Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1550. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health given the positive clinical results being achieved by the HSE's structured chronic disease management programme, the reason certain cohorts of medical cardholders (details supplied) are excluded from the programme; if he will now extend the programme to include these groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17184/23]
View answerThe General Practitioner (GP) Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Programme commenced in 2020 and has been rolled out on a phased basis to adult GMS (Medical Card and GP Visit Card) patients over a 4-year period as planned. The specified chronic conditions included in the Programme are Type 2 Diabetes; Asthma; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cardiovascular Disease (including Heart Failure, Ischaemic Heart Disease, Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), Atrial Fibrillation).
94% of eligible GPs have signed up to providing the CDM programme. To date, 307,630 patients have been registered – on track to reach the target of 430,000 patients registered to the programme by the end of Q4 2023.
The CDM programme is an entirely new healthcare service in Ireland that has brought the care for chronic disease further into the community and it aims to reduce hospital attendance by patients with one or more of these specified conditions.
To support patients in managing their chronic condition(s), under the CDM Treatment Programme each patient receives two scheduled reviews with the GP in a 12-month period, each preceded by a practice nurse visit. These reviews include patient education, preventative care, medication review, physical examinations, scheduled investigations and individual care planning.
The Opportunistic Case Finding Programme identifies those at high risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes for entry to the Preventive Programme and those with undiagnosed chronic disease(s) are enrolled under the Treatment Programme. Those enrolled under the Preventive Programme receive an annual GP and practice nurse visit.
The first phase of the CDM Treatment Programme commenced at the end of January 2020, starting with patients aged 75 years and over. In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the CDM Programme was modified in July 2020 to allow for greater use of remote consultations and was extended to those aged 70 years and over.
In 2020, approximately 115,000 patients were registered on the programme, and GPs and practice nurses undertook over 126,000 consultations for people aged over 70 years.
In 2021, approximately an additional 68,000 new patients were registered on the programme and over 219,700 consultations were provided to people aged over 65 years.
In 2022, a further 124,466 patients were registered on the CDM Treatment Programme, and GPs and practice nurses undertook over 415,000 consultations for people aged over 18 years.
In addition, in 2022, the Opportunistic Case Finding and Prevention elements of the programme commenced for eligible people aged 65 years and over. From January-December 2022, 11,090 patients were assessed under the High-Risk Preventative Programme, and 38,628 patients were assessed through Opportunistic Case Finding.
The final phase of the programme commenced on 1 January 2023 with the extension of Opportunistic Case Finding and Preventative components to all eligible patients aged 45 and over.
Further expansion of the programme to include additional conditions is currently under consideration.
