Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I need clarification on a few points but I know that he may not be able to provide that today. We should change the guidelines covering drugs that cost over €140 per month.

The Danes have introduced a patient medication card system. The card is the size of a visa card and prescriptions no longer need to be handed out. A GP can access a file using the card and return it to the patient. A pharmacy can also access the patient's file using the card. Therefore, no mistakes are made and relevant information is available to the pharmacist. As much as 27% of all prescriptions written by hospital doctors cannot be understood or are misunderstood. By the end of the year, 48% of the population will have a GP card or a medical card so we should be able to computerise the system and adopt the Danish system.