John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1348. To ask the Minister for Health if she will incorporate inflammatory bowel disease into the National Chronic Disease Management Programme, in recognition of the long-term and often debilitating impact of the condition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49047/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. The 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.

The CDM Programme represents a new approach in Ireland to working with patients to manage their healthcare. It has brought the care for chronic disease further into the community and closer to the patient, and has reduced hospital attendance by patients with one or more of the specified conditions.

The Programme was expanded in 2023 to include women who have had gestational diabetes, and a further expansion of the Programme, to include the addition of chronic kidney disease is planned for this year.

Expansion of the Programme to include additional conditions would require rigorous clinical assessment and engagement with stakeholders, including the GPs delivering the service. Nonetheless, this could be considered in the future in the context of resource availability.