The Government's Health Strategy 2001, which is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in September, will propose a revamped primary healthcare service.
It will be based on a key document produced by a group of experts as part of the Health Strategy Review.
The plan received general approval earlier this month at a meeting of the Health Strategy Consultative Forum, which is advising the Minister for Health.
The proposals in the document, Recommendations for Primary Care, are expected to form the central focus of the new strategy.
The document, which has been seen by The Irish Times, envisages primary care teams in each geographical area who can be contacted by the public on an 1850 telephone number.
Rather than the GP being the first point of contact with the health service, patients will be able to choose from a range of health professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and therapists.
The proposals have already been welcomed within the Department of Health, where they are seen as a way to alleviate the pressure on hospital accident and emergency departments. By improving access to community health service, it is hoped to reduce the demand on hospital facilities.
The plan brings together health and personal social services. It advocates an integrated team approach "which affords practitioners the appropriate degree of clinical autonomy".
"A cross-cutting generalist team will provide 90 to 95 per cent of all health and personal social care services," the document states. Patients will be able to gain direct access to the appropriate team member.
Overlapping specialist teams to look after the particular needs of the elderly, children, mental health, palliative care and disability will also be developed in the community, according to the proposals.
These community-based specialist teams already exist. "The generalist teams will integrate with these community-based specialist teams in ways similar to how the generalist teams would integrate with acute hospitals," according to the document.
The authors acknowledge that there will be contractual issues involving individual practitioners.
However, sources have confirmed to The Irish Times that, while overall implementation may take up to 10 years, they expect to see fully operational 24-hour primary care teams within the next two years.
Referring to eligibility, the authors suggest: "There is evidence that people who have to pay directly for preventive services are less likely to avail of them, and this could limit the ability of the system to change its focus from diagnosis and treatment to prevention".
The document warns that the cost implications "must be seen in the broad context of how they impact on overall costs for the entire health system".
It says generalist teams could reduce the need for specialist services, reduce hospitalisation rates, lengths of stay and procedure rates and "promote more rational prescribing".