Features of public healthcare services provided to migrant patients in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region (Greece).

Background: The influx of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers into European Union (EU) countries, especially into Greece, in the last 20 years is an issue of growing concern and requires a rational approach. The aim of this study is to chart the use of public health services by the migrants of the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region, which forms the northeastern border of Greece.

Methods: We collected data from five of the six public hospitals in the specified region, and we carried out a per clinic cross tabulation analysis of admission diagnosis and citizenship variables in order to establish the frequency at which the various diagnoses emerge per distinct group of migrant and non-migrant patients in each clinic.