​​Central

The central Government (Ministry of Health) is responsible for:

• The adoption of health policy;
• Ensuring the universal and equitable access to health services ;
• Supervising and regulating the private institutions that provide health services;
• Representing Greece internationally on all issues related to health policy. 
• Supervising and regulating healthcare professions; 
• Sanitary control on water and waste, 
• Setting the technical framework regarding the control of atmospheric pollution, radiation, ionizing and non-radiation;
• Establishing healthy environment and sanitary mechanics - hygiene health units;
• Planning and implementing policies of disease prevention and of maintaining public health; 
• The protection of public health from epidemiology diseases - public health regulations for workers’ health;
• The supervision of pharmaceutical agencies, drugs and cosmetics;
• The determination of pharmaceutical prices for insured persons (Article 39 N.3918/11);
• The primary health care and health development units; 
• Developing the institutional framework for hospital care;
• The oral health; 
• Mental health, with the aim of moving the general framework closer to a community-based system of care;
• Fighting addictions;
• Supervising public and private authorities;
• Deciding the national nutrition policy and the support of nutrition services.
  
• Supervising any legislation related to smoking.

Regional

Regional authorities are responsible for:

• The administration of the regional health authorities that supervise hospitals and public health in Greece, formerly established by the pre-existing prefectures ("Health Regions" – DYPE);
• Licensing and revocation of licenses for health professionals and the establishment of private clinics;
• The exercise of powers on issues of trans-national adoptions;
• Permission to import, install and operate machinery that produces ionising radiation for medical purposes as well as the operation of radioisotope laboratories for medical applications;
•  The authorisation of the establishment and operation of public and private laboratories, which conduct microbiological tests of water control, food or beverage, excluding workshops of the General Chemical State Laboratory;
• The imposition of administrative sanctions on doctors and dentists according to current legislation, and
• The implementation of public health programmes.    
  

Local

Municipal authorities are responsible for:

• Local medical assistance centres;
• The provision of measures for protection of public health, e.g. the health control of municipal water tanks, health checks of shops and businesses operating in the region, noise control, stray animals, shelters,  etc;
• Informing the citizens on public health issues;
• The implementation of programmes, in order to combat infectious and parasitic diseases of animals;
• The implementation of programmes and in particular:
• Public health programmes planned by the Ministry of Health or other ministries;
• Temporary public health programmes, carried out with temporal funding; and
• Public health programmes financed by EU funds.
• The publication of local health provisions and measures on public health;
• Licensing "stores of sanitary interest" such as restaurants, bars, fast food and coffee shops.
• Imposition or removal of hygiene measures on animals, stores, etc.

Responsible ministries/bodies

Ministry of Health

Sources

Ministry of Health according to Presidential Decree 121/2017 (O.G. 148/A/ 09-10-2017)

Law 3463/2006 (OJ Α 114/30.6.2006) 'Code for Municipalities and Communities', Articles 76 and 80.

Law 3852/2010 (OJ Α 87/7.6.2010) 'Reorganisation of Local Government - Kallikratis  Programme', Article 94, 186.

Open Society Institute, Territorial Consolidation Reforms in Europe, drafted by Pawel Swianiewicz, 2010, Budapest “Agency – Health Ministry Responsibilities", Ministry of Health.