Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to doctors in general practice charging parents the same amount for a telephone appointment and assessment as they do for a face-to-face assessment in their surgery; his views on whether this is an acceptable practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13183/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, patient in-person contact with GPs has been curtailed as much as possible to help prevent the spread of the virus. Nurse and doctor advice is provided over the phone where appropriate, and only patients who are clinically assessed as requiring a face to face consultation with a doctor are referred for an appointment. 

GPs are reimbursed by the HSE for medical services provided to medical card or GP visit card holders, while patients who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis. I have no role in relation to the fees charged by individual GPs for private consultations, as the fees charged by GPs for services to private patients are a matter of private contract between the clinician and their patient.