Greece's medical establishment must intervene more aggressively against doctors who blend medicine with lifestyle marketing, the head of the Athens Medical Association's disciplinary board said, as the death of singer Giorgos Mazonakis reignites scrutiny of the country's medical oversight system.
Andreas Foustanos told state broadcaster ERTnews that medicine "cannot be mixed with lifestyle," and questioned whether a "fashionable doctor" should exist at all.
Mr. Foustanos said patients should choose physicians based on scientific training and specialization rather than popularity or word-of-mouth recommendations, particularly in aesthetic medicine, where he said some patients seek procedures that aren't medically advisable and doctors bear responsibility for setting limits.
Mr. Foustanos said uncontrolled medical information online compounds the problem, allowing anyone to publish medical opinions without meaningful oversight, and called for updating Greece's medical ethics code, which he said hasn't kept pace with the internet era.
On the disciplinary process itself, Mr. Foustanos explained that complaints first pass through the medical association's board before reaching the disciplinary council, which can only impose sanctions specified under existing regulations — no more, no less.
He noted the association lacks the capacity to monitor every clinic daily, though it does inspect practices when they first register and can conduct follow-up checks.
Asked whether financial incentives drive doctors to cut corners, Mr. Foustanos said the problem isn't universal, but acknowledged that some prioritize profit over patient welfare.
"The doctor must look only at the patient's health," he said, adding that when a patient's request conflicts with medical safety, safety must prevail, invoking the Hippocratic oath.
New treatment methods, he cautioned, must be scientifically validated before use — not adopted simply because they're novel.