Medical Card/G.P. Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines

1 Preface
Under the HSE’s Transformation Programme we are committed to focusing on
continuous quality improvement and ensuring a consistent approach to service delivery
which includes facilitating and supporting access to services when a person needs them.
A key access point to our services is through the Medical Card and GP Visit Card
Schemes. It is a statutory function of the HSE to decide on the entitlement to these
schemes and the HSE wants to ensure that every person who is entitled to these schemes
are given the opportunity to avail of their entitlement.
These updated assessment guidelines have been produced to provide a clear framework to
assist our decision makers in making reasonable, consistent and equitable decisions when
assessing persons who are applying for these schemes. These guidelines will also
facilitate with the application of discretion by decision makers in responding to the needs
of the applicant when additional and/or exceptional circumstances exist.
I am confident that these updated guidelines will provide our staff with the necessary
knowledge and decision support required to maintain and also improve the current
determining of eligibility for the Medical Card and GP Visit Card Schemes.
Laverne McGuinness.
National Director – PCCC Service.
Medical Card GP Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines Version 3 21 05 09.doc 4