Andreas Xanthos

The government unexpectedly tabled a law amendment in Parliament on Wednesday which provides for an increase in the prices of pharmaceutical products by up to 10 percent compared to the previous price list.

There will be thousands of hirings in the National Health System (ESY) over the next four years, according to Administrative Reform Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Health Minister Andreas Xanthos and his deputy Pavlos Polakis after a meeting on Monday morning.

Amid heightened concerns over the rising mortality rate due to the flu virus, Health Minister Andreas Xanthos said over the weekend that 24,000 flu vaccines will be available at pharmacies this week, while another 26,000 are expected by the end of the month.

With the end of the year looming, doctors and citizens are struggling to come to grips with a Health Ministry initiative to get all patients insured under the National Health System (ESY) and the National Organization for Healthcare Services Provision (EOPYY) registered with a so-called "family doctor."

The Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE) has reacted to a Health Ministry proposal to change the calculation of the so-called "clawback."

The clawback is the amount that pharmaceutical companies have to return to the state when public spending on drugs exceeds the amount budgeted for.

A year after the government launched an initiative to improve the primary healthcare system by establishing a network of local health clinics, Health Minister Andreas Xanthos admitted that fewer than half the clinics that had been heralded are in operation and many of those are understaffed.

Eight months after green-lighting the cultivation and production of medical cannabis, Greece's leftist-led government has issued the first licenses to two private firms for growing hemp in the country.

The Greek ministry of health is preparing an amendment that will open the way for the creation of supervised drug consumption facilities in Athens.

These spaces will provide addicts with sterile materials to use illicit drugs under the strict supervision of trained staff, in a hygienic environment.

Seeking to put a lid on mounting fears that an epidemic of the West Nile virus is in the making, Greek Health Minister Andreas Xanthos said there is "no real concern" of an "uncontrolled spread" of the virus.

Speaking on Sto Kokkino radio on Friday, Xanthos said that the Health Ministry and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) are nevertheless "on alert."

The West Nile virus situation is being closely monitored and is under control, the Health Minister has said.

"There is no real concern that we will see the uncontrolled spread of the West Nile virus, but the Health Ministry and KEELPNO [Center for Disease Prevention and Control] HCDCP are on alert," Andreas Xanthos told Kokkino 105.5 radio.