“Primary Health Care During the Period of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case Management and the Effect of the Pandemic on the Cost and the Quality of Services Rendered at Health Care Centers of Fthiotida Prefecture”

Primary Health Care (PHC) constitutes the basis of health systems, while its role is considered particularly important during periods of health crises. One such case was the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to a set of unprecedented measures and situations, not only for Greece, but internationally (Agorastidou, M., Vlachopoulos, N., Constanta, Z., Nikoli, A., Pagozidis, H., Tsitsani, A. The role of Primary Health Care in the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic: a qualitative research with interviews with health professionals working in Health Centers and L.H.U. in Greece by students of the Department of Medicine, AUTH, 2020). Aim: This paper aims to record the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Primary Health Care focusing on the case of the cost and quality of the services provided in the health centers of the Prefecture of Fthiotida according to the opinions of the employees in them. Methodology: The research is based on data obtained from the questionnaires distributed to the Health Centers (HC) of the prefecture of Fthiotida, on June 2023 and compared with data from studies of both Greek and international scientific literature over the last 10 years Results: According to the results of the research, the Health Centers of the prefecture of Fthiotida have been significantly affected by the pandemic. It appears that there is a direct and significant relationship between the costs of dealing with the pandemic and the quality of the services provided. However, the research highlights the important role played by Primary Health Care during the pandemic. Conclusions: In order for Primary Health Care to be able to respond to its important role, it should have sufficient funding and staffing with suitable and specialized scientific staff in order to provide quality care services to people in need.