Practice Plus Group expands online booking for insured and self-pay patients

Practice Plus Group has partnered with Doctify to expand access to real-time online consultant bookings for private patients.

Under the deal, consultant appointment diaries will be integrated with digital booking platforms, allowing patients to search for specialists by location and speciality, check availability and book consultations directly.

Members of Vitality, AXA and WPA can already access the service through their insurers’ consultant finder tools.

Similar pathways are being developed with other insurer partners and self-pay patients can also now book consultations through Doctify.

The partnership is part of Practice Plus Group’s strategy to grow its private healthcare business and strengthen its position in the PMI market by simplifying referral and booking processes.

Chief information officer Barry Nee said: ‘By connecting our consultant diaries directly into insurer and healthcare platforms, we’re creating real-time visibility of available appointments, reducing administration and helping patients access care more quickly.’

The initiative is an important milestone in the Narayana Health owned business’s digital transformation, which Nee said lays the foundations for an ‘even more connected healthcare experience in the future’.

Earlier this year Practice Plus Group announced a partnership with Scan.com, which introduced online MRI referral and booking services for self-pay patients.

Practice Plus Group partnerships director Claire O’Neill said: ‘Our latest partnership is not just about online booking. Our ambition is to create a more connected and convenient experience for patients and our insurance partners overall. We’re seeing strong growth from the PMI market and increasing demand for digital-first healthcare experiences. Patients and insurers want the convenience of booking appointments online, receiving updates digitally and interacting through modern communication channels. These developments ensure Practice Plus Group is easy to access and easy to work with today, while creating the platform for even more innovative digital pathways in the future.’