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September 2014 Issue 64
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER To day THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR DOCTORS WITH A PRIVATE PRACTICE
In this issue
Become a patient magnet
How to become more attractive to patients by embracing the power of smartphones P24
Don’t fall into debt spiral An expert outlines three key areas of financial stress and how to avoid them P32
PUBLIC ATTACK ON PRIVATE PATIENT SAFETY The private sector hits back at a scathing report on safety in independent hospitals n Turn to page 18
The independence vote
What are the financial implications for all doctors if Scotland breaks away? P40
Doctors’ fears over insurer’s fee shifts By Robin Stride
The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations (FIPO) has expressed ‘serious concerns’ over an AXA PPP bid to cut many consultants’ fees by around 20% and persuade more specialists to agree tie-in contracts. Letters sent from last month to an initial batch of doctors who have no formal agreement with the insurer invited them to sign up – and more specialists can expect to be contacted in the next few months with wording customised to their circumstances. The insurer also announced a new fee schedule from 1 October 2015, which means lower fees overall, although it said some would rise and others would be frozen. There will be two consultant categories recognised by the insurer: fee-approved (contracted) and feelimited (not contracted – and so subject to the new schedule). FIPO’s deputy chairman Mr Richard Packard said: ‘According to AXA PPP, the first group is being offered potentially better access to In association with
patients through a so-called “fasttrack” referral system. However, if the majority of consultants sign up to AXA PPP’s fee-approved contract, this will cease to be of any added benefit, as the pool of private patients is finite. ‘Fee-limited consultants will still be able to charge at their normal rates, but reimbursement from AXA PPP will be limited, meaning patients will have to make up the shortfall.’ FIPO said its initial analysis of over 40 most common procedures indicated a benefit cutback of around 20%. A new surgical consultation, for example, would be £125, with £95 for follow-up. It advised consultants to ‘be wary of engaging with insurers and losing their contract with the patient, for what may be short-term, if any, gain.’ AXA PPP refused to say how many specialists it had agreements with or was writing to, calling this ‘commercially sensitive’. It claimed its initiative would secure cost-effective, quality treatment for members for the foresee-
able future. Fee-approved specialists would enjoy the reassurance that their fees would be paid in full in accordance with their contract, ‘removing any financial consideration from their relationship with their patients’. The insurer said fee-approved specialists could also get preferred access to patient referrals from its fast-track appointments service,
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now available to all members, where it ‘takes the lead on directing members to a suitable specialist for treatment’. It argued that because it was sending patients to specialists through this service, it needed effective contracts with those consultants to back a guarantee that members’ fees would be paid in full. ➱ Continued on page 4
SURGICAL SUPPORT: A breast surgeon has turned his strongly-held belief about wrongly-fitting bras into a thriving business. Mr Atul Khanna, who is based in Birmingham, found that many of his patients seeking breast-reduction surgery were suffering from health problems caused by poorlymeasured bras. So he has teamed up with two likeminded entrepreneurs to form a company that manufactures and fits made-to-measure garments. n See feature on page 14