asked the Minister of Health how he proposes to reconcile the protection of medical practices scheme with the medical benefit regulations and terms of service, having regard to the limitation of lists, the obligations upon deputies and partners and the responsibility of the practitioner who is responsible for the insured persons whose names are included in his list?
Under the National Health Insurance (Medical Benefit) Amendment Regulations, 1942, practitioners who undertake to attend the insured patients of another practitioner during the latter's absence on whole-time national service under a voluntary protection of practices scheme have the responsibilities of principals as well as deputies in respect of those patients and the provisions of the medical benefit regulations and terms of service as to limitations of lists and deputies and partners accordingly apply, including provision for augmentation of the lists with my consent. In the case of statutory schemes a practitioner attending absentee practitioners' patients is in the position of a principal to whom the provisions of the regulations and terms of service similarly apply.