Greece’s National Health System (ESY) is undergoing one of the most ambitious transformations in decades under the leadership of Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. With the launch of the 1566 hotline, the FindDoctor.gov.gr platform, and the MyHealth app, millions of citizens now enjoy faster, more transparent, and easier access to medical care.
The numbers are striking:
- 300,000 appointments with EOPYY doctors are now booked every month digitally.
- Waiting times have fallen dramatically — from 3 months to just 3 days in many specialties.
- On the first day of the new hospital appointment system, 162,420 calls were received, a record-breaking figure in Greek telecom history.
- More than 53,000 appointments were booked in a single day, proving the public’s demand for a streamlined system.
- Doctors’ availability has expanded, moving from 3 appointments per day to 12, tripling capacity.
Georgiadis emphasizes that this is “a revolution for patients”, granting every citizen direct access to specialists in public hospitals and contracted doctors — without bureaucratic obstacles. Unlike systems in countries such as the UK, where patients must first go through a personal GP referral, Greece now offers direct digital access to specialized care, making it a European pioneer.
The next step is equally bold: within weeks, the Ministry will present a Digital AI Health Assistant within the MyHealth app. This virtual assistant will allow patients to request appointments, access prescriptions, and navigate the system through simple voice commands. Doctors will also gain an AI-powered tool to speed up workflows, ensuring more time for actual patient care.
Criticism from the opposition has been fierce, yet results speak louder: over 10 million appointments annually, centralized transparency, and less reliance on outdated, costly phone lines. Georgiadis’s reforms prove that Greece can lead in digital health innovation, improving both patient experience and system efficiency.
As the Minister himself noted: “From yesterday, we changed people’s lives. The ESY is no longer the same. This is something new.”
Source: pagenews.gr