de soins, qui devrait s’intensifier au cours des prochaines décennies et du besoin de contrôle sur la croissance des dépenses publiques de santé. Ceci milite en faveur d’une réforme dans quatre domaines : (i) réviser la structure très fragmentée du système de soins et sa gouvernance; (ii) améliorer la qualité des services publics de soins primaires ; (iii) moderniser l’administration hospitalière ; et (iv) renforcer davantage le contrôle sur les dépenses pharmaceutiques.health care systems, health policy, pharmaceutical expenditure, generic drugs, health insurance funds, prescription system, data envelopment analysis, copayment, National health system, primary health care, hospital, excise tax, general practitioners, medical demography, medical prevention, referral system, système de médecin référent, prévention médicale, démographie médicale, médecins généralistes, accises, hôpital, génériques, caisses d’assurance médicale, copaiement, système national de santé, soins primaires de santé, dépenses pharmaceutiques, analyse par enveloppement des données

Recommending organized screening programs for adults in Greece: A Delphi consensus study

“…It could, therefore, be argued that the scientific community is ready to move forward into OSPs, and this is an enabling factor so that health policy in Greece is reoriented towards prevention and shifts away from the prevailing hospital-centered and treatment oriented system [50,51]. Even within a system of such orientation the development of preventive strategies is of great importance [52] and satisfies health providers' and users' views in Greece, who highlight the significance and the need for earlier diagnosis of cancer [53], although the latter do not seem to be aware of the relation of screening and improved long-term survival rates [54].…”

Total productivity change of Health Centers in Greece in 2016–2018: a Malmquist index data envelopment analysis application for the primary health system of Greece

“…The lack of health promotion, disease prevention, and rehabilitation as well as the dissatisfaction of people receiving health services indicate distribution problems in health services, problematic administration, and low productivity. This is mainly due to the inadequacy of primary health care, which highlights the importance of its contribution to the whole health care system and the efforts that should be made to strengthen it [5][6][7]. Moreover, the necessity of a stronger and integrated primary health care system is indicated by the fact that Greece faces one of the highest rates of chronic diseases among the EU-27, as well as one of the highest overall household health expenditures [8].…”

Measuring Technical Efficiency of Health Centers in Greece: A Data Envelopment Analysis Application for the Primary Health System of Greece

“…The above is amplified by the dissatisfaction of people receiving the health services, which combined with the lack of health promotion, disease prevention and rehabilitation, indicates problematic administration, low productivity, and distribution problems on health services. One of the main factors is the inadequacy of primary health care, highlighting the importance of its contribution to the overall Health Care System and the efforts that should have been made, to strengthen it (Tountas, Karnaki, and Pavi, 2002;Economou and Giorno, 2009;Lionis et al, 2009).…”