Athens Medical: Major changes in Health Sector over next 18 months

The health sector is expected to change significantly in the next 18 months, the managing director of the Athens Medical Group Dr Vassilis Apostolopoulos noted in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) published on Monday.

“The health sector will significantly change. It is time for mergers and acquisitions and our group aspires to play a leading role in these changes. It hopes to become the Greek pole, as foreign investors are also expected to come to the country. Therefore, our group aims to expand and at the same time keep its Greek identity,” he stressed.

Furthermore, Apostolopoulos announced the opening of a new medical centre, the group’s fifth, in Bucharest in 2017. “It is a market that has faced many problems, like our country,” he said, expressing hope that Greece is now at the end of that difficult period. However, he added, Romania has started to develop again and Athens Medical is one of the first foreign companies expanding in the country.

Asked on how the Athens Medical Group handled the crisis, he replied that extroversion was the key. “We have expanded in Greece; new departments were created in each of our hospitals. We offered new medical services while continuing to invest in equipment renewal and biomedical technology. We did not reduce our staff, but in absolute terms there was an increase of 3 pct compared to the beginning of the crisis. And all this effort, I think, was appreciated by Greek society.”

Apostolopoulos underlined that the secret of the Group’s success is that the 3,000 people who work there are like a big family and this feeling gives the so-called “extra mile”.

Asked on how he sees the Greek economy after ten years, he noted: “I will you give an optimistic answer as an entrepreneur. I believe that all these efforts and sacrifices will bear fruit and I think that Greece deserves and can achieve a better future.”