The cost of seeing your GP

# 85

Posted: 16/12/2009 18:10

I am a healthcare professional and i regularly see people attending their GPs on a regular basis- medical card holders on a weekly basis for some patients and sometimes bi-weekly or whatever takes their fancy, as it's free! I don't think they would visit as regularly if they had to pay as the reasons they attend are sometimes ridiculous. 

I think certain items should not be prescribable on medical cards as the system is overburdened with products that the patient should pay for in a pharmacy and not the taxpayer e.g. paracetamol tabs, skin creams for dry skin conditions, acne preparations. Nicotine patches and viagra are regularly prescribed on the medical card (fraudulently as they deceive the doctors into getting them) and are then sold on in the local pubs/clubs - massive problem in this country and a good money earner for the people that profit from the black economy. If the government took these items off the prescription, it would save vast sums of money and there would be alot of slots freed up for truly sick people that need a doctor. Another observation-private patients dont go to their GP's in a recession, only people that really have to (people on regular meds). Many ailments will resolve if given a few days and when symptomatic relief is sought, you can save a lot of money esp wrt viruses and simple ailments.

I see so many people go to GP's for eye compliants, skin rashes,bowel complaints when these ailments and conditions are treatable if you visit a pharmacy. It amazes me how people dont try other avenues and get advice from a free healthcare professional on whether they need to see a doctor or not. The amount of times i get a prescription written out for something that i could have sold them (over the counter items) if they had come to see me first is staggering! Of course, there are some things which are currently prescription only items which should be available to buy in pharmacies, under the pharmacists supervision  e.g. eye and ear preparations (drops+creams), migraine treatments ( as in UK), morning after pill (as in the UK). The accessibility of these products, under controlled directives, would help reduce visits to the GP's and reduce patient suffering. Of course this would be costly to GP's!! Another observation-the amount of visits smokers make to their GP's is staggering and its usually for chronic chest infections-SELF INFLICTED. It always amazes me how they never think its the cigarettes even when after many antibiotics and wasting GP time.

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cv

# 84

Posted: 01/11/2004 22:30

iwork for a GP and i think that the prices are mad.And i believe all children should have the medical card. But the problem is parents would have thier children down for ever little sniff looking for antibotics costing more money for the health department which won't help the other problems in the system.in saying that some GPs do give discounts and maybe if parents didn't run to thier doctors with thier children for every ache and pain and sniff they might save them selves some money.i no this does not apply to all as most of us are not like that. but i see parents two three times a week and nothing wrong with thier child only a common cold. And then they complain about how much it costs them!

# 83

Posted: 01/11/2004 14:38

AS MANY WOMEN DO, I TAKE THE PILL. WHAT I AM PEEVED ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT WHEN I NEED A REPEAR PRESCRIPTION AFTER SIX MONTHS I AM TOLD THAT I CANNOT HAVE IT UNLESS I SEE THE DOCTOR FOR A BLOOD PRESSURE CHECK. SO THAT IS FORTY EURO FOR THREE MINUTES PLUS THE 12.70 PER MONTH!!!! RIP OFF

# 82

Posted: 01/11/2004 14:31

I don't understand the system in Ireland at all. I moved here four years ago and was advised that I should take out VHI option b which I did and the only thing I have got out of them is three price hikes and no medical service.... I pay RSI for what?? So medical card holders can get everything for free. 35.00euro then for each GP visit only to be told to come back and see them again in few days to be charged again. Then they try to reasure you that you won't have to pay anymore than 78euro in a month, well I don't know about anyone else but for me 78e is a lot of money to me when I've paid for two GP visits and have lost maybe a weeks worth of shift pay. I just feel sorry for the working parents who have 3 or 4 children....I think the Irish health system is a disgrace. The government needs to start doing something for the workers in this country. When I'm in the waiting room of my GP often having to wait up to an hour or more I watch as patients come out and can only draw the conclusion that the majority of people wasting GP time are the Medical card people who are getting the visit for free. Only a handful of people incl myself pay for the visit. The tax payer as usual is getting the short straw.............

