Healix has voiced support for the use of open referrals within the private medical insurance (PMI) market but warned that insurers need to be more transparent about the process.
The healthcare trust provider denied claims that using open referrals restricted patient choice and could compromise quality of care. However it noted that insurers risked alienating the important doctor-patient relationship if they only used cost as a reason to choose healthcare provider. Bupa has been the most prominent insurer to use open referrals for patients requiring further treatment, but its decision has divided opinion among patients, brokers and doctors. Sophina Gapare-Mburia, commercial manager of Healix Health Services, said that quality of care had to be the number on...
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