The Irish government had introduced medical cards for its citizens and these have been a great help for them. The recent changes made to this system are the reduction of waiting time for the cards and the introduction of many facilities for the people who opt for the cards. The current waiting time, for a card to reach the people who apply for it is more than four months! This long waiting time and the unavailability of proper application procedures have been the reasons for the slow increase in its popularity till now and though the total number of the people who have applied for it are greater than one and a half million, this waiting time has been the greatest hindrance for them in getting their cards.
The government of Ireland has been able to make certain changes in the system and a few more changes are said to be in the pipeline for making sure that those who apply for the card are provided with the same as soon as possible within the next new time limit fixed. New application methods have been introduced which include the use of the new telephonic system and the simple declaration form for those who above 70 years of age. Real time updating features will be introduced and the doctors will be given weekly updates about the same to help them in keeping tabs on all the patients. The health ministry’s other priority involves the methods of increasing the number of applications made through online systems.
