Hygeia Hospital, a leading private hospital in Athens, Greece, has aimed to position itself as a regional leader in health care services. The hospital has sought to differentiate itself in the Greek health care market by meeting three key objectives:

  • Develop and nurture a culture and infrastructure to support clinical quality of an international standard.
  • Implement state-of-the-art medical technology.
  • Become a regional focal point for the latest medical knowledge.

Since 2002, Hygeia has partnered with HMI in order to fulfill a long-term vision of regional leadership and clinical excellence. Frequent interactions between Hygeia and leading faculty at Harvard Medical School (HMS) have been at the forefront of this endeavor:

  • HMI has helped Hygeia to institute a clinical quality management infrastructure to support continuous improvement.
  • In 2004, HMI coordinated visiting professorships at Hygeia Hospital for HMS faculty in the areas of radiology, radiotherapy, gamma knife technology, and gastrointestinal surgery.
  • HMI and Hygeia have collaborated to organize two regional conferences, bringing together the most up-to-date information on cancer (2003) and preventive medicine (2005).


Hygeia Hospital continues to build its reputation as a provider of choice in the Greek health care system. Its investment in state-of-the-art technology has put the hospital at the forefront of diagnostic imaging and non-invasive surgery. In 2004, Hygeia become the first hospital in Greece to implement gamma knife technology, as well as a PET/CT scan. Perhaps more importantly, Hygeia Hospital has sharpened its focus on quality of care by putting in place a new infrastructure to track progress and identify areas for continuous improvement of patient care.