Dr Declan Aherne, clinical psychologist and head of counselling at University of Limerick, estimated the total annual cost of psychological services at primary care level would be €42.5 million compared with the cost of €52.5 million paid for antidepressant drugs in…
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Medical news service from Penhire
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Times editorial on free GP care
The revelation in this newspaper that the Government is set to abandon a key election commitment to extend free GP care to almost 60,000 people with long-term illnesses puts a major dent in government health policy. It also raises serious…
Kenny insists Government will deliver on free GP care
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Government remains committed to free GP care but admitted a move to extend free doctor’s care to almost 60,000 people with long-term illnesses had been dropped. His comments came after a report in yesterday’s Irish…
GP card plan for long-term illness to be dropped
The Government is set to abandon a key election commitment to extend free GP care to almost 60,000 people with long-term illnesses. The plan, proposed as a first step on the way to free GP care for all, was supposed…
Pledge on long-term free GP care stalled
The Government’s promise to give free GP care to people on the Long-term Illness Scheme remains stalled, despite promises to have it in place more than two years ago. The legislation to underpin the move had not been published despite…
Analysis: Primary care practitioners insist cuts have consequences
The health service and thousands of GPs, pharmacists, dentists and other contractors who provide primary care services have been struggling in recent years to deal with increasing numbers of patients at a time of significantly reduced funding. The State’s bill…
GPs urged to switch patients to cheaper medicines
Doctors are being urged by the HSE to save up to €15m for the hard-pressed taxpayer by switching to cheaper cholesterol and anti-ulcer medicines. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) and statins account for up to 15% of the health authority’s drugs…
Posted in General practice, Medicines
Patients facing three-day wait to see GP as practices teeter on ‘edge of viability’
A GP has told how his practice has had to impose a waiting list on patients, who must now face a delay of up to three days for routine appointments. The emergence of waiting lists was revealed at the annual…
Depressing truth about anxiety and doctors: investigative journalism
Journalism student Niamh Drohan posed as a student at a college in Waterford and visited seven GPs as part of an investigation into the treatment of depression among young people. Of the seven consultations with GPs, whom I have never…
Surgery poster on medical card services causes GP concern
A poster sent to GP surgeries nationwide in recent days which outlines services that are not covered by the medical card has met with mixed reaction from doctors. The poster, drawn up by the Irish Medical Organisation and distributed to GP surgeries,…
Tagged with: Irish Medical Organisation
Posted in Austin O’Carroll, General practice, Mel Bates (GP), Ray Walley (GP), Services
Posted in Austin O’Carroll, General practice, Mel Bates (GP), Ray Walley (GP), Services
GPs’ private patients benefit from relaxed medical card rules
PRIVATE patients are enjoying more competition among family doctors, as relaxed rules on medical cards allow more GPs to open surgeries. New figures obtained by the Irish Independent show an estimated 100 GPs have set up new or expanded practices…
Cork GP cleared at Medical Council hearing
A Cork GP has been cleared of five allegations of poor professional performance and of professional misconduct in a case which his solicitor argued, if upheld, would have led to “defensive medicine” with doctors being denied the right to their professional judgment.…
GPs ‘refused to invest’ in SouthDoc
Yesterday, former SIPTU branch secretary for Kerry, Donie Doody, told the tribunal that he had written to the doctors in 2009 asking them to pay a contribution, but that “they said they wouldn’t”. The co-op, which serves a population of…
Posted in Doctors, General practice
HSE creates unit to urge GPs to make better use of cheaper generic drugs
A new medicines management unit is to be established within the Health Service Executive to help drive down the cost of commonly used medicines. The unit, whose establishment will be announced shortly, plans to write to all GPs to encourage…
The Reading Well: Books on Prescription scheme
The scheme aims to bring reading’s healing benefits to the 6 million people with anxiety and depression. There is growing evidence showing that self help reading can help people with certain mental health conditions get better. Reading Well Books on…
GPs consider protest action
[From the Irish Times >] GPs are considering withdrawing from participation in primary care teams in protest at proposals by the Government to introduce new cuts in fees. The Government announced in the budget in December that €70 million in…
Defibrillator training for all GPs urged to cut deaths
The Health Research Board (HRB) study, funded by the HSE, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Council and the Department of Health, found that the provision of a defibrillator and appropriate training for every GP in the State would allow rapid intervention, which…
Tagged with: Cardiology, Emergency, Health Research Board
Posted in General practice, Gerard Bury (GP), Research
Posted in General practice, Gerard Bury (GP), Research
Missing or incorrect information common
[From Independent >] PREGNANT women have been warned that the issue of incorrectly marked medical charts is a “major problem” that goes unreported. Dr Mary Favier, chair of education for the Irish College of General Practitioners, said that instances of…
Children on medical cards see GP twice as often
Research has revealed, for the first time, the constraints on families who have to shell out at least €50 each time they see a doctor. There is a concern that individuals and households whose income is just above the medical-card…
List of centres was revised and redrawn repeatedly from initial 22 up to final 36
That the list evolved was not unusual. But why no explanations – and why two on Reilly’s turf? The development of primary care centres across the country formed a key element of a €2.25 billion economic stimulus package announced by…
Free GP care included in health proposals
Detailed plans for the future of the health service, which will see free GP care for all introduced in 2015 to be followed by the promised universal health insurance scheme, were announced yesterday. The plans set out target times for…
Primary care yet to come of age
After canvassing a few friends for their understanding of primary care, I found most none than wiser than the mystified traveller. “It’s another name for your GP, right?” said one. “No idea,” said another. “Life’s too short,” said a third.…
Electronic scripts among products being developed in innovation hub
AN ELECTRONIC prescription service that allows GPs to send prescriptions directly to pharmacies is one of range of products being developed as part of a new initiative linking healthcare companies with the health service. Abtran, which employs over 1,000 people…
GP told case cannot be tried by ‘remote control’
A JUDGE yesterday told a GP accused of obtaining money under false pretences from families of two terminally ill cancer patients that his case “cannot be conducted by remote control”. At Ennis Circuit Court, Co Clare, yesterday, Dr Paschal Carmody…
Posted in Doctors, General practice
Reilly says there will be free GP care
THE MINISTER for Health has insisted that free GP care will be delivered in the lifetime of the Government. Addressing Fine Gael’s internal health committee focusing on primary care last night, James Reilly fielded questions on hospitals, home helps and…
Fall in GP visits and insurance premiums
A drop in visits to GPs and private clinics and a return to almost pre-boom take-up of private health insurance are among the stark findings of a new report looking at the nation’s health. The Pfizer Health Index 2012, in…
GPs told to limit costly new stroke drugs for medical card holders
DOCTORS are being told to ration expensive new drugs that can prevent strokes and opt instead for cheaper alternatives, the Irish Independent has learnt. The blood-thinning medications Pradaxa and Rivaroxaban, which are new treatments and highly regarded by doctors, were…
GPs warned on child vaccines
GPs around the country have been warned to ensure they follow proper guidelines when administering childhood vaccines in order to fully protect their young patients from serious diseases. Around 290 children and teenagers are now being offered a new set…
Profile of GP Dr Austin O’Carroll
Despite his worsening condition, he continues to work as a full-time GP in inner-city Dublin. As walking puts undue pressure on his joints, the only concession he has allowed himself is a bicycle, which has become his preferred mode of…
Posted in Austin O’Carroll, General practice
