Department vows to get €8m ‘ghost patient’ payout back from GPs

GENERAL Practitioners were paid an average of €3,400 for treating patients that were either dead or had moved away.

And the Department of Health has vowed to get over €8 million back from family doctors for having the so-called “ghost patients” on their books.

The department is being equally tight in its dealing with people who were overcharged under the drugs payment scheme.