The Greek healthcare system.

Greece is among the OECD countries with the highest healthcare spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (9.1% of GDP in 2006). Despite this, several issues such as high private health expenditure, informal payments, implementation of Electronic Patient Records and an integrated primary healthcare system have not been solved since the establishment of the national healthcare system in 1983. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive picture of the healthcare system in Greece. Thus, general information regarding health status of the population is given, along with a description of the organizational structure of the National Health System as well as the social insurance system. Furthermore, main themes such as health financing and reimbursement, resource allocation and expenditure, pharmaceutical policy and future challenges are presented.