Boom in private healthcare piles pressure on GPs

Howard, Sally

doi:10.1136/bmj.o2115

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…"That is coming in when primary care is so stretched, and it will just create a lot of work." 13 Another testing boom that was recently highlighted in an NHS England bulletin to GPs was for privately purchased human papillomavirus tests, which cannot be acted on by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme or entered into the patient record. 14 In 2019 the Royal College of General Practitioners published a position statement about private health screening, warning that "the organisation initiating the screening should not assume that GPs will deal with the results."…”

Section: More Work For Gpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of direct-to-consumer testing: is the NHS paying the price?

Wilkinson¹

2022

BMJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rise of direct-to-consumer testing: is the NHS paying the price? Dozens of UK companies are offering private tests for a range of conditions and deficiencies. Some make claims that exceed the evidence base, and experts say regulation is needed to protect patients. Emma Wilkinson reportsEmma Wilkinson freelance journalist "Take your health into your hands today," reads an advertisement for the Livit app, from Nightingale Health. Costing €179 (£155; $176), it encourages four blood tests a year, using "highly advanced blood analysis technology," and promises to predict how many healthy years of life a person has left. 1 The market for direct-to-consumer tests such as Livit is booming, with one piece of market research predicting that the global blood testing market will rise by 60% from around $80.50bn in 2021 to $128.45bn in 2028. 2 Experts are concerned that such companies are making misleading claims and leaving an already overworked NHS to follow up "abnormal results." Some have also warned of a lack of regulation to ensure that consumers truly know what test results mean.The BMJ's investigation has led us to refer two companies to the UK Advertising Standards Authority for misleading claims about the accuracy or detection rates associated with at-home tests. Another removed tests from its website after we got in touch (box 1). But in many cases it is the absence of information that is the problem, says Chris Salisbury, professor of primary healthcare at the University of Bristol. "There is a simplistic assumption that more information is better, so why shouldn't you get the tests done? Yet they're making claims without showing any of the disadvantages," he says.

show abstract

Section: More Work For Gpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of direct-to-consumer testing: is the NHS paying the price?

Wilkinson¹

2022

BMJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As more people opt for private healthcare services, Sally Howard explores some of the unintended consequences (doi:10.1136/bmj.o2115). 3 People may turn to the private sector to be seen quickly when the NHS is under pressure. But private providers can mean more work for NHS primary care if patients return to the NHS partly assessed or if private test results are returned to NHS GPs for interpretation and action instead of being handled by those who arranged the test.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal reflective practice can lead to change

Macdonald¹

2022

BMJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Howard bemoans private ADHD assessments 1. We respond as executive members of the UK Adult ADHD Network (www.ukaan.org).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Short is correct that transferring work to primary care is “maladaptive,” 1 but this is because both primary and secondary care have inadequate resources. General practitioners receive extra payment for managing diabetes but not for ADHD (or many other chronic conditions).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%