Greece expands free skin cancer screening nationwide
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The Greek Ministry of Health will offer free skin cancer screenings to all citizens through a new program, bringing preventative care directly to people instead of waiting for them to seek it out.
The initiative will leverage Greece’s Primary Healthcare network, including Health Centers and Mobile Health Units, with a focus on reaching high-risk groups like farmers, fishermen, and outdoor workers, as well as residents of remote and island areas.
The program will use telehealth, specialized equipment, and artificial intelligence to support healthcare professionals. Reference Centers will then evaluate suspicious findings and refer citizens for further testing or treatment. The Ministry of Health is collaborating with hospitals like the Andreas Syggros Hospital of Skin and Venereal Diseases in Athens and the Hippokrateio General Regional Hospital of Thessaloniki to implement the screenings.
Deputy Minister of Health Irini Agapidakis emphasized the proactive approach, stating that the program aims to reach vulnerable populations directly. The government intends to use a standardized data collection system to track results and inform future healthcare policies. The program builds on the existing “PROLAVANO” preventative care initiative, which has already provided free check-ups to nearly 6.9 million citizens and identified around 300,000 cases requiring further medical attention.
