REQUESTS OF THE E-PETITION OF 25th OF JUNE, 2007

ATTENTION – THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VERSION FOR THE E-PETITION

With the invaluable and constant help of many friends, bloggers and non-bloggers, from the internet and our real life, we ended up in the following list of basic requests, regarding our National Health System:

1. The State to take immediate action so that fakelaki (bribery) and the inequality in patient treatment stop (improvement of healthcare practitioners' compensations, better organization of medical services provision for both the patient and the practitioners)

2. More flexible and effective bureaucratic mechanisms, so as to stop victimization due to time-consuming processes for tests approvals, medication, special treatments etc (establishment of maximum relevant requests’ handling time and compensation in the case of breaking those deadlines)

3. Prompt and continuous patient transfer to hospitals, proper staffing of unused hospital units, more staff wherever needed, proper infrastructure and increase in bed capacity (given the increase of healthcare needs), even if this means building new units.

4. Increase in funds for medical research in university clinics / R & D centers, and establishment of a commission for the management of research fields, so that it doesn’t concentrate on the lucrative (because of pharamaceutical companies) areas, but covers a wide range of needs.

5. Establishment of continuous training and development for all people working in the Greek National Health System, the Greek Institution of Social Insurance and the relevant commissions, as well as establishment of periodic assessment of the quality of the services provided, aiming at improving them.

6. Stricter control on the drug and hospital supply market (transparency, adequacy, fair pricing)

7. Creation and standardisation of a nation-wide medical record for every patient, to which both doctors and patients have access, and also very strict penalties for breach of medical confidentiality for other purposes (private insurance coverings, employers’ terms etc)

We believe that we covered sufficiently the most basic problems, in the brief way a document aimed for an e-petition dictates. If you find a major omission, please let us know, so that we finalise the request list the day after tomorrow. Please help us also in organising the petition in hospitals and other public places on the 25th of June 2007.