PHIN delivers on CMA Order after decade-long programme

The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) has completed a decade-long programme to implement the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) transparency requirements for the private healthcare sector.

The not-for-profit organisation, which was mandated by the CMA to deliver on its Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014, said its website now contains information on all 690 private hospitals and 12,600 consultants providing private healthcare services in the UK, alongside guides on how to pay for private healthcare.

The Order followed the CMA’s investigation into the private healthcare market and required private hospitals and consultants to publish comparable information to help patients make informed decisions about where to receive treatment, including mortality and infection rates, unplanned readmissions and transfers from the private sector to the NHS.

PHIN CEO Dr Ian Gargan (pictured) said the milestone meant patients now had access to more information about private healthcare than ever before.

‘Patients have always been at the heart of what we do and with record levels of data now being published on our website they are better able than ever to make informed decisions about their healthcare,’ he said.

PHIN’s website now receives more than 50,000 unique visitors a month. However, PHIN said that with more than 80,000 patients admitted to private hospitals each month, many more people could benefit from using the resource before choosing a hospital or consultant.

Geoff Steadman, senior director of markets at the CMA, said achieving compliance with the Order represented ‘an important milestone’, ensuring patients had greater transparency about the performance and prices of private hospitals and consultants.

‘This makes it easier for patients to choose the right hospital and consultant for their needs,’ he said, adding that the CMA would continue to monitor and enforce compliance with the transparency measures.

PHIN chair Jayne Scott described the completion of the programme as ‘a proud moment’ for the organisation, the CMA and the wider independent healthcare sector, while Professor Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner for England, said greater transparency would improve patient safety by strengthening the flow of information and helping patients make more informed choices.

Independent Healthcare Providers Network CEO David Hare said: ‘With record numbers of patients now choosing to “go private” for their treatment, it’s never been more important for the public to have access to reliable, up to date information on private healthcare and the choices available to them.’

Gargan added: ‘This is just the beginning of PHIN’s journey. We will continue to work with the hospitals and consultants to uphold the Order, as well as building our value to the whole sector and especially to patients in the years to come.’