Category: Publications

Medical errors… as an evaluation criterion

Recent statements by Deputy Minister of Health Marios Salmas express the Ministry’s intention to change course on doctors’ liability and medical errors. According to him, reports of medical errors, as well as the age of technological equipment, medical and nursing staff and hotel infrastructure, will now be criteria for the evaluation and accreditation of private laboratories and clinics for contracting with EOPYY (the National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services). Read more here

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Dr Grigoris Leon: Alcohol and medicines affect driving

By 2030, road traffic accidents will be a more significant cause of death worldwide than even AIDS and tuberculosis. Things are even more serious in our country, where road accidents are the number 1 cause of death among people of working age, 19–39. As forensic pathologist Dr Grigoris Leon points out, considering that 50% of these accidents are due to the consumption of alcohol and other substances, the heavy price we pay on the roads can be reduced. Read more here

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Domestic violence against women

Women are usually at risk where they should be safe: within the family. For these women, “home” becomes a place of terror and violence at the hands of someone close to them, whom they should normally be able to trust. According to a recent Eurobarometer survey on the subject (September 2010), 34% of Greeks know a woman in their circle or neighbourhood who has been a victim of domestic violence. This figure is 12% higher than in the previous survey and is the third highest in Europe. Read more here

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Road traffic accidents and alcohol

Road traffic accidents are one of the most serious public health problems in our country. Every year around 30,000 people are injured in road accidents, with the number of people seriously injured or killed reaching 4,000, while alcohol (ethyl alcohol) is “responsible” for about 50% of serious road accidents. The Road Traffic Code (Law 2696/1999), as amended by Law 3542/2007, article 42 par. 1, stipulates that “It is prohibited for any road vehicle to be driven by a driver who, while driving the vehicle, is under the influence of alcohol, toxic substances or medicines” . Read more here

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Overview of the Greek legislation regarding assisted reproduction and comparison with the EU legal framework

The aim of this research was to ascertain how the opportunities now open by the Greek legislation regarding assisted reproduction fits with Greek society and how it compares with the wider EU legal framework. A revision of the Greek legislation took place a few years ago, with two new Acts. The different issues that arise from the two Acts and the relevant statements are examined. Issues such as the legal state of the newborn, involvement of a third party in the reproduction process, surrogacy, post-mortem fertilization and cryopreserved embryos are analytically presented.

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Medical errors on the rise in Greece too

Medical errors are increasingly a concern for doctors themselves, hospitals (public or private), the media and public opinion. Reputable publications such as the British Medical Journal estimate that medical errors kill 30,000 people in Great Britain every year, while in the United States doctors’ errors are the third leading cause of death. In our country, although there are no official statistics, some estimates speak of as many as 6,000 deaths a year due to possible medical errors. Read more here

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The Greek forensic pathologist who worked on… CSI

The PhD of the Medical School of the University of Athens served in Miami alongside leading criminologists and scientists, applying methods that in Greece are seen only in police dramas. He is fascinated by the mysteries hidden behind crimes and by the difficult investigations of the police and forensic teams trying to uncover the “bad guys”. From an early age he watched police series with bated breath. He wanted, at some point, to be part of a team solving dark cases and murders. Read more here

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Ethical and deontological issues in publishing patient photographs in medical textbooks in Greece

Medical textbooks have specific content and are aimed at a defined audience. This research started from a patient’s complaint to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority. The patient complained that she was depicted in a medical textbook without her consent. The Authority recommended that the author, when publishing similar medical cases in the future, ensure in the photographs that the patient cannot be identified. A thorough study is made of the relevant deontological framework in force in Greece, as well as of the corresponding international rules applied in similar cases. Read more here

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