Advice to give patients on the BUPA tender

Hi All, this came in from PhysioFirst this afternoon

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Advice to Patients Regarding BUPA Tender Process

Dear Member,

Please see below for advice you may want to give to your patients or post in your waiting room whilst we await the results of the BUPA tender process this week. Obviously whether you post this or not is a matter for your own judgement but in providing this sample notice we are very keen to ensure that the words used are accurate and do not give grounds for any adverse legal action that would be very unwelcome.

Notice to patients insured by BUPA

We have to advise you that you may not be able to receive treatment in the future in this clinic due to a new, unwelcome development by BUPA.

BUPA, the largest Private Medical Insurer in the UK, has recently announced to private physiotherapy practitioners that if they want to continue to treat BUPA patients, they must participate in a "blind" tender process. They have asked circa 6,000 private physiotherapists to compete against each other to be allowed to continue to treat BUPA patients.

We are aware that a number of physiotherapists have decided not to tender at this time and that others that have submitted a tender may not retain their provider status, or may have to continue to negotiate with BUPA. It is this practices’ considered opinion that under the working conditions which BUPA are seeking to impose and at the low fees they are prepared to pay for our expert services, we are unwilling to continue as a BUPA provider.

We have been informed that any BUPA patient currently receiving treatment will have until August to complete their treatment with their current physiotherapist but thereafter may be required to seek treatment from an alternative physiotherapist that BUPA chose to recognise.

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Have just my contract back signed by Bupa, so am going to get a sign done to advise my custoemrs that i'm bupa approved - it's been a nightmare not knowing what would happen and I understand that not everyone has wanted to tender, but i nedeed to otherwise i have no business!
Good luck everyone else!

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Originally Posted by physiowestlondon

Have just my contract back signed by Bupa, so am going to get a sign done to advise my customers that i'm bupa approved

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Might hold off on that one as there is likely to be a large adverse press campaign informing the public that BUPA have gone for the cheap network, like Tesco with the farmers. I'd wait to see if that evolves and then let the dust settle before placing any sign in the front of house :o

As a side note did you tender at/below/above their suggested fees?

The tender process asks about the facilities and services offered in the practice, the quality of service provided,the patients service experience the standard available, price and value for money and innovation and development. The bupa review is not concentrated on physiotherapy as the have already adopted.

The result of the BUPA tender is a reduced, cut price service to their clients. This would have a huge variance on what is on offer to those customers and nothing in BUPA's tender reflects the quality of actual treatment.

As soon as one other Health Insurers wake up to this and begin to market using slogans like "With our health insurance you can choose the practitioner of your choice" the customers will walk away from BUPA. Many of mine have already. Of course BUPA will have to follow suit or lose business. Their network group will then be the ones who suffer as they have contracted to fixed fees that the rest have not. It is only a matter of time and I think that time will be sooner rather than later.