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This paper evaluates the efficiency of public hospitals with two alternative conceptual models. One model targets resource usage directly to assess production efficiency, while the other model incorporates financial results to assess economic efficiency. Performance analysis of these models was conducted in two stages. In stage one, we utilized data envelopment analysis to obtain the efficiency score of each hospital, while in stage two we took into account the influence of the operational environment on efficiency by regressing those scores on explanatory variables that concern the performance of hospital services. We applied these methods to evaluate 96 general hospitals in the Greek national health system. The results indicate that, although the average efficiency scores in both models have remained relatively stable compared to past assessments, internal changes in hospital performances do exist. This study provides a clear framework for policy implications to increase the overall efficiency of general hospitals.

Despite lower cancer mortality rates in Greece compared to other European countries, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most important cause of cancer mortality. Given the significant economic and societal impact of CRC in Greece, this paper focuses on CRC data resources, disease management and the existing prevention policies. Numerous initiatives have taken place for the collection of data and the creation of cancer registries, however, they currently remain incomplete. Despite universal access of the Greek population to health services provision, structural problems of the national health system have imposed organisational barriers to the geographical distribution of health resources. National invitational CRC screening programmes focusing on early detection of the disease as well as guidelines for its management are missing. All novel cancer treatments are fully reimbursed. Post-treatment surveillance guidelines for high-risk patients are very limited and depend solely on health providers' decisions. A National Cancer Plan (NCP) had been announced during the 2008-2012, but is still in the planning phases. Under the proposed NCP, the longevity of cancer data collection seems to be the critical step in monitoring and improving the performance of the health system. Detailed epidemiological data will give the possibility of constructing an effective prevention policy, will reduce socio-economic inequalities in the access to CRC treatment and lighten the differences observed in health outcomes. The full implementation of the NCP constitutes the most significant investment in cancer management that has ever taken place in Greece.

Health expenditure data are known to be afflicted by restricted range, zero values, skewness and kurtosis. Several methods for modelling such data have been suggested in the literature to cope with these problems. This paper compares the performance of several alternative estimators, including two-part models and generalised linear models. The dependent variable is household expenditure on health care in Greece, a country where out-of-pocket health expenditure is higher than anywhere else in the European Union, whether as a proportion of GDP, as a share of all health spending, or in per capita terms. To facilitate comparison of model performance, household health expenditure is examined in two different specifications: expenditure on all health care (where zero values are rare) and expenditure on hospital services alone (where zero values are common). In the case of expenditure on all health care, three of the estimators performed almost equally well in terms of three alternative model performance indicators: a modified two-part model with non-linear least squares in the second part, a constant-variance generalised linear model and a variance-proportional-to-mean generalised linear model. In the case of expenditure on hospital services, the constant-variance generalised linear model out-performed the rest. The findings suggest that no estimator is best under all circumstances, while most alternative estimators are likely to produce relatively similar results. The paper concludes by discussing implications for further research.

Gas chromatographic analysis of ethyl chloroformate derivatives of samples taken from the paint layers of post-Byzantine panel paintings permitted the successful characterisation of the different binding media used in them. This paper describes an analytical study of various post-Byzantine binding media such as egg yolk and egg/oil emulsion, using gas chromatography. The characterisation of these icons' binding media is an important task, as it contributes to our understanding of and the reconstruction of the post-Byzantine artists' palette. It also enables us to investigate the validity of our assumptions about the influences of Venetian style on Greek icon painting techniques from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, which up to now have been based on information in artists' handbooks. The methodology involves two experimental steps: (1) hydrolysis of the proteins and triglycerides in the binding media to obtain free amino acids and fatty acids, and (2) the formation of ethyl chloroformate derivatives via derivatization with ethyl chloroformate (ECF). This methodology is of considerable interest, since it permits the identifcation of the nature of the proteinaceous binders used in these works through the simultaneous derivatization and determination of amino acids and fatty acids. Advantages of this methodology include the small quantity of sample required and the minimum preparation time involved. The proteinaceous media can be determined based on the ratios of seven stable amino acids, while the type of emulsions and drying oils used can be determined from the fatty acid ratio.