Data protection breaches trigger stern warnings
Healthcare providers have been issued with stern warnings from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the need for tighter data protection policies following two recent lapses. In one case, a medical secretary illegally accessed 156 patient records, while in another, an unauthorised person was able to enter a hospital ward and access personal information of […]...
3D-printed device is breakthrough in drug testing
A novel 3D-printed device that could replace the need for drug and chemical safety testing on animals has received new funding. The plastic ‘body-on-chip’ device, invented at the University of Edinburgh, mimics how a drug moves through the body’s organs, using PET imaging to validate its journey. Now the team behind it has received £260,000 […]...
Doctors’ pay award deal worth up to 12.8%
Consultant members of the BMA and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association are to be asked to vote on a pay offer for their NHS work in England. After a month of ‘intense negotiations’ with the Government, they have been offered a complex deal giving a 4.95% investment in pay* – for this financial year – […]...
Consultants’ union voices concerns at NHS pay offer
Hospital doctors’ union the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) has expressed ‘concerns’ at aspects of the long-awaited NHS pay offer announced today for consultants in England. Its president Dr Naru Narayanan said: ‘Today’s announcement follows weeks of intense negotiations. Yet while it has benefits for consultants, our executive expressed concerns about some parts of […]...
Autumn Statement for independent practitioners – at a glance
Specialist medical accountant Ian Tongue provides a quick round up. Key changes contained in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement applying to doctors carrying out private work are summarised below. While the headline taxes we are all familiar with were largely left alone, he announced a range of alterations independent consultants and GPs need to be […]...
Autumn statement: tax cuts for self-employed and employed
No reprieve from inheritance tax Doctors who are self-employed in their private practice have received a boost from the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement. Jeremy Hunt said he was ‘delivering the biggest business tax cut to Britain, ever’ in his fiscal speech. He announced the abolition of Class 2 NICs for the […]...
Private care labyrinth
Independent practitioners are losing out due to system failures in turning high levels of private healthcare inquiries into bookings. Although a record year for many in private practice is predicted in 2024, the sector is likely to treat fewer than it could if the patients’ journey was made much easier. Improving the […]...
Analysts predict surge from private insurance
LaingBuisson private acute healthcare conference Independent practitioners outside of London can expect a continuing surge in both privately insured and self-pay patients, according to market analysts. LaingBuisson forecasts hospital revenue from private medical insurance will rise 10% next year and 9% in 2025, with a corresponding increase in self-pay of 4% and […]...
Inquirers aren’t being looked after
LaingBuisson private acute healthcare conference Private healthcare providers are losing thousands of potential patients because they fail to turn inquiries about treatment into firm bookings. But a variety of speakers at the LaingBuisson private acute healthcare conference indicated more could often be done to prevent people from turning away and to transform queries into business. […]...
McCloud latest – complex calculations to mend tax charge
Online pension tax calculating tool is proving difficult to use. Doctors affected by the ‘McCloud remedy’ – finally introduced last month – have been assessing the impact on their previous annual allowance tax charge payments. The remedy aims to recompense NHS Pension Scheme members deemed to have suffered age discrimination when the […]...
Private sector ‘should take the lead in cancer’
A private hospital group boss has urged the independent healthcare sector to seize the opportunity to be at the forefront of cancer care. He argued that the private acute sector could be leading the way in innovative and world-class cancer care. John Reay, president and chief executive of HCA Healthcare UK, challenged […]...
Pharmacierge expands
A 5,500 square-foot expansion in Wimpole Street of Pharmacierge, the e-prescription medtech for private clinicians, is creating central London’s largest robotically-enabled dispensary. It is equipped with a 30ft dispensing robot projected to improve overall efficiency and enhance rapid availability of the broadest possible pharmacy formulary for a network of over 4,500 GP […]...