First quarter figures from Healthcode suggest that there has been a 6% rise in private healthcare invoices to £1.3 billion. 

This year is on track to be another record year for private healthcare with a 6% rise in invoices to almost 3 million worth more than £1.3 billion in the first quarter of the year.

All private hospitals and more than 70% of practitioners, practices and clinics submit invoices to all the major insurers through the secure clearing service of healthcare IT developer Healthcode which makes the company’s volumes a measure of market activity. 

“Our Q1 data shows that providers are on track to treat a record number of insured patients this year, many of whom will be choosing private healthcare for the first time. This is a great vote of confidence but it also presents a challenge to the sector to meet this growing demand and ensure patients have the best possible experience,” said Healthcode managing director Peter Connor.

Across the country

Most private healthcare takes place in England but hospital invoice volumes were up across the country with year-on-year growth of 20% in Northern Ireland, 19% in Scotland, 5% in England and 3% in Wales.

Looking into the numbers, the firm said that most invoices are from non-hospital settings such as GP practices, but both hospital and non-hospital saw an average 6% year-on-year growth. 

Within hospitals, there were 2.5 million invoices for outpatient care between January and March which is a rise of 7% year-on-year, and 282,000 invoices for admitted care which is up 1%. The total value of outpatient invoices exceeds those of admitted care for the first time. 

In terms of hospital specialities, orthopaedics and trauma was the biggest hospital speciality in terms of invoice volume. They rose 9% to 188,000 while those for radiology saw 121,000 invoices. This is a 4% decline on the same period last year and reflects the sharp rise in volumes for this speciality. 

Of the top ten hospital specialities, all except radiology saw a year-on-year increase in quarterly volumes. Hospital physiotherapy had the biggest year-on-year increase at 19% although the vast majority of physiotherapy happens in non-hospital settings.