Brian Stanley
Question:207. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if screening for conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol is covered under the general medical service contract. [31741/17]
View answerWednesday, 5 July 2017
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Written answers
Under the terms of the current GMS contract, GPs are required to provide eligible patients with ''all proper and necessary treatment of a kind usually undertaken by a general practitioner and not requiring special skill or experience of a degree or kind which general practitioners cannot reasonably be expected to possess." Screening for specific illnesses or diseases is not a requirement of the contract but may be offered by some GPs.
The next phase of discussions on a new GP contract is underway. The aim is to develop a new modern GP contract which will facilitate the shift within the health service away from hospital services towards an integrated primary care service in order to deliver better care close to home in communities across the country. I want to see a new contract which has a population health focus, providing in particular for health promotion and disease prevention and for the structured ongoing care of chronic conditions.
Officials in my Department and the HSE are in discussions with GP representatives with a view to drawing up a new contract. The appropriate arrangements in relation to the screening and management of chronic conditions, including diabetes, will be considered as part of the new GMS contract.