HIO fines three doctors €11,500 over GHS billing breaches

Local doctorsgesyghshealthhioTop News HIO fines three doctors €11,500 over GHS billing breaches Innovative Medicines Arrive In Dribs And Drabs For Cypriot Patients Relevant News HIO fines three doctors €11,500 over GHS billing breaches 2 July 2026 Water supply cut in Larnaca tourist area until 3pm 2 July 2026 Cyprus inflation hits 4% in June, among EU’s highest 2 July 2026 Marilena Panayi 2 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) fined three doctors a total of €11,500 last month after inspections found they had acted outside GHS regulations, and in some cases outside medically indicated guidelines, in prescribing and billing for patients under the General Health System (GHS). The cases involved an endocrinologist and a nephrologist accused of over-prescribing hormone replacement medication to GHS beneficiaries, and an orthopaedic surgeon who sought reimbursement for procedures and examinations he had not carried out, identified after complaints from his own patients to the HIO’s relevant department. In the first case, involving a doctor specialising in endocrinology, the HIO monitored his prescriptions through the GHS software system and found unjustified issuing of prescriptions, in quantities that far exceeded what was medically necessary for monthly use based on approved therapeutic indications and appropriate dosing. Phileleftheros understands the medication involved was testosterone, though this detail was not specified in the HIO’s own findings. The HIO also found the doctor had co-prescribed medications in quantities, combinations and indications not justified under any therapeutic protocol. He was fined €5,000. The second doctor, a nephrologist, was found by the HIO to have prescribed medication outside approved therapeutic indications, again reportedly involving hormone replacement drugs according to information reaching Phileleftheros, in quantities not justified for any therapeutic purpose. He was fined €1,500, a lower amount reflecting that his conduct was not repeated. In the third case, an orthopaedic surgeon was found to have recorded procedures and examinations in the GHS system during patient visits which, it later emerged, he had never actually carried out. According to the HIO’s statement, following complaints from beneficiaries, it was found that claims had been submitted for activities that were not justified or documented in clinical notes, and that referrals and prescriptions issued during those visits were similarly not justified or documented. The HIO also found instances where combinations of specific procedures had been recorded within the same claim, without justification for carrying them out simultaneously during a single visit, and without adequate documentation of their use in the clinical notes. Some of the doctor’s patients, monitoring their GHS electronic records, noticed the irregularities and filed a complaint, prompting an investigation by the HIO’s relevant department. The doctor was fined €5,000. In total, during the first half of 2026, the HIO imposed fines amounting to €92,000. The fines involved nine doctors and one hospital in total. Read more: Patients stuck waiting, or paying €25, when doctors run out of referrals Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Water supply cut in Larnaca tourist area until 3pm Cyprus inflation hits 4% in June, among EU’s highest Cyprus police deliver 13,000 fines in 20 days of new photoradar list Cyprus business magnate Nikos Shacolas dies aged 98 Father to face court today over Xylofagou boys’ deaths Officer given recommendations days before Limassol wife shooting, sources say Things to do on Thursday, July 2 Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.