Supporting the private sector adopt NHS standards

Monmouth today launched an important audit of how ready the private healthcare industry is to deliver better consumer information to patients.

The audit focuses on the information remedies recently set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).  The CMA’s remedies focus on how to provide better information to those considering private healthcare.  They involve the CMA approving an Information Organisation (IO) to collect and publish information on performance and fees from all private hospitals and individual consultants.

The audit is being undertaken by Monmouth on behalf of the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) – which anticipates being approved as the IO when the requirements become law in October 2014. Once confirmed as the IO, PHIN will be obliged to report to the CMA on the industry’s state of readiness and progress in implementing the information-related remedies by the end of 2014

PHIN wants to support all independent providers (including PPUs and cosmetic surgery providers) to make rapid progress with implementing the CMA’s requirements.  This means capturing, collating and publishing information using recognised NHS standards – including ICD-10 diagnostic, OPCS procedure and approved cosmetic clinical codes – in time to meet statutory deadlines set by the CMA.

The audit, which is being undertaken in two parts, will give detailed insight to:

• Data readiness – covering providers’ arrangements for maintaining data locally, ensuring that there’s the right controls in place to ensure consent to data sharing is given and that data is submitted accurately to PHIN
• Clinical coding readiness – how providers plan to meet the CMA’s requirements for information to be captured using specified NHS clinical coding standards.

For further information on the audit, please contact Lucy Remocker at Monmouth (email: lucy.remocker@monmouthpartners.com).