Bupa introduce a new network for physiotherapists

Bupa have announced that they intend to introduce a network for physiotherapists. All practitioners have been asked to complete an online tender document designed to assess the quality of their service, as well as their intended charges. Bupa hope to launch the network in May and say that it will both raise quality standards and reduce costs.

This new network is the latest in a series that Bupa hope will in due course cover all areas of medicine in which they have an interest. It began in 2006 with a network for MRI scans, and continued shortly afterwards with one to cover cataract surgery. Orthopaedics was announced as the next area to be covered but, such was the adverse reaction among providers to the cataract initiative that Bupa gave in on many of its objectives and withdrew to reconsider its strategy. It seems that Bupa have now decided that tackling physiotherapists is an easier way into orthopaedics than taking on the “big guns” of surgeons or hospitals.

If this new network follows a similar path to others launched by Bupa and its competitors (many of whom decided to follow Bupa’s lead), then it is unlikely that members will notice very much difference. They may have fewer physiotherapists to choose from, but the choice is likely to be made for them by GPs and Specialists who will avoid therapists who are outside the network. Furthermore, it is likely that the great majority of physiotherapists will accept the new terms.

Networks are never going to be popular with providers since they generally mean that they get less money with little or no increase in business. Providers also feel that Bupa and other insurers are poor at judging quality and should leave the job to the many other bodies already in existence. From a consumer’s viewpoint, however, they seem to have had some success in at least reducing the rate at which prices have increased.

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