Bupa completes Choose and Book integration
- 6 August 2007
NHS patients in England will now be able to ‘Choose and Book’ treatment at a local Bupa hospital using the health service’s electronic booking service.
Since then the private hospital group has been working with Connecting for Health and the Department of Health to connect to the NHS network and implement the technology changes involved in upgrading from indirect to direct Choose and Book which allows GPs and patients to view appointment times and book online.
A Bupa spokesperson told E-Health Insider: “Since our appointment by the DH we have worked hard to ensure that all our sites were fully integrated with direct Choose and Book. We are now pleased to be able to offer patients, in the 24 parts of the country we operate in a choice, if they would like to use our facilities for medical treatment free of charge.
“This means NHS patients will be able to consult a specialist and, if required, will be able to have surgery at one of Bupa’s 24 hospitals in England for a wide range of conditions. Several Bupa hospitals in England already have agreements with their local PCTs to treat patients under the Patient Choice initiative, receiving referrals via indirect Choose and Book. Now, they can directly book an appointment with us through their GP.”
Bupa says it is one of the first independent sector hospital groups to fully offer this service to NHS patients. Its hospital at Little Aston in the West Midlands was the first independent hospital in the country to offer directly bookable services.
The spokesperson said: “Most of the referrals will be initially for a first outpatient appointment using the Choose and Book appointment booking system in GPs’ surgeries. Initially, general surgery will be offered at Bupa hospitals but further treatments are expected to be offered in the coming months.
“Patient Choice and Choose and Book mean that patients have a wide choice about where and when they are treated for non-emergency services. We have sites throughout England and so a large majority of the public will be able to benefit from this. This reinforces our commitment to working in partnership with the NHS to deliver quality healthcare to patients and helping them to meet waiting time targets.”
The contract will run until at least March 2008 after which patients will still be able to choose to have treatment at a Bupa hospital under the government’s Free Choice initiative.
For further information on choice for NHS patients and BUPA Hospital Norwich, visit www.bupapatientchoice.com.
Links
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