Greece restarts ‘Prolamvano’ preventive health screening program

Greece is relaunching its national preventive health program, ‘Prolamvano’, starting October 13. The program, now a permanent national health policy funded by national resources, will focus on breast cancer prevention during October by providing free mammographies and breast ultrasounds to both insured and uninsured women.

Following the breast cancer screenings, the program will transition to preventive examinations for cardiovascular diseases. Citizens can receive referrals via SMS if they have activated digital prescriptions, or they can book appointments through the proliptikes.gov.gr platform using their AMKA number.

While the screenings themselves are free, a change in the funding model means that if a finding is identified, patients will be responsible for paying the physician's fee out of pocket. Under the new EOPYY contract, private providers will be reimbursed €35 for mammographies and €8.28 for ultrasounds, but unlike the previous phase funded by the Recovery Fund, doctor fees are no longer covered by the program.

Deputy Health Minister Eirini Agapidakis noted the program's previous success, stating that over 554,000 citizens were identified through various screening programs for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, as well as cardiovascular issues. This included over 6,000 early-stage breast cancer diagnoses.