Lots of reactions and sensation in public opinion has been caused by the dismantling of two circuits that made virtual prescriptions at the expense of EOPYY, causing a loss of 3.5 million damage to the Organization.

16 people were arrested – among them 4 doctors and 8 pharmacists – who are facing eight felonies and two misdemeanors, while their assets have been frozen, as stated to SKAI by the Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis.

According to a SKAI report, the doctors are a pathologist from Cyprus, who was assigned to a regional clinic and Health Center of Viotia, an obstetrician-gynecologist at a Municipal Clinic in Athens, his wife, who was assigned to a state hospital in Athens and a dentist.

How the circuit was revealed

In October last year, after complaints from two women that they received a message to execute a prescription that they had not prescribed, according to information, the investigations began, which led to the dismantling of the two circuits.

In particular, the EOPYY combined and utilized the targeted combined controls that are systematically carried out by its competent Services for:
• the control of the prescription limit (ceiling) and directed prescription by doctors,
• the execution of medicines in specific pharmacies,
• the prescription and execution of medicines of specific pharmaceutical companies,
• compliance with the compensation restrictions on iron, vitamin D and magnesium medicines and narcotic substances, etc.
• prescriptions of drugs outside of indications, overdoses of preparations,
• the complaints of insured persons for unknowingly prescribing medicines.

From the investigation so far, it has been established the illegal use of 3,516 A.M.K.A. on the basis of which 90,186 prescriptions were falsely issued, with the loss of EOPYY exceeding 3,500,284.98 euros.

The revealing dialogues

Pharmacist: Keep the coupons. Well, both the big and the small, put them in a black bag so that nothing can be seen.
Employee: Nice.
Pharmacist: Put them in a black bag.
Employee: Yes; And do I throw them away from the pharmacy or here near us?
Pharmacist: No. Far, of course. As far as possible.

There is also another conversation between a pharmacist and his employee:

Pharmacist: And you will also get the certificate and we will continue to write it say, on purpose.
Employee: To show that he takes it for pain! I understood.
Pharmacist: To show clearly that it is for pain, and not that it was for epilepsy. To create a new history for pain now.

In another conversation it is characteristically mentioned:

Pharmacist: Well, because I had given you several lists of these six-month recipes.
Partner: Yes
Pharmacist: And I don’t see that you have brought. Has your doctor given them elsewhere?
Partner: No. Well, I’ll send it to you now. Some have IKA, I will send you.

How the circuits worked

Using the ID cards of people who did not have access to them – such as immigrants who had returned to their countries, prisoners or guests in various structures – the doctors even prescribed preparations containing narcotic substances and carried out the prescriptions through the companies/pharmacies in the circuits, signing documents execution instead of the insured, forging their signatures.

In fact, the members of the circuits to maximize their profits also used A.M.K.A. uninsured persons, as their participation in the expenditure of the E.O.P.Y.Y. was zero.
They then sold the drugs – some of them in short supply – to customers both in Greece and abroad.

Loot 3,500,284.98 euros

During the operation to dismantle the circuits – in searches carried out in homes, storage areas, clinics, pharmacies, Public Health Facilities and bank safes – the following were found and confiscated:
• over 9,000 packages of illegally prescribed pharmaceutical preparations, including preparations containing narcotic substances,
• 451,140 euros, 10,000 US dollars, 8,000 Australian dollars,
• 2 gold bars with a total weight of 1 kg, 109 gold pounds,
• a number of documents (handwritten notes with doctors’ payments, doctors’ stamps, prescriptions/opinions, etc.),
• mobile phones, computers and other digital devices.