Written Answers Nos. 964-982
964. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal HSE operational manual, assessment framework, decision-support document, checklist, or staff guidance exists for officials administering the Treatment Abroad Scheme beyond the EU Regulations themselves; and if so, if copies will be provided. [36560/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra965. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether officials administering the treatment abroad scheme are required to follow any standardised evidential criteria when assessing whether treatment is unavailable within the State or unavailable within a clinically appropriate timeframe. [36561/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra966. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any audit, quality assurance, peer review, or consistency-review mechanism exists for treatment abroad scheme eligibility determinations; and if so, to provide details. [36562/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra967. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any appeals, reconsideration, or secondary review process exists for applicants refused approval under the treatment abroad scheme; and if so, to provide details of the process and annual refusal figures since 2020. [36563/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra968. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any category-specific governance arrangements apply to overseas referrals under the treatment abroad scheme involving gender-related healthcare interventions, including enhanced approval, audit, safeguarding, or specialist review requirements. [36564/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra969. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of officials or clinical advisers currently involved in assessing treatment abroad scheme applications and whether any formal training programme or accreditation process applies to those making eligibility determinations. [36565/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra970. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains any central database recording the clinical category, destination country, expenditure, approval rationale, and outcome of treatment abroad scheme referrals; and if not, whether the absence of such data has been identified as a governance risk. [36566/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra973. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any independent value-for-money review has ever been conducted specifically on the treatment abroad scheme; if so, to provide the dates and findings; and if not, why not. [36569/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra974. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national consistency review is carried out to assess whether similar clinical cases receive similar treatment abroad scheme approval outcomes across different hospitals or consultants. [36570/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra975. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department has assessed the governance implications of approving overseas procedures in the absence of a nationally agreed definition of "medical necessity". [36571/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra977. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the treatment abroad scheme is subject to any formal fraud-risk assessment, expenditure-risk scoring, or internal audit programme specific to high-cost referrals. [36573/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra978. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE has carried out any benchmarking comparing the cost of overseas treatments funded under the treatment abroad scheme against equivalent domestic provision or alternative care pathways. [36575/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra979. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any external clinical advisory body or independent review panel exists for disputed or high-cost treatment abroad scheme applications. [36576/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra980. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE or her Department maintains any database, framework, or internal assessment comparing the average cost of treatments funded under the treatment abroad scheme across different jurisdictions. [36578/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra981. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any analysis has been carried out on whether equivalent procedures funded under the treatment abroad scheme could be accessed at lower cost in alternative jurisdictions within the EU, UK or Switzerland. [36579/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra982. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal value-for-money methodology applies when approving treatment locations under the treatment abroad scheme. [36580/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra984. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, financial review, or governance assessment has examined variations in treatment abroad scheme reimbursement costs between jurisdictions for comparable procedures. [36582/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra985. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any maximum reimbursement thresholds, indicative cost bands, or comparative pricing references are used when assessing applications under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [36583/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra986. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Health Service Executive has identified any jurisdictions with materially higher reimbursement costs under the treatment abroad scheme for equivalent procedures. [36584/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra996. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total expenditure incurred under the treatment abroad scheme in relation to referrals of minors for gender-related assessment or treatment abroad in each year since 2020. [36601/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 964, 965, 966, 967, 968, 969, 970, 973, 974, 975, 977, 978, 979, 980, 981, 982, 984, 985, 986 and 996 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
971. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any procedures funded under the treatment abroad scheme are classified internally by the HSE as elective, quality-of-life enhancing, cosmetic, experimental, or non-urgent; and if she will provide the classification framework used. [36567/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
972. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains any centralised register categorising treatment abroad scheme approvals by clinical urgency, specialty, or procedure type; and if she will provide details. [36568/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
976. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department intends to establish a national classification framework distinguishing medically necessary procedures from elective or quality-of-life procedures for public funding purposes. [36572/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
