Emigrating young physicians leave Greece with an aging health workforce

After 7 consecutive years of recession, Greece is faced with a mass exodus of young physicians, who are seeking employment in other countries. While the total number of doctors registered in Greece has hardly changed over the past few years,1 it is clear that younger doctors are leaving the country in large numbers. Data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority show that the number of doctors without specialty, which should reflect the number of recent graduates who are waiting to start specialty training or are currently training, decreased by 11.4% between 2009 and 2013.1 In a recent press release, the Athens Medical Association—the largest in the country—announced that 3000 young doctors are unemployed and an average of two of its members leave the country every day.2 Both constitute concerning numbers, considering that the total number of doctors practicing in Athens was 33 722 in 2013.1 The number of physicians who gained their primary medical qualification in Greece and registered with the British General Medical Council to practise medicine in the UK increased by 113% between 2008 and 2013,3 while the number of Greek doctors in Germany increased from 1708 in 2008 to 3011 in 2014.4 The issue has been highlighted before, and the factors driving this trend, including unemployment, income decreases, high taxation, limited funding of biomedical research and contracting health budgets,5 are not expected to improve in the foreseeable future. Greece has traditionally had a high number of doctors relative to its population (6.3 doctors per 1000 people in 2013),1 so it is unlikely that it will face a real shortage of doctors. It could be argued that lowering the population of doctors to a level closer to the European Union average may actually benefit public health in the country. However, Greek hospitals rely heavily on junior doctors, and they would struggle to operate without their substantial contributions. Moreover, Greece is deprived of a dynamic new generation of doctors, who could offer up to date knowledge and rejuvenate the aging public healthcare system. Long-term health workforce planning does not seem to exist in Greece,5 but the authorities must act before the brain drain among health professionals undermines the quality of healthcare in the country. Fiscal limitations are tight, but the lack of opportunities for young doctors that Greece has trained at a high cost will only result in future losses in both money and quality of care.