Investigating the Economic Impacts of New Public Pharmaceutical Policies in Greece: Focusing on Price Reductions and Cost-Sharing Rates.

Objective: Since 2010, cost-containment efforts in Greece focused on the reduction of public pharmaceutical expenditure. Changes in cost-sharing levels, reductions in prices, and generic substitution are some of the measures implemented after the second quarter of 2012. The objective of this study was to investigate the economic impact of the measures on public funds and households.

Health policy making under information constraints: an evaluation of the policy responses to the economic crisis in Greece.

Introduction: Cost consolidation in the highly fragmented and inefficient Greek health care system was necessary. However, policies introduced were partly formed in a context of insufficient information. Expenditure data from a consumption point of view were lacking and the depth of the political and structural problems was of unknown magnitude to the supervisory authorities.

Health-related quality of life and rehabilitation cost following intensive care unit stay in multiple trauma patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in multiple trauma patients due to motor vehicle crashes during a follow-up period of 2 years after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) and the effect of income and financial cost of rehabilitation in HRQOL.

Methods: The study was a prospective observational study of multiple trauma patients from January 2009 to January 2011 who were hospitalized in a general, medical, and surgical ICU of a district hospital in Athens, Greece. Eighty-five patients with multiple traumas due to motor vehicle crashes and with an ICU stay of more than 24 hours were included in the study.

Public health services knowledge and utilization among immigrants in Greece: a cross-sectional study.

Background: During the 90s, Greece has been transformed to a host country for immigrants mostly from the Balkans and Eastern European Countries, who currently constitute approximately 9% of the total population. Despite the increasing number of the immigrants, little is known about their health status and their accessibility to healthcare services. This study aimed to explore the perceived barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services by immigrants in Greece.

Can cost sharing measures improve the function of outpatient departments of public hospitals: the opinions of administrative directors.

This paper describes a study aiming to investigate the opinions of administrative personnel concerning the effectiveness of a cost sharing mechanism (of euro 5/visit) at public hospitals' outpatient departments. Data was derived through a structured questionnaire (developed by the researchers) which appealed to 112 administrative directors of public hospitals. Results highlighted a positive attitude concerning the function of the cost - sharing mechanism at public hospitals, a rather fair measure for the users (vulnerable groups are excluded) which probably is enhancing the monetary flow in public hospitals.

Informal payments for maternity health services in public hospitals in Greece.

Background: Private health expenditure for consuming maternity health services has been identified as an issue within public hospitals.

Aim: To estimate level of private health expenditure, in the form of informal payments, for maternal services in public hospitals in Greece.

Methods: The study population consisted of 160 women who had recently given birth in three provincial general hospitals and one general hospital in Athens.

Economic evaluation of pemetrexed versus erlotinib as second-line treatment of patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in Greece: a cost minimization analysis.

Objectives: An economic evaluation was conducted in conjunction with a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial, to compare pemetrexed with erlotinib in pretreated patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Greece.

Methods: The effectiveness of treatments examined was comparable; thus, cost minimization analysis was conducted to evaluate which option is less costly. Patient-level resource utilization data were combined with unit cost data, which were aggregated to compute the total treatment cost for each patient.

Private health expenditure in the Greek health care system: where truth ends and the myth begins.

Unlabelled: Greece today has the most "privatized" health care system among EU countries. Given the country's universal coverage by a public system this may be called "the Greek paradox". The objective of this paper is to analyze private health payments by provider and type of service in order to bring to light the reasons for and the nature of the extraordinary private expenditure in Greece.

Informal payments in public hospitals in Greece.

Unlabelled: Informal payments are an ingrained social institution in Greece. In some cases, they are also part of corruption in the health area, which includes a variety of other forms.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to measure and analyze the size and nature of informal payments in the Greek public hospitals, concentrating on payments made to health personnel to facilitate access to services and preferred providers.

Economic evaluation of hemodialysis: implications for technology assessment in Greece.

Objectives: Hemodialysis is a well-established treatment for 74 percent of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in Greece. The purpose of this study is to provide an estimate of the direct cost of dialysis in a public hospital setting and an estimate of the loss of production for ESRD patients. The results will be useful for public health facility planning purposes.

Health technology assessment in Greece.

In 1983 a health reform aimed to assure universal coverage and equity in the distribution of services in Greece. The reform implied state responsibility for the financing and delivery of services and a reduction of the private sector. The model was a Bismarckian scheme for social insurance.

Changing the public-private mix: an assessment of the health reforms in Greece.

The 1983 health reform in Greece was a major political event in the social policy agenda. The main objective of the reform was the institution of a National Health System and the expansion of the health sector, improved equity, and the assumption of full responsibility for health services delivery by the state. An assessment of the results 10 years after full implementation of the reform shows that despite the expansion of the public sector, the public-private mix in financing and delivery has changed in favour of the private sector, making the Greek health system the most 'privatised' among the EU countries.

Economic evaluation of nimesulide versus diclofenac in the treatment of osteoarthritis in Greece.

Objective: To evaluate, from a social security system perspective, the economic consequences of treating rheumatic diseases with nimesulide or diclofenac.

Design: Cost-minimisation analysis was used to estimate the incremental direct medical cost and the cost of gastrointestinal adverse events for 15 days' treatment with nimesulide compared with diclofenac. Cumulative incidence of adverse events was calculated through meta-analysis of the results of double-blind randomised clinical trials.