# 81

Posted: 29/10/2004 11:22

I have to say that I thought the Australian system worked quite well. There, everyone gets a subsidised fee for the GP. 'medical card holders get it free, as do children(under16yrs). thers pay about 5 dollars(depending on the policy of the individual doctor).
Terefore you tend not to get s many people clogging up the system just because its free (like the UK's NHS), yet 5 dollars is not so prohibitve that it would leave people on the margins excluded on cost grounds.
Its not ideal but does seem to work well in general...bearing in mind that public health is a bottomless pit, financially.

# 80

Posted: 20/10/2004 14:46

I pay €45 to se my GP. Recently when I had a smear done the practice nurse did it but I was still charged €45 as if I had seen a doctor. I don't mean to undermine nurses but surely we pay so much because of doctors' many years of training etc. I don't think I should have to pay as much to see a nurse! Does anyone agree?

# 79

Posted: 28/03/2004 10:51

Thank you for information on Saturday fund. Will do as Mary Harney advises and will check for cheaper alternative. By the way ---a walk is free. I think a lot of people should try it before going to the G. P in a tizzy. Then the really ill people would not have to wait so long in the surgery. Society is the problem . We do not have the back up of extended family and friends anymore-for reassurance, so off to the doctor we will go.Sad, really!

# 78

Posted: 26/03/2004 12:58

I do agree with the original post that the GP's have used the Euro changeover to increase their prices. Our practice currently charge 40euros per visit - adult or child. I don't know what it was before the euro change because i was on a medical card at the time. Now we have a hefty mortgage and can't afford to go to the doc's as regularly as we did when my daughter was young and getting EVERy childhood infection that was going. I would have not survived without the medical card at the time. she's 6 now and not getting sick as much, and would certainly bring her if she really needed it. but as far as myself or my husband are concerned we have to be at deaths door before we'd consider wasting 40euros on a two minute chat. it's a sorry situation the country's in. they should definitly be regulated esp should be free for children and the elderly. the cost of prescriptions is more than enough to be forking out.

# 77

Posted: 26/03/2004 02:01

I also work in gp practice.You would have to be there to believe it.I can guarantee if it is a friday you can guess at least 9 people who will attend -just because bus passes door!A social outing.On average out of 50 daily attendances 40 will be people who don't use their common sence to deal with a common medical problem:chest infection,spots,rashes,pains,aches,too tired,too awake , too emotional, too hot , too cold. Give two weeks! If still there , then go to doctor.If you don,t have appointment for something not urgent DON,T insist that that you have to see Dr. "as soon as possible"-you're putting all appointmets out of kilter!!!You COULD really wait until tomorrow,couldn't you? It,s actually a bit scary when on the receiving end, how aggressive a lot of people have become about their "right" to access what has become an overburdened facility.I actually think that general practicioners should play every game of golf they can get their hands on!and if they don't play-start! Joe Public killed a good thing!

# 76

Posted: 17/03/2004 18:52

We need GPs who look like the Chipendales-not old men in cord trousers.We don't complain when we have to pay 100 euros in the hairdressers for highlights-because the guy massaging our hair reminds us of Collin Farrell.

# 75

Posted: 16/03/2004 13:11

See http://www.hsf.eu.com/hsf2_ire.html for details of Hospital Saturday Fund or http://www.hsahealthcare.ie/ for the competing option from HSA.

# 74

Posted: 16/03/2004 09:13

All this talk of GP's ripping you off. I have 2 children aged 2 and 4 and over the last few months they have been sick with chest infections, tonsilitis and ear infections. Although my GP is part of a practice I make sure I get to see him because he knows my childrens medical history and he gives us his time, not trying to get us out of the door after 5 - 10 minutes. Each child gets a thorough check over and the most important point is that he listens to what you say, so I don't mind paying 45.00 euro GP cost (38 euro for repeat). The practice also offers a phone service where you can contact you GP at certain times to ask advice, look for repeat prescription etc which is a help and they don't charge for this service.

