December 2014 –January 2015 Issue 67
www.independent-practitioner-today.co.uk
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
The business magazine for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Paying for your care
Financial guidance on what you can do to help yourself and those whom you love P24
A prophet’s warning
A healthcare trouble-shooter gives his predictions for the sector in 2015 P34
HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS! Stop press: HM Revenue and Customs agrees that consultants can trade as limited liability companies and sell goodwill. Full details for subscribers only at www.independentpractitioner-today.co.uk
The tricks of the quacks
What the charlatan doctors of yore came up with to relieve the gullible of their money P44
Turmoil over ‘sell-offs’ By Robin Stride
Hospital group HCA enters 2015 unsure whether to crack the champagne or dig in for another costly battle to stop the Com petition and Markets Autho rity (CMA) forcing it to sell two flag ship London hospitals. With the judgment of legal hear i n g s a w a i t e d a s Independent Practitioner Today went to press, it was anxious to give no official response to reports that The Wellington, The Platinum Medical Centre, London Bridge and Prin cess Grace hospitals were safe. Hundreds of consultants were, however, assured at a Christmas party that the CMA had backed down and HCA, which has spent £3m-£4m defending itself, would not have to sell any hospitals. It is understood the CMA pri vately agreed it failed to follow statutory processes and made mathematical formula errors, which flawed the basis of its deci sion to try and force HCA to sell. But a CMA spokesman said reports implying it was giving up on the HCA issue, part of its longrunning private healthcare inves tigation, were inaccurate. It was requesting the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) – which meets to consider two other appeals on 19 January – to recon sider. In a cagily worded statement, In association with
the CMA, which has already dropped earlier plans to force selloffs by BMI and Spire, said: ‘It would not be appropriate for us to comment on or disclose the detail of confidential matters that are before the CAT. ‘We can, however, confirm that, in light of certain matters identi fied during the litigation and in order to ensure fairness to the par ties, we have invited the CAT to remit these matters to the CMA so that the parties can have the opportunity to make further rep resentations upon them to the CMA and for the CMA to consider those representations before final decisions are taken. None of this pre-judges the ultimate outcome.’ The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations (FIPO), which is appealing to CAT over the CMA’s requirement on publi cation of consultant fees, declined to comment on the HCA issue, but said that a report suggesting the watchdog wrote to it on the sub ject was inaccurate. Another appeal is scheduled at the same time from AXA PPP (Independent Practitioner Today, June 2014). If the fees requirement is upheld, then the CMA would expect it to be included in the existing timetable. It said that consultants were meanwhile ‘free to make such information available volun tarily’.
Roger Witcomb, CMA private healthcare investigation group chairman, said the information revolution would be ‘the most wide-ranging and significant change to result from our investi gation into this market’. He claimed publicly-accessible information would make it easier to compare providers and consult ants and so increase competition on costs and performance to the benefit of paying patients. But the CMA ruling that consult ants can’t have an interest of more than 5% in a business to which they refer (Independent Practitioner Today, May and October 2014) is proving anticompetitive, accord
ing to evidence from a leading medical accountant. Ray Stanbridge, giving a per sonal view, said he knew of 20 consultant-owned businesses being sold to private hospitals – effectively the only real buyers around. As many as 1,000 potential pri vate doctors outside London were also now avoiding independent hospitals due to factors including the CMA’s drive to make them pay for rooms. Mr Stanbridge added: ‘An attempt to promote competition and economic efficiency in the healthcare market looks like hav ing the completely opposite effect.’
Data chief tries to reassure about accuracy of figures The boss of the new data body appointed by the Comp etition and Markets Authority to police publication of better information for private patients has tried to allay consultants’ fears about accuracy. Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) chief Matt James said private doctors were being positive about the opportunity to better demonstrate their quality, but they had concerns about the accuracy of information and
how it will be produced and used. But he promised: ‘We will work with consultants via their profes sional associations and hospital operators, taking a measured approach that will lead to the right outcome. We are confident that this will work well for consult ants.’ PHIN, as expected, will have the job of ensuring patients can com pare and choose between consult ants and hospitals by 2017. ➱ continued on page 3