Luís Goes Pinheiro defended that, in circumstances where contact with the patient cannot be dispensed with, this contact can be made at distance, “not only facilitating the patient’s life, but also speeding up and creating conditions, even in the context of this pandemic, so that contact in person in these cases are made only if necessary”.

These proposals were put forward by the official during a hearing in the parliamentary health committee on the BE bills “Measures for the recovery of the activity of the medical boards of disability assessment”, of the PAN “The effective response of the activity of the medical boards of assessment of disabilities and primary health care in an epidemiological situation caused by covid-19” and the PCP “Transitional regime for issuing medical certificates for multipurpose disability”.

They also aim “in a very positive way to seek to free public health teams from tasks in which, in fact, their intervention” is irreplaceable.

According to the official, work is being done internally at the Ministry of Health and the “approval of a diploma on this matter will be in the Council of Ministers very soon”.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the medical disability assessment boards began to be suspended, with the government decreeing the automatic extension of medical certificates for multipurpose disability until the end of this year, a decision that was renewed in November with the extension validity of these certificates until 31 December, 2021.