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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 7

Written Answers. - Medical Card Holders' Medication.

Frank Crowley

Question:

84 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Health if he has had discussions with the medical profession regarding the request by the GMS board that the cases of individual medical card holders who require expensive medication be referred to the board.

In the course of the 1990-91 review of the GMS contract it was agreed, between the Irish Medical Organisation and Management, that, as part of a co-ordinated drugs strategy, indicative prescribing targets would be determined for all doctors in the GMS scheme. It was further agreed that these targets would be based on the best information available and that they would be refined and adjusted annually. This process commenced in 1991 when indicative figures were circulated to doctors for a six month period prior to the circulation last month of annual targets for 1992.

These targets are intended to give doctors the opportunity to objectively assess their overall prescribing levels with comparable practices and they are not intended to interfere in any way with an individual doctor's right and obligation to prescribe as necessary.

In order to ensure that the comparisons being made were accurate and to ensure that the targets issued to doctors took account of as many influencing factors as possible, the GMS (Payments) Board, when issuing the target figures last year, asked general practitioners for summary information of patients on their panel who required expensive medication. This information allowed the GMS (Payments) Board to update and issue targets to general practitioners in respect of the year 1992 which more accurately reflect these influences.

In the case of over 1,000 of the 1,600 doctors in the GMS scheme, their 1992 drug targets are 5 per cent up on their actual prescribing in 1991 and in the case of other doctors, their targets will be 5 per cent greater than the actual average prescribing in 1991 for a panel of similar size and composition.

The question of the utilisation of any savings arising from the operation of these targets will be considered in the light of the ongoing evaluation of their effectiveness during the course of 1992.

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