# 73

Posted: 11/03/2004 20:42

tell us more about Saturday fund please

# 72

Posted: 11/03/2004 17:22

I do think GP's charge too much. On my last visit to the doctor he charged me 45 euro plus 20 euro for blood tests. Surely the 45 euro should cover all of this.

# 71

Posted: 10/03/2004 19:39

I belong to the Hospital Saturday Fund which will pay up to half the cost of visits to doctors, dentists, opticians, etc., as well as for glasses, contact lenses, up to a certain amount per year, depending on the scheme one chooses. I have found it a blessing. I also belong to VHI through work, but rarely use that. The HSF has really saved me money, and I pay the monthly premium through work.

# 70

Posted: 10/03/2004 15:59

I trust that all those of you who are complaining about the cost of your GP have spoken to the GP about this? No point in whinging about it here if you haven't given the feedback to the only person with the power to change it.

# 69

Posted: 10/03/2004 15:16

...and some GP's also get about €200K per year from medical cards...and there was the scandal of them still getiing paid after the card holder died !! Some GP's do not inform patients that visits are free while pregnant.
I think we should have a system like the UK where everyone can visit their GP without having to pay.

# 68

Posted: 08/03/2004 16:30

The Euro sign is not showing properly in most of these posts. Moderators, can you fix it?

# 67

Posted: 03/03/2004 15:53

I think most women would agree with Mary- 90% of GPs are not easy on the eye!

# 66

Posted: 02/03/2004 18:13

I wouldn't mind paying 35 euro if the GP looked like BRAD PITT or TOM CRUISE- but not when its a wrinkled old fool that resembles DRACULA!!

# 65

Posted: 14/09/2002 15:53

I work in a GP practice and I notice that alot of the comments are regarding kids being charged. I believe that all childreen and students should have free access to GP and drugs. This is a matter for the government of course.
I do know one family who do not bring their sick kids to GP because they squander any money they have. Previously when they had a medical card they visited frequently. These kids are suffering. Also a lot of teenagers do not access GP services because they dont' have the money.

# 64

Posted: 14/09/2002 15:38

I used to feel that GP's over charged until a friend of mine (an elderly lady )went to an alternative medicine clinic. It was 40 euro's for first visit. She was told she had a thyroid problem and was ceoliac, disproved by her own GP, so a load of rubish, and was intimidated into spending 100 euro's before she left on herbal products. She said that she could have spent 300 easily. Also they made 3 appointments for her to attend other therapists in the same unit. (she later cancelled these). I know my own doctor is objective in his approach and would never exploit his patients like this and his expertise is based on scientific knowledge. So no GP's do not over charge.

# 63

Posted: 02/09/2002 09:35

I am not a doc actually, I work in publishing!

# 62

Posted: 30/08/2002 10:14

You make it sound like the GP had to fund med school himself.... So maybe she/he had to have a part-time job to buy books etc. but who picked up the tab for the fees --- why me and other paye workers of course. GET A LIFE DOC!!!!

# 61

Posted: 29/08/2002 16:31

The price of a jar of coffee is calculated by the cost involved in producing, shipping and marketing it. There is also a profit margin included. A GP is not a product, you cant cost his/her shipping and marketing etc, but if you really really did want to compare a jar of coffee to a GP (you should comparing like with like – not one extreme to the other), you could take into consideration the cost involved in his/her training and the amount of money they may had to have borrowed per year to qualify, like it is nearly eight years to qualify as a GP and take it that they spent 10,000 Euro a year (and we both know it probably cost double this), well that works out at 80,000 Euro, you pay the same money for a plumber who probably did an apprenticeship in two years and got paid to do it, but nobody moans. Do you know why?? Cause there fixing a machine which you don’t give sympathy to, but a GP fixes a person and looking at all these comments you think s/he should be sympathetic just cause YOUR sick – s/he’s after seeing ten sick people that day, why should s/he have sympathy.

