My blog is almost always in Greek. Sometimes though, I write in English because I want my audience to be international. Well, if you wonder why Greece is bankrupt, I think that here you are going to read a part of the answer (in an earlier post in this blog, I dealed with another part of the answer):
I start again with a short presentation of
myself: My name is Argirios Argiriou. I have studied Medicine in Lund, Sweden
and I specialized in General Practice in Linkoping Sweden. Since 2005 I work as
a private General Practitioner in my hometown Kavala, Greece. I still work
though, as a locum doctor in Sweden for some weeks every year, and that helps
me to keep in touch with both the Greek and the Swedish clinical reality.
On Juli 16th 2014
while working as a locum Doctor in Health Center Amal in
Sweden, I asked the
head of the laboratory department
about the prices of the blood tests.
She gave me a written list from 2013 and she told me that these prices remain the same since then. The greek prices have been taken from the site www.e-syntagografisi.gr which is used by the doctors in Greece in order to prescribe tests but even medicines (in order to log in, you must work as a doctor in Greece).
I called the Chief of the Health Center of Amal on September the 1st 2014 and she told me that the prices remain the same.
On September the 1st of 2014 when I make this comparison 100 Swedish Crowns (SEK or informally as well represented in Sweden kr) = 10,9 Euro (€).
General Blood Count (Red cells, White cells and Platelets together)
In Sweden it costs 15,51 SEK = 1,69 € (including platelets), while in Greece, if we want to include platelets platelets too, as in Sweden, (platelets in Greece cost separately 1,76 € ) it costs 2,88 + 1,76 = 4,64 €
Ferritin
In Sweden it costs 21,85 SEK = 2,381 € when in Greece it costs 9,51 €.
That is, Ferritin is 299% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Glucose
In Sweden it costs 6,62 SEK = 0,721 € when in Greece it costs 2,26 €.
That is, Glucose is 213% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
SGPT = ALAT
In Sweden it costs 6.19 SEK = 0,674 € when in Greece it costs 4,49 €.
That is, SGPT is 566% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
ALP
In Sweden it costs 6.04 SEK = 0,658 €, when in Greece it costs 5,02 €.
That is, the ALP is 663% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Creatinine
In Sweden it costs 6,77 SEK = 0,737 €, when in Greece it costs 4,05 €.
That is, Creatinine is 450% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Total Cholesterol
In Sweden it costs 6,18 SEK = 0,673 € when in Greece it costs 2,88 €.
That is, cholesterol is 328% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
HDL
In Sweden it costs 15,51 SEK = 1,690 € when in Greece it costs 4,75 €. That is, the HDL is 181% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Triglycerides
In Sweden it costs 7,49 SEK = 0,816 € when in Greece it costs 4,49 €.
That is, triglycerides is 450% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
TSH
In Sweden it costs 16,36 SEK = 1,783 € when in Greece it costs 12,38 €
That is, the TSH is 594% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Free T4
In Sweden it costs 16,45 SEK = 1,793 € when in Greece costs 20,54 €.
That is, the free T4 is 1046% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
PSA
In Sweden it costs 28,66 SEK = 3,123 € when in Greece it costs 14 €.
That is, the PSA is 348% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
She gave me a written list from 2013 and she told me that these prices remain the same since then. The greek prices have been taken from the site www.e-syntagografisi.gr which is used by the doctors in Greece in order to prescribe tests but even medicines (in order to log in, you must work as a doctor in Greece).
I called the Chief of the Health Center of Amal on September the 1st 2014 and she told me that the prices remain the same.
On September the 1st of 2014 when I make this comparison 100 Swedish Crowns (SEK or informally as well represented in Sweden kr) = 10,9 Euro (€).
General Blood Count (Red cells, White cells and Platelets together)
In Sweden it costs 15,51 SEK = 1,69 € (including platelets), while in Greece, if we want to include platelets platelets too, as in Sweden, (platelets in Greece cost separately 1,76 € ) it costs 2,88 + 1,76 = 4,64 €
That is, the General Blood Count is 175% more expensive
in Greece than in Sweden.
Ferritin
In Sweden it costs 21,85 SEK = 2,381 € when in Greece it costs 9,51 €.
That is, Ferritin is 299% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Glucose
In Sweden it costs 6,62 SEK = 0,721 € when in Greece it costs 2,26 €.
That is, Glucose is 213% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
SGPT = ALAT
In Sweden it costs 6.19 SEK = 0,674 € when in Greece it costs 4,49 €.
That is, SGPT is 566% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
ALP
In Sweden it costs 6.04 SEK = 0,658 €, when in Greece it costs 5,02 €.
That is, the ALP is 663% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Creatinine
In Sweden it costs 6,77 SEK = 0,737 €, when in Greece it costs 4,05 €.
That is, Creatinine is 450% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Total Cholesterol
In Sweden it costs 6,18 SEK = 0,673 € when in Greece it costs 2,88 €.
That is, cholesterol is 328% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
HDL
In Sweden it costs 15,51 SEK = 1,690 € when in Greece it costs 4,75 €. That is, the HDL is 181% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Triglycerides
In Sweden it costs 7,49 SEK = 0,816 € when in Greece it costs 4,49 €.
