Liam Aylward
Question:93 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Health and Children if a person is entitled to their own choice of general practitioner regardless of the distance from their home under the general medical card scheme. [32027/01]
Written Answers. - Medical Cards.
Medical card holders are free to choose any general practitioner from the GMS list of their local health board. Normally the doctor's surgery is situated within seven miles of the patient's home. Doctors receive extra payment for patients who live some distance from their surgeries. Doctors may choose not to include a patient on their list because of the mileage between the surgery and the patient's home and the requirement under his GMS contract to be available to cover domiciliary visits.