# 60

Posted: 28/08/2002 16:53

Yeah, we all KNOW they're in business and they're very well paid for it too. Supermarkets, bars, etc. etc. are all in business too but you don't see them charging 30Euro for a jar of coffee or a pint of black -- no, BECAUSE THEY'RE regulated. GP's should also be regulated and the REVENUE COMMISSIONERS SHOULD REGULARLY SCRUTINIZE THEIR BOOKS AS WELL.

# 59

Posted: 28/08/2002 16:28

Listen guys, GPs are in BUSINESS. I know you\'d all like to think that just because they deal with sick people, they have sympathy and will not charge. They are not there to be taken advantage of, they are there to provide a service - which should be paid for...and if they charge 40-50 euro per visit - well that’s their prerogative. Like at the end of the day your health is your responsibility and if it costs you .....SO WHAT...its only money..surely you value your health much more or do ye?? I see some of you have been avoiding the GP because of costs (how irresponsible)!

# 58

Posted: 10/08/2002 00:06

Maybe we should go back to the old days and pay GPs what they used to get, like a loaf of bread or a side of beef or if they are really good and nice to the kids and help you to live longer a whole pig. And if they by chance one of them happens to save your life or one of your loved ones then let them stay in your villa in Spain for free. Why do people think that GPs should give them a free service. Do we all get free electricity, TV , phone etc; does the supermarket across the road give out free bread ,do restaurants in rich suburbia give free meals? I think not.They charge the going rate and more. If people want good medical care they will have to pay for it. The very people who have complained are probably planning their next social event with cigarette in hand. Do they give out about the price of a pint? No the just brag about the nice meal they had the other night, even if it was a bit dear ,but worth it. Cop on everybody.

# 57

Posted: 01/08/2002 12:38

Are you serious? At an average of 32Euro per patient and five patients per hour -- that rounds up at about 6400 Euro for 40 hours. Obviously, he's not earning 160 Euro every hour so take away a thousand or two --- GET A GRIP!!!!!

# 56

Posted: 29/07/2002 23:00

What should a GP be paid for a 40 hour week ?
What should he/she be paid for overtime (night and weekend work) ?
What should he/she be paid for working bank holidays ?
What should be paid for working on Christmas Day ? To call out a washing machine repair man costs 50 euro !
All businesses must make a profit or close down, GPs are no different. No one subsidises general practice.

# 55

Posted: 24/07/2002 08:13

Yes the cost is too high. €35 for a visit and then another €35 for a return visit. Also there should be no charge for getting results of x rays etc. It's all a money racket. You do not see poor doctors. They are all doing very well. No one will begrudge them a good living but the public are just being ripped off. Something needs to be done,because some people will be forced to stop visiting doctors and this is not good

# 54

Posted: 12/07/2002 12:05

Dear GP JOHN,
If you think £25 or 32 Euro for an average of 5-10 minutes "work" is value for money -- get a grip. As for putting the spotlight on Leinster House --- I thoroughly agree with that comment. GP's charges MUST BE REVIEWED to ensure medical care for all, and yes their charges should be regulated since they're not prepared to do it themselves. ALSO, the Revenue Commissioners should look closely at their "accounts" - I NEVER get offered a receipt - trying to get one is like pulling teeth! The State has invested a lot of tax-payers money in University Medical Degree Programmes and then we have to invest more and more to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed. I don't think anybody else in this country can earn up to 210 EURO PER HOUR (that's assuming a GP sees only six people - mine would see more than that - THE MIND BOGGLES!!!!!!!!

