Digital healthcare in Greece
Key figures
10,7 M
inhabitants
7.8% of GDP
of healthcare spending in 2019
+2M
of e-prescriptions or e-diagnoses per month by 2021
A unified national health insurance fund responsible for primary and ambulatory care facilities
The Greek healthcare system is centralized and supervised by the state. The National Organization for the Health Care Service (EOPYY) is the national health insurance fund and sole purchaser of public health services. It is financed by social contributions and taxes. Its budget covers 60% of Greek healthcare expenditure. The remainder is financed directly by patients.
Meeting the ambassadors
Nikolas Belias, General Counsel, Economic and Commercial Affairs, Paris
The EOPYY :
- fixes the prerequisites required for contracting with healthcare providers;
- negotiates remuneration, contract terms and prices for pharmaceutical products and medical devices .
- reimburses primary care, diagnostics and specialized outpatient and inpatient care .
Rural health centers and their doctors' offices, as well as urban health centers, are accessible free of charge.
Organizations responsible for digital health
The Ministry of Health, its mission is the promotion of the health of the population, through the planning and implementation of public health policies.
L'Organisation pour l'Assurance Qualité en Santé (ODIPY SA) is the agency for the quality of healthcare services. It assists the Ministry of Health and all healthcare service providers, in their efforts to improve the level of safety, adequacy and universality of healthcare services provided, based on international scientific standards.
The GRNET, led by the Ministry of Digital Governance, collaborates with relevant ministries for digital and its development. It provides hospitals and healthcare personnel with medical technologies and software.
The ministère du développement et de l'investissement implements strategies for the development of industry and regularly offers financing to entrepreneurs. Its general secretariat for research and innovation lists and supervises Greek research centers and technology agencies.
How to access the Greek market?
1. The Elevate Greece platform, a one-stop shop for navigating the innovation ecosystem
Elevate Greece is a platform developed by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation for start-ups. It also offers a database listing all start-ups present in Greece.
You need to be registered in this database to access the funding that the Ministry of Development and Investment makes available to start-ups. In particular, EU co-financed funding opportunities can be found at Equifund.
2. Health clusters
Hellenic Digital Health Cluster - HDHC is the cluster dedicated to digital health in Greece. It is attached to Hellas Forth, one of the largest national research centers in Greece. It is one of the bodies overseen by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation and is part of the European Enterprise Network (EEN)
The Greek hub of the EIT Health has areas of expertise in digital health, medical technologies and biotechnologies.
3. Innovation and research centers to support entrepreneurs
The National Documentation Center (EKT) is an innovation and research center offering support to Greek and international researchers, innovative organizations and SMEs, including start-ups, within the Greek ecosystem. EKT is the Horizon Europe national contact point for cluster 1 (health), cluster 4 (digital, industry, space) and the "cancer mission". It is the Greek Hub of the EIT Health, whose areas of expertise include eHealth Medtech and Biotech with a primary focus on startups and students.
Other structures enable the development of healthcare solutions, such as the parc des sciences et technologies en Crête(STEP-C) technology transfer unit. This is one of the largest research organizations offering an incubator for start-ups.
4. Health authorities, guarantors of public safety
The Centre National d'Évaluation de la Qualité des Technologies de la Santé is the organization responsible for certifying and notifying new healthcare technologies under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. The organization grants quality certificates declaring the conformity of products, services, processes and quality systems with the requirements of national, European and international standards and legislation.
5. The National Organization for Healthcare Services (EOPYY), single-source purchaser of healthcare solutions
The EOPYY is the national organization for healthcare and health services that makes decisions on the provision of healthcare solutions to healthcare staff, and reimbursement to the population.
Government authorities and platforms
Guarantors of smooth functioning and cooperation in the healthcare system
Support and innovation initiatives
They bring together and facilitate the incubation of new technologies
.Training
Universities and their groups that train and support digital healthcare innovations