Digital Patients Academy and Health Alphabet

The Patients' Union of Greece puts at the heart of its efforts the digital education of people with chronic diseases, caregivers and health professionals through two new digital actions: the "Health Alphabet" and the "Digital Patients' Academy".

The Health Alphabet

The Health Alphabet works like ‘Wikipedia’Health. It is an innovative, digital information and education platform that helps citizens ‘translate’ medical terminology into simple and understandable language, for a Health that is more understandable, trustworthy and accessible to all. It is based on the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) system, an international disease coding system, which is specific to a global “list” (each disease, injury or health problem carries a unique code)

The user finds these simple, clear descriptions of medical terms, related to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and health care, accompanied by relevant links for easy navigation. The Alphabet creates a ‘patient journey’,from prevention and diagnosis to the management of a chronic disease, thus helping to better understand the health system and actively participate in health-related decisions.

The aim of the initiative is to empower all citizens to find, understand and make good use of health information.

The Digital Patients Academy

The Digital Patients Academy (academy.greekpatient.gr) is a new, free, educational initiative of the Patients’ Association of Greece, aimed at strengthening Digital Health Literacy. It is a new educational program that already operates on a pilot basis and is addressed to patients, caregivers and health professionals e.g. nurses, physiotherapists, etc. The aim of the Academy is to provide practical tools and knowledge for the safe and autonomous use of digital health applications and services. The Academy's pilot cycle began in the last quarter of 2025 with weekly afternoon classes (1-2 times a week).

Objectives of the programme

• Assess the level of digital literacy of patients and caregivers in Greece;
• To offer free education to the members of the Association, with practical skills for the use of digital health tools,
• Empower patients to safely manage their medical data and make use of NHS digital services;
• To inform about new technologies and innovations in health care,
• To create a new culture of digital participation, where patients become active partners in their health-related decisions;
• To work with institutional, scientific and technological bodies to highlight the real challenges and opportunities in Digital Health,

The most important modules of the Digital Patients Academy are:

• Digital health applications
• Artificial intelligence
• Legal/moral issues
• Mobile technologies
• User rights

Indicative Courses provided on the platform for the members of the Association are:

1) The framework of ‘Health Literacy’ (HL) and ‘Digital HL’ (HL),
2) Electronic Health Services in Greece,
3) Digital Tools &amps; Health Technologies to Support Patients,
4) Health Data: Management and Uses,
5) Legal and Ethical Issues in HL,
6) Hospital Evaluation Procedures,
7) Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis in Healthcare.

Why it's an innovative program

Through practical examples, interactive courses and specialised modules, participants learn to use NHS applications, to use e-services such as intangible prescribing and myHealth application, but also to understand and apply new tools for artificial intelligence, telemedicine and big data analysis. The innovation of the Digital Patients Academy lies in the fact that it provides:

• hybrid training (in-person & online),
• specialized courses by Digital Health specialists,
• practical training in the use of tools,
• online exercises,
• educational material on demand,
• Self-assessment & Certificate of Attendance.

It is noted by the Board of Directors of the Patients’ Association of Greece that the digital transition in the health sector – with digitised data, applications, platforms and the integration of artificial intelligence – is significantly changing the everyday life of the patient with a chronic disease.

However, the Union makes clear that digital health education can only be supportive, is neither a diagnosis nor a treatment and any medical conclusion must be based on a professional assessment.