Filenews 18 January 2023
A pivotal year for the GHS was 2022, during which the Health Insurance Organization was called upon to face new vital challenges.
The Health Insurance Organization, seeking to shield the System, proceeded to decisive changes and modifications, strengthened the controls, enriched existing and introduced new services, strengthened the position of beneficiaries within the GHS, thus ensuring that beneficiaries receive on a continuous basis more and upgraded services.
Making an assessment of 2022, the HIO states that "the sign can only be positive, with the beneficiaries enjoying, within the System, advantages and benefits of exceptional importance. The General Health System, which from the beginning was embraced and universally supported by the people, proves its potential every day through the numbers recorded every year".
From the beginning of 2022 until the end of December they have received from the services:
- 801,930 beneficiaries visited Personal Physicians,
- 608,120 beneficiaries visited Specialist Doctors
- 667,659 beneficiaries have received their medicines through the System (currently the GHS covers about 2,100 medicines, with this number including more than 500 innovative ones)
- 500,075 beneficiaries have carried out laboratory tests
- 278,911 beneficiaries visited dentists
- 155,966 beneficiaries were served by other Health Professionals.
- 122,551 beneficiaries visited the Accident and Emergency Departments.
- 105,874 beneficiaries received inpatient care services
Taking strict measures
In addition, in 2022, the Health Insurance Organization proceeded to take strict measures in order to limit exploitation phenomena by providers and beneficiaries. It differentiated the remuneration model of PDs by adopting quality criteria, applied quality control of referrals from PDs to Specialist Doctors and modified the right to change PD every 12 months instead of 6.
An important development for 2022 was the inclusion of 3 new hospitals, 4 palliative care centers and 2 dialysis units. Since July of the same year, the on-call services of a Personal Doctor at the GHS were implemented, during weekends and holidays, for incidents that do not require service by the Accident and Emergency Departments.
