Limits on total cost of drugs EOPYY doctors can prescribe
Doctors who work with Greece’s main public healthcare provider, EOPYY, will from now on face strict cost limits on the drugs they can prescribe to each patient.
A ministerial decision published in the Government Gazette this week sets ceilings for each EOPYY doctor depending on his or her specialization, which part of the country he or she practices in and the month.
For instance, a cardiologist in Attica will be able to prescribe one of his patients medicines up to a price limit of 36.12 euros in August. This will rise to 38.24 euros in September. In Thessaloniki, the ceiling for the same kind of doctor will be 36.15 euros in August and 37.17 in September. The limits will be programmed into the electronic prescription system and the doctor will be aware of the ceiling has been reached.
The Health Ministry has also set new minimums for the proportion of generic drugs that doctors have to prescribe. Greece’s bailout obligations dictate that it has to increase the generic drugs used by patients from around 20 to 60 percent.
