A shocking case of a fake doctor who, although he was a physiotherapist, pretended to be a neurologist, deceiving patients with multiple sclerosis. His victims number fifteen, and five of them died, interrupting it. conventional medicines that they followed the introduction of so-called stem cell therapy.

The act of the 65-year-old shocked the Panhellenic Association of Physiotherapists, whose president Petros Limberides, kathimerini.gr emphasizes that complaints about the fake doctor never reached the club. According to a relative of the victim, who is no longer alive, his criminal activities have been reported to the Ombudsman since 2010. A relative of another victim claims that a complaint against a 65-year-old man was also filed in 2016.

The defendant, who runs a physiotherapy clinic in eastern Attica, worked with a doctor in Germany. Their action started at least 2009 and continued until November 2020 and is located in Thessaloniki, as well as in other regions of Greece such as Athens, Corfu and Chios.

The Association of Physiotherapists had no information about the act of the 65-year-old

Petros Limberidis emphasizes to K that the fake doctor has been on the club’s roster since 2010 and had a legal training as a physiotherapist. However, as he notes, the club was not informed at any stage of this multi-year lawsuit about the complaints against Dionysius Triantafyllos (such is the full name of the alleged perpetrator), although this was expected.

“Article 14 has a special provision. H3599 dated 2007 (SS.: Establishment of the Panhellenic Association of Physiotherapists and other provisions.), which states that courts and prosecutors must notify the association of lawsuits and complaints against our members. And, of course, they must also inform us of the final decisions they make,” emphasizes P. Limberides and continues: “Indeed, not so long ago, in the case of a fictitious physiotherapist operating in the region, and who has been convicted, we have posted a new announcement to remind you of this commitment for our information. This is provided in order not to deceive citizens for a long time.”

Apparently, cases of fake doctors are not uncommon. According to Mr. Liberidis, another case involving a bogus physiotherapist was recently uncovered in Athens. “This person created a Facebook page and visited houses, although he never studied this topic. He was sentenced to prison, but also to a fine.”

The president of the association emphasizes that the problem of information exchange between services, as well as between interested associations, is great and concerns not only the field of physiotherapists. As he explains: “There is a weakness in the system in terms of the interconnection of services. Sometimes some complaints that come to the National Transparency Authority or the Ministry of Health are brought to us, but these are partial steps. This shocking incident has never come down to us in all these years.”

The Phenomenon of Counterfeiting Medical Professions Is Widespread

The phenomenon of copying the medical profession occurs in all specialties, emphasizes P. Limberidis in K. “We have a code of ethics that clearly defines the rights and obligations of physiotherapists,” says the president of the association. In fact, realizing how complex the issue has become, its members have created a new code of ethics, which is expected to be published in the near future.

“In the new code, we further define the terms that members must use when talking about our profession, as well as what they can say when they “advertise” their work on social networks and websites,” explains Mr. Limberidis and adds: “We mention in fact specific phrases that we see widely circulating and consider them prohibitive. One of them is “alternative healer”. The word “alternative” is generally one of the most dangerous. There are no alternative therapists in the professions approved by the Ministry of Health.”

According to P. Limberidis, the falsification of medical professions is now quite common and even finds a “paved” way. As he explains, “Schools of dubious origin all over Greece organize seminars in which two days of tests are given, with which some begin to work in the field. Let someone try to search for “a seminar on reflexology or acupuncture” and he will find many cases.

In essence, the tax office is responsible for checking the financial profile of a citizen who wants to receive a CAD, and a commission of three members of the association of physiotherapists checks his diploma and laboratory.

But what happens if someone starts working without contacting the relevant medical association? “It will just start working until something suspicious or bad happens,” Mr. Limberides’ disarming response, which emphasizes that degree crossings are rare.

At the same time, the number of people entering the profession is large. According to Mr. Liberidis, the stated physiotherapists currently exceeds 10,000 throughout Greece, with 450 students graduating each year. Physiotherapy from four departments across the country. Some time ago, a fifth faculty was created in Sparta, which will graduate the first batch of students next summer.

He also mentions that greater mobility in the sector, as well as numerous cases of deception of citizens, has recently led to a lengthy dialogue between the association and the Ministry of Health on the need to strengthen legality checks. “We have proposed cross-checking the degrees in collaboration with the National Transparency Authority, which can use the association’s electronic file,” he notes.

The President of Physiotherapists also emphasizes that the citizens themselves should be more proactive when faced with suspicious situations: “In addition to the police, they should also report any oddities they see to the appropriate medical associations as we duly inform the Principles. We can make our contribution to the protection of the population in a timely manner and monitor the development of the case.”