That is, triglycerides is 450% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
TSH
In Sweden it costs 16,36 SEK = 1,783 € when in Greece it costs 12,38 €
That is, the TSH is 594% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
Free T4
In Sweden it costs 16,45 SEK = 1,793 € when in Greece costs 20,54 €.
That is, the free T4 is 1046% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
PSA
In Sweden it costs 28,66 SEK = 3,123 € when in Greece it costs 14 €.
That is, the PSA is 348% more expensive in Greece than in Sweden.
I called some
weeks ago, the President of the Union of Swedish Physicians
working in the field of Chemical Laboratory Examinations, dr Matias
Aldrimer. Dr Aldrimer, told me that, in Sweden, the Primary
Health Care (= PHC) as a whole, is
a very large
customer and it has managed to bring
down the prices of the most common laboratory
blood tests in PHC. As a compensation the
laboratory providers raise the prices of some rare and specialized exams used mostly in hospital settings. The only blood test thought that I could find
to be significantly more expensive in Sweden
is that of 17-0H-Progesteron
which in Sweden
costs 468,23 SEK = 51,037 Euro while in Greece it
costs 9,51 Euro. (ie 437% more expensive
in Sweden).
In general, however, one can easily see that the prices of blood tests in Greece are much more expensive than in the rich Sweden.
In general, however, one can easily see that the prices of blood tests in Greece are much more expensive than in the rich Sweden.
Postscript:
Τhe prices of the blood tests in Sweden are not settled
by the state, as in Greece, but the Laboratory
Departments of the Hospitals of
each county or any private laboratory provider are
free to decide their prices. The customers (eg the various Health Care Centers or the various Hospitals ) have the right to choose between the various providers and of course they usually prefer the cheaper one. It
even happens that, due to the difference in price, the «customers» send the blood to
a laboratory that is located far away (although there may be another laboratory which is located nearer to the customer but it happens to be
more expensive).
Those who work in the laboratories of Health Centres and Hospitals are not doctors, (and this contributes too, to make blood tests cheaper in Sweden). They are called in Swedish "Biomedical Analyst" (Biomedicinska Analytiker) and their education is three years in higher educational institutions. It is not rare though, during the vacation period or in case of sickness, that the Biomedical Analyst is replaced by simple Nurses, who do this job as fine (in Greece it is considered to be a Physician job and should be paid accordingly...) Physicians working in the field of Chemical Laboratory tests (Klinisk Kemi) in Sweden, are few and work mostly as heads of big hospital laboratory departments (eg. a medium sized Hospital has usually 1-2 such doctors). Overall, Doctors having the specialization of Klinisk Kemi are all together around 120 people across the whole Sweden (a country of 9.5 million people). Eg in the county of Dalarna (population over 270,000) there are only two Doctors with this specialty.
In Sweden there are not any small private “Microbiological” laboratory offices, as we know them in Greece, but there are large Medical Laboratory centers. Their clients are not individual citizens as in Greece, but, as I wrote before, their clients are Health Care Centers, Hospitals Clinics or whole Hospitals. The largest private provider in Sweden, is the company Unilabs which is specialized both in blood tests and in Radiology. The second largest private provider is the company Aleris. In the county of Stockholm for example there are essentially three major providers: The (Karolinska University Laboratories which belongs to the state (but essentially it operates as a private company), the private company Unilabs and the private company Aleris.
Dr Argirios Argiriou
General Practioner
Dagkli 4, Kavala, 654 03
Greece.
Telephone: + 30 69 78 68 27 22
www.argiriou.se
Those who work in the laboratories of Health Centres and Hospitals are not doctors, (and this contributes too, to make blood tests cheaper in Sweden). They are called in Swedish "Biomedical Analyst" (Biomedicinska Analytiker) and their education is three years in higher educational institutions. It is not rare though, during the vacation period or in case of sickness, that the Biomedical Analyst is replaced by simple Nurses, who do this job as fine (in Greece it is considered to be a Physician job and should be paid accordingly...) Physicians working in the field of Chemical Laboratory tests (Klinisk Kemi) in Sweden, are few and work mostly as heads of big hospital laboratory departments (eg. a medium sized Hospital has usually 1-2 such doctors). Overall, Doctors having the specialization of Klinisk Kemi are all together around 120 people across the whole Sweden (a country of 9.5 million people). Eg in the county of Dalarna (population over 270,000) there are only two Doctors with this specialty.
In Sweden there are not any small private “Microbiological” laboratory offices, as we know them in Greece, but there are large Medical Laboratory centers. Their clients are not individual citizens as in Greece, but, as I wrote before, their clients are Health Care Centers, Hospitals Clinics or whole Hospitals. The largest private provider in Sweden, is the company Unilabs which is specialized both in blood tests and in Radiology. The second largest private provider is the company Aleris. In the county of Stockholm for example there are essentially three major providers: The (Karolinska University Laboratories which belongs to the state (but essentially it operates as a private company), the private company Unilabs and the private company Aleris.
Dr Argirios Argiriou
General Practioner
Dagkli 4, Kavala, 654 03
Greece.
Telephone: + 30 69 78 68 27 22
www.argiriou.se
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