Minister for Health Dr James Reilly has said that health reforms are right on track.
Speaking on his arrival at the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation, Dr Reilly said the abolition of HSE was on schedule and an implementation group had been set up on universal health insurance.
Responding to IMO criticism of the pace of reform, the minister said people wanted changes quickly but he said health was like "a huge tanker at sea" and was difficult to change.
He also announced an initiative to transfer some hospital funds to provide care for chronic diseases in up to 20 primary care centres in a pilot programme.
Earlier delegates passed a motion calling on the minister to order an urgent review of the centralised medical card applications system, given what doctors claim is the "disastrous experience" for vulnerable patients in the last 12 months.
Former IMO president Dr Martin Daly said that he had a 62-year-old patient who had paid tax for 40 years and was now unemployed for the first time.
He said his patient had spent six months getting a medical card and last month did not get medicines for his condition, or for his wife, as he could not afford it.
Dr Daly said it was unacceptable that people who had paid tax all their lives and who now found themselves in a vulnerable financial situation had to face such problems.
However, the HSE has rejected claims that major delays still exist for processing medical card applications.
The executive said that the backlog of 57,960 in January was now down to 5,460 and these will be cleared by the end of the month.
It said 96% of applications are now turned around within 15 working days.
The three-day IMO conference is being attended by GPs, consultants and hospital doctors representing around 3,000 IMO members across the country.
The conference heard yesterday of doctors' concerns over the failure of the Government to deliver promised health reform.
Delegates were also told that the two-tier health system remained in place and patients still faced long waiting lists.
