Doctors oppose being paid with plastic

The Athens Medical Association said on Friday that it is opposed to the government’s proposal to make all patients pay for their visits to doctors by credit or debit card in a bid to ensure that all earnings are recorded.

“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,” the doctors said in their statement.

They 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.

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