A number of health boards are monitoring local radio death notices so they can remove deceased persons from their medical card lists immediately, it was stated at the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) conference in Killarney at the weekend.
GPs said they were getting letters from health boards informing them that patients had been deleted from medical card lists, even before the people had been buried.
Wexford GP Dr Liam Twomey said that the health boards were very quick to respond when they could save money. But it could take a patient up to six weeks to get a medical card back if they were removed in error from the list of those entitled to free medical care.
He said doctors were being notified by the South Eastern Health Board of the removal of the names of patients who had died before the patients had even been buried.
Dr Larry Fullam, a Laois GP, said the same was true in his area. He said the Midland Health Board monitored the death notices on local radio and if a patient died, their GP would be notified within 24 hours that their name had been removed from the medical card list.
The move follows criticism of health boards that they were paying GPs for so called "ghost" patients.
Doctors get paid monthly for patients on their medical card lists, so once patients' names are deleted they will cease to get a payment in respect of that patient.
Health boards were also criticised at the conference for the manner in which they were issuing discretionary medical cards. These are cards issued to patients without a means test on grounds of exceptional need.
Dr Michael Salter, a GP based in Louth, told delegates he knew of a 69-year-old male patient who received a medical card on a discretionary basis when he had a minor illness, but his 65-year-old wife who was seriously ill could not get a card on similar grounds.
He suspected this was a move by the health board to ensure the man got a medical card on the eve of his 70th birthday, so that once he reached 70 and was automatically entitled to a card, his doctor wouldn't have to be paid as much.
GPs are paid about €120 a year to care for under 70s on medical cards, and over €400 a year to treat people given medical cards for the first time on age grounds once they reach the age of 70.
Delegates also expressed outrage at the current eligibility guidelines for medical cards which are so low that many families cannot afford to attend their GP. They described these groups as the 'new poor'.
Dr Twomey said when the over 70s were taken out of the equation, only about 24 per cent of the population now had medical cards. Over 60,000 had been removed from the list of those entitled to medical cards over the last few years, he said.
Delegates urged the Government to honour its commitment made in the national health strategy to hand out an additional 200,000 medical cards.
The conference also discussed the manpower crisis now affecting general practice. Many posts cannot be filled.
Dr Fullam said posts had been advertised in Rathdowney and Ballycolla and could not be filled. The conditions of the posts had to be made more attractive, he said.
He also called on health boards to ensure that where a GP retirement is foreseen, efforts are made to recruit a replacement immediately to allow for continuity of patient care.
Dr Kevin Kelly, a Meath GP, said he believed patients' lives were being put at risk by the failure of health boards to do this.