General IST policy: Greece

The policy of Greece concerning IST and elderly is focused at health and care. The measures concerning the ICT in Health and Care System that are announced by the Greek government within the 3^rd Strategic Framework are:

1. The accessibility of scientific and administrative staff to interconnected sources of data for the prevention, the diagnosis and the cure of health related problems.
2. The interconnection of geographically distributed Health Care Centers and the development of a service oriented network, enabling the provision of services which up to now were available only to central points.
3. The development of integrated information systems to all healthcare centers.
4. The development of secure systems for the accessibility of confidential information regarding the health conditions of patients. This data will be accessible by the patients and the staff of hospitals, healthcare centers etc.
5. The development of information systems and telematic applications for the elderly and the disable people.

It is expected that impact on availability and suitability of ICT will be:

• Utilization of information systems by all peripheral healthcare centers and thus improvement of services offered.
• Interconnection of doctors and healthcare institutions
• Further research for the design and execution of policies regarding exploitation of existing systems, use of new technologies (such as smart cards), and wider spread of information (for example health and care portals)
• Design and development of databases for the provision of information regarding national policies, regulations and practices.

Lobby groups for older people in fact are professionals, aiming at research and development of their activity field.

Hellenic Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics: Established in 1977, as Hellenic Association of Gerontology became Hellenic Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics in 1997. HAGG's scope is the continuous provision of scientific information to those who are concerned with the issues deriving from the 3^rd age. Under this scope, HAGG studies and presents solutions to the problems of older people, supports the efforts for education and knowledge spreading of those findings, and promotes the formation of services that aim at the improvement of the life conditions of older people. HAGG organises conferences and scientific meetings, publishes research studies and works very closely with other organisations and governmental bodies contributing to the formation and promotion of policies regarding older people.

SEXTANT Group: founded in 1991, specialises in social research and consultancy. It consists of a multi-disciplinary group of scientists from varied backgrounds in sociology, medicine, psychology, law, anthropology and economics. Working at both national and international levels, its members have undertaken commissions both independently and in collaboration with international research teams. SEXTANT has specialised on the issues concerning older people in society and public policy, focusing on research and issues affecting them.

Committee of representatives: The Ministry of Health and Welfare has formed a committee for the representation of older people, giving them the opportunity to participate in the decision making process of their interest.

Associations: There are many associations that focus on the protection of the legal and financial rights of people receiving pensions. The majority of those associations were formed in 1995, a year that brought many changes to the legislation framework for insurance, social security, welfare. The major ones distribute their own publications in order to inform and advise their members. The number of these associations is more or less equal to the number of social security institutions in Greece (available data shows that in 1997 there were 236 social security and welfare institutions in Greece).

Some of the associations make some efforts to include issues related to ICT applications in their actions aiming to promote the potential benefits that the use of information and communication technology applications could offer to older people. However, ICT applications development and use is in a very low place in their priority list, since other issues such as the re-organisation of the Greek social security and healthcare system, the pensions and benefits of the insured and non-insured people have almost monopolised their interest, in the last years.