Adonis on Longevity: “Either We Enter the Market or We Send Everyone to Turkey”

Georgiadis: Greece Moves Aggressively into Medical Tourism – New Framework for Longevity and Wellness Clinics

Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announces an expert committee, consultation with Greece’s Central Health Council and a unified regulatory framework, paving the way for medical tourism, longevity services and licensed wellness facilities — potentially even within major hotel complexes. “I don’t want Greece to be left out,” he says.

Georgiadis Draws the Line: Yes to Medical Tourism, No to Unregulated Treatments  – The Greek government is seeking to systematically open up a new market at the intersection of healthcare and tourism, with Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announcing on MEGA that a unified regulatory framework will be developed for medical tourism, wellness clinics and longevity services.

Georgiadis made clear that his policy is not to shut Greece out of a rapidly expanding international sector, but to establish clear rules defining what is permitted, under what conditions and in which healthcare settings.

“Medical tourism is developing around the world at a very rapid pace,” he said, effectively outlining a strategy designed to connect healthcare with one of Greece’s strongest competitive advantages: tourism.

“I Don’t Want Greece to Be Left Out”

Georgiadis directly linked the debate to international competition, pointing to Turkey as a prominent example of a country that has developed a major medical tourism industry.

His argument is that Greece cannot simply prohibit emerging services while watching prospective clients travel to competing destinations instead.

“If we say that Greece will stay out of longevity, then those in Greece who want these services will go to Turkey, where these clinics are booming, or they will go to other European countries, while Greece stays on the sidelines watching. I do not support that,” he said.

He then delivered an even clearer message about the government’s direction:

“We will have private medical practices and we will have wellness clinics in Greece. They are developing all over the world, and we will create a framework so that they can operate safely. We are not all going to become Polakises in Greece.”

Expert Committee and Central Health Council to Shape New Rules

The most significant institutional announcement in the interview was Georgiadis’ confirmation that an expert committee will be established to collect proposals for the new framework.

Those proposals will subsequently be submitted to Greece’s Central Health Council (KESY) before the government finalizes the regulatory structure.

“We will establish the committee. We will see what proposals are submitted. Once the experts give us their proposals, we will also submit them to KESY to obtain the opinion of the Central Health Council. Then we will create a framework,” Georgiadis said.

The minister stressed that regulations already exist, but are currently fragmented across different rules and provisions.

“We have a framework today. The framework is fragmented. What we want to do is bring it together into a single body of rules and make sure that framework is implemented.”

The objective, he said, is to eliminate regulatory grey zones.

“It must become clear to everyone what you can and cannot do. What I want to do as Health Minister is make it clear. People must be able to see what is permitted and what is not.”

Medical Tourism and Major Hotels

One of the most striking parts of the discussion concerned whether healthcare facilities could operate within major hotel complexes as part of Greece’s medical tourism offering.

Georgiadis was positive about the prospect of properly organized and fully licensed healthcare facilities, while drawing a distinction between such structures and uncontrolled medical procedures being performed in ordinary hotel rooms.

When the discussion turned to an earlier proposal for dialysis facilities at large hotel resorts, Georgiadis backed the idea.

“I hope it happens. You can establish a dialysis unit, and it would be a very positive development if such units were created in very large hotels.”

But he set a crucial condition:

“Of course, only if it operates under the same requirements as a private dialysis unit — not under lesser requirements.”

The rationale is straightforward: travelers who require regular medical support may choose a destination — and potentially a hotel — partly on the basis of whether they can safely access the healthcare services they need.

The Red Line: Not Every Procedure Can Be Performed Everywhere

At the same time, Georgiadis drew a clear line between expanding medical tourism and allowing medical procedures to take place in inappropriate settings.

Plasmapheresis was the clearest example.

“Plasmapheresis requires an ICU nearby. Plasmapheresis is a very serious procedure. It requires a hospital environment. It cannot be performed in an ordinary clinic,” he said.

This distinction goes to the heart of the proposed framework: rather than blanket prohibitions, the government wants specific rules based on the medical procedure, the healthcare setting and the level of risk involved.

Longevity: “A Major Field of Modern Medicine”

Georgiadis also strongly defended the development of the longevity sector in Greece, while distinguishing it from practices that lack recognized scientific foundations.

“Longevity — μακροβιότητα in Greek — is a major field of modern medicine experiencing tremendous growth worldwide,” he said.

His broader political message was that individual cases of alleged wrongdoing should not be used to discredit legitimate investments or entire emerging sectors of medicine.

“The fact that one fraudster was found does not mean we are going to destroy regenerative medicine in Greece. One thing is one thing, another is another.”

Warning over “Alternative Treatments”

The Health Minister was far more critical when discussing practices presented as medicine without an established scientific basis.

“What you hear about alternative treatments and things like that — these are not medicine,” he said.

He was particularly categorical about terms such as so-called “quantum medicine.”

“There is no such thing as quantum medicine. There is no quantum medicine recognized by science. When you hear about ‘quantum’ things like that, stay away.”

The distinction is crucial to Georgiadis’ argument: Greece can develop longevity, regenerative medicine, wellness and medical tourism without giving legitimacy to practices that fall outside evidence-based medicine.

Digital Check of Doctors’ Licences

During the interview, Georgiadis also revealed another intervention being prepared by the Health Ministry: a digital tool allowing citizens to immediately verify the actual professional licence of a doctor or medical practice.

“I will create a special app so that when you enter a medical practice, you can scan it and see exactly what licence that practice has, so that nobody can fool you,” he said.

If implemented, the system could add another layer of transparency, helping patients distinguish between a doctor’s officially recognized specialty and potentially misleading claims about qualifications or services.

The Bigger Bet: A Global Market — But with Rules

The debate opened by Georgiadis ultimately goes well beyond the controversy that triggered the television discussion.

Greece has extensive tourism infrastructure, international connectivity, growing private healthcare investment and a substantial pool of medical professionals. Combining those advantages with medical tourism, longevity and wellness could create another growth engine — particularly for destinations seeking to extend their tourism season beyond the summer months.

The challenge is regulation.

Greece needs to be able to attract investment and international patients without creating a grey market in which evidence-based medicine becomes blurred with unproven practices.

That is the balance Georgiadis is now seeking to establish: not a Greece standing outside the emerging global healthcare market, but a Greece competing inside it — with clear rules, licensing, oversight and patient safety.

Source: pagenews.gr