# 53

Posted: 11/07/2002 09:48

Dear Dr John what a cop out to blame the politicians & Leinster House for your blatant overcharging (read the majority of notices posted). While I do not like to dwell on stereotypes I have lived in a good few communityies in Ireland & have yet to meet a Doctor who was not making a very comfortable living & while I do not begrudege any one who has studied & worked hard a fair return for their investment, it is obvious that GP\'s in this country have become part of the \"rip off\" culture which I feel is now endemic. This will have consequences as we lose competiveness in our economy & the quality of life standards drop which often made up the difference for the extra we have had to pay. I note that you mentioned pharmacists in your comment & that we would have to pay them more than a GP. Funny you should mention a group that up to now have been working in a protected marketplace. I wonder if GP\'s had to tender every five years for GMS business & all GP\'s were allowed set up in an area would this reduce costs ?. Just a thought

# 52

Posted: 10/07/2002 21:58

I think GPs are undervalued...€38.00 for a visit to my GP is excellent value and I think most doctors will allow a reduction for a follow-up on the same problem.

# 51

Posted: 10/07/2002 21:49

GP CHARGES DO SEEM EXPENSIVE CONSIDERING THAT THEY ARE NOW MAINLY MIDDLEMEN(PERSONS)SENDING YOU EITHER TO A CONSULTANT IF REQUIRED OR ASSURING YOU IF NOT, WITH A PRESCRIPTION STRONGER THAN YOU CAN BUY OVER THE COUNTER.THE PUBLIC IS MORE MEDICALLY EDUCATED NOW AND FIND IT INSULTING TO BE CHARGED 30 OR 40 EURO FOR A PIECE OF PAPER.SOME FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN WHO ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THE MEDICAL CARD AND ARE EXCLUDED FROM CLAIMING FROM THEIR PRIVATE INSURANCE FIND GP CHARGES CRIPPLING. EVERYONE KNOWS GPS HAVE THEIR OVERHEADS TO PAY BUT SHOULDN'T THEY BE MORE FLEXIBLE IN THEIR ROLES AND CHARGES?

# 50

Posted: 10/07/2002 18:39

The question of appointments and then being kept waiting for up to an hour - with no apology - maybe the subject for another discussion?

# 49

Posted: 10/07/2002 17:50

I fully agree with most of the comments made here. GP's have increased their fee to an inaccessible level for some(They seem to have problems with the euro conversion rate, like so may others). In the end, the act of jacking up their fees seemingly at will is ultimately to their own detriment as people will go less (evidence above). My brother is a downsyndrome and must visit a skin specialist every so often, I wont even tell you what he charges for a 5 minute check up and along with regular visits to a GP, the cost is huge. Its just one more industry in Ireland that needs regulation and has been left to its own devices for too long.

# 48

Posted: 10/07/2002 16:29

The cost of seeing the GP has definately increased with the Euro changeover. I went to my GP last March and they charged me 38 Euro for 10 minutes!! I think it is a rip off, last year with the punt it was cheaper to go to the GP.

# 47

Posted: 10/07/2002 16:29

I paid €36 for my last visit. I wouldn't mind, but i didn't even have a problem. I just had to go back for a repeat prescription. And while i was with the GP (a whole 3 minutes!!) her mobile rang 3 times and she answered it the 3 times, despite the signs all over the clinic asking patients to switch their mobiles off as they can affect the equipment being used. Setting a great example eh! And then when i asked her to put a cream on the prescription that the last GP had given me, she didn't even know what i was talking about. She had never heard of it before. I ended up having to spell it for her. I am absolutely appalled to think that GP's can get away with this. But its like everything else in this country, a rip off. Sincerely AH.

# 46

Posted: 10/07/2002 15:53

My GP charges 32 Euro per visit. However if three of us go in together (myself & two kids or husband) he might charge 40 Euro for all of us. On return visits for the same complaint he doesn't charge at all. However, if he reads this site - God knows how long that will last. Of course GP's pricing should be regulated. Some of the GP's prices amount to extortion. It's absolutely disgraceful that parents are being charged these prices for children. Kids need doctors much more often than adults and they NEED PROTECTION to ensure they are not deprived of medical care because of exhorbitantly high fees. If any of our public reps are reading this I have one message for you --- get off your fat backsides and do something about this scandal
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