Sir, – I am surprised that a hospital won't divulge the PPS numbers of some of the patients it treats in order to be reimbursed by the HSE ("Millions withheld from Mater in confidentiality row", News, November 26th).
I take several monthly medications and have a drugs payment scheme card to ensure that I don’t pay more than €134 a month for my drugs. In order to receive this card, I had to submit my PPS number, and neither my doctor nor my pharmacist declared any objection to this, nor did they warn me that confidentiality was being breached by providing the number.
Like several million others who have either medical cards or drugs payment scheme cards, the Government can link my PPS number to the medicines I take. I was happy with this in the realisation that Government must have some checks on its expenditure.
I am surprised that a large State-funded hospital cannot equally satisfy the Government’s requirements in order to be reimbursed. – Yours, etc,
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FINBAR KEARNS,
Piercestown,
Co Wexford.