Cutting the Red Tape: Greece Overhauls Healthcare Referrals to Unblock Specialist Access

The Greek government is urgently amending its national healthcare rules to allow patients to bypass their assigned primary care physicians and secure specialist referrals from any available general practitioner, resolving a bureaucratic bottleneck that has stranded thousands. A Health Ministry amendment tabled in parliament this week targets severe logistical flaws in the recent rollout of the country's "personal doctor" system.  Under the initial framework, patients were strictly bound to a ...

By ANTHEE CARASSAVA