Physicians’ views on informed consent and health data protection in Greece: a qualitative study

Background

Informed consent is a fundamental ethical and legal requirement in healthcare, ensuring patient autonomy, adequate understanding of medical information, and protection of personal data. In clinical practice, however, the process often extends beyond the formal signing of documents and depends on effective communication and organizational conditions. This study explores physicians’ perceptions, experiences and practices regarding informed consent and the management of sensitive health data in the Greek healthcare context.

Methods

A qualitative interpretive design was used with semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling included ten physicians of different specialties practicing in Greece, aged 32 to 74 years, with 7 to 40 years of professional experience. Interviews were conducted between July and December 2025 and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Participants distinguished between the formal completion of consent documentation and patients’ substantive understanding of the information provided. Key barriers to effective communication included limited consultation time, heavy workload, low patient health literacy, emotional distress and language barriers. Physicians also reported limited familiarity with the legal and ethical framework governing informed consent and data protection, as well as the absence of systematic training in these areas. Finally, heterogeneity was observed in practices related to the collection, storage, and protection of sensitive medical data.

Conclusions

In Greece, informed consent often functions more as a formal compliance requirement than as a patient-centered communication process. Organizational constraints and limited training influence the quality of consent and data protection practices. Strengthening structured training, standardizing consent procedures, and improving data protection infrastructures could enhance patient understanding and support more effective public health practice.

Key messages

• In Greece, informed consent often functions as a formal requirement rather than a patient-centered communication process, highlighting gaps in physician training and organizational support.

• Improving training, standardizing consent procedures, and strengthening data protection systems could enhance patient understanding, autonomy, and ethical clinical practice.