Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018
386. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) who requires treatment for Lyme disease can avail of the treatment abroad scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29320/18]
View answerPatients can seek to access health care in an other EU/EEA member state via two different schemes. Where a service is provided in Ireland but a patient wishes to access care in another EU/EEA Member State, this can be possible by seeking treatment under the Directive on Patients' Rights in Cross Border Healthcare, otherwise known as the Cross Border Directive (CBD).
The HSE operates the CBD in Ireland. Referral for care under the CBD may be made by a GP, a hospital consultant and certain other clinicians. In line with practice in other EU Member States, the HSE through the National Contact Point (NCP) provides information for patients on the CBD on its website which can be accessed at: hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/cbd/ and also by phone at 056 7784551. The HSE advises where a patient is in any doubt as to the need to seek prior authorization before availing of a consultation or treatment abroad to contact the NCP.
The HSE also operates the Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS) for persons entitled to treatment in another EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland under EU Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, as per the procedures set out in EU Regulations (EC) No. 987/2009. The TAS provides for the cost of approved treatments in another EU/EEA member state or Switzerland through the issue of form E112 (IE) where the treatment is:
- Among the benefits provided for by Irish legislation;
- Not available in Ireland; and
- Not available within the time normally necessary for obtaining it in Ireland, taking account of the patient's current state of health and the probable course of the disease.
GPs refer patients to consultants for acute care and it is the treating consultant who, having exhausted all treatment options including tertiary care within the country, refers the patient abroad under the terms of the TAS. The consultant must specify the specific treatment and in making the referral accepts clinical responsibility in relation to the physician and facility abroad where the patient will attend.
Applications to the TAS are processed and a determination given in accordance with the statutory framework prior to a patient travelling to avail of treatment. The statutory framework stipulates the patient must be a public patient and is required to have followed public patient pathways. Information on the TAS can be accessed on the HSE website at: hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/treatmentabroad/ and also by phone at 056 7784551.
