The system of free medicines will be reviewed carefully to reduce and prevent any form of abuse that might take place, Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar said.
The Health Department processed 41,000 yellow cards last year, which entitled patients to free medicines for particular conditions such as hypertension.
There were also 18,300 new applications for the yellow card system last year. However, the department plans to review the system carefully to increase transparency and cut any form of abuse.
Dr Cassar, speaking during a press conference listing his secretariat's work, said a more centralised system of entitlement to free medicines would be set up.
On a daily basis, the Outpatient Department had 1,000 appointments, 100 operations are carried out and 11,000 laboratory tests are done.
Speaking about waiting lists, Dr Cassar said these had to be reduced to an acceptable number, which called for a centralised IT management system. A pilot project in the Orthopaedic Department using the centralised system had reduced the waiting list for hip operations by 25 per cent, he added.
Last year, the Health Department focused on the medical staff shortage and recruited 160 nurses. As of this year, nurses who wanted to continue working after turning 61 also had the option to do so, Dr Cassar said. Talks were underway to increase the number of nurses that would allow the use of more operating theatres, he added.
The recently-launched UK-based foundation course in Malta should also help reduce the doctors' brain drain. Dr Cassar explained that Malta lost about 80 per cent of its newly-graduated doctors in the past years. Doctors who graduate in June will be able to start the course.
Family doctors had to be included in the primary health care system and have immediate access to patients' medical records and tests through the electronic patient record, he said.
An advanced copy of the national cancer strategy was drafted and will soon be published. The government is working on a national strategy that will focus on chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
Works on the new oncology ward should start by the end of this year at Mater Dei Hospital, he said.