The HSE has appointed an expert panel to look at how medical needs can be taken into account when people are applying for a medical card.

The panel will draw up a list of particular medical conditions under which in future, people suffering from those conditions can automatically get a medical card.

This follows the Government's recent move to suspend all current discretionary medical card reviews and its announcement that under planned changes, medical conditions, and not just financial means, will in future be taken into account in assessing a person's eligibility for a medical card.

According to the HSE, the 23-member expert panel will examine and recommend the range of medical conditions that should be considered when determining medical card eligibility.

It said work of the expert panel will inform the development of a policy framework for medical card eligibility to take account of medical conditions, as announced by Government last week.

The revamp of medical card eligibility will also require new legislation, as the current laws only allow for the granting of medical card on financial grounds.

The expert panel will be chaired by Prof Frank Keane, Past-President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Clinical Lead of the HSE's National Clinical Programme for Surgery.

The panel includes includes representatives from psychiatry, paediatrics, neurology, general practice and the disability sector.

The panel also includes a patient representative 'to ensure that the views of patients are central to the process'.

The HSE says the panel is comprised of a range of medical professionals 'to take account of the broad range of chronic, life-long and life-limiting conditions that are likely to be considered by the panel'.

The Expert Panel has been asked to report to HSE Director General Tony O'Brien on recommended eligible medical conditions for medical cards by September.

The Government said earlier this week that many of those who lost their medical cards under the now-abandoned review process would get them back. However, the exact legal process under which this can be achieved and  how many cards will actually be returned, has yet to be made clear.

The HSE had previously indicated that under the current law, it was not possible to give these cards back, and it indicated that people who lost discretionary cards would be able to avail of medical card services under the new eligibility system.

However, this system is now thought unlikely to be in place until late in 2014.

The HSE said the expert panel will 'identify and examine medical conditions, the treatment and management of which, would benefit most from access to services currently only made available to persons with full medical card eligibility'.

The HSE said the expert panel will, also 'advise on the appropriate approach to determine the specific criteria of the medical condition to determine how someone should qualify for full medical card eligibility'.

It will also advise on the appropriate approach to meet the needs of individual patient with medical conditions of a transient (temporary) nature.

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