Doctors to meet minister on Wednesday over card payments row

Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis is to meet Greek doctors on Wednesday afternoon to discuss their concerns about a proposal for patients to pay for their visits by credit or debit card.

Alexiadis is due to meet Giorgos Patoulis, the head of the Athens Medical Association (ISA), to discuss the measure after the organization raised objections last week.

“The measure will not contribute to the effort to tackle tax evasion as it relates to the provision of a service, not a product, and cannot be monitored in this way,” ISA said.

It added that the measure would add to doctors’ costs as they would be forced to buy credit card machines and pay a commission to their bank.

It also pointed out that a number of elderly patients are not familiar with how to use credit cards.