Consultants say insurers should monitor them

Three quarters of consultants expect health insurers to take some responsibility for measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of specialists, research shows.

Despite a quarter choosing audit as the most appropriate method, just under half (44 percent) were unsure about the role insurers could play.

The findings were revealed in independent research about consultants' satisfaction with medical insurers, carried out for BUPA.

The annual survey also found that more than half of consultants (55 percent) have private medical insurance and of these, over half (59 percent) have BUPA cover. Double the number of consultants would recommend BUPA to their friends and family over any other private medical insurer.

Dr Natalie-Jane Macdonald, medical director, BUPA Health Insurance, said: "This demonstrates that consultants both recognise the benefits of private health cover and choose to rely on BUPA. We are acutely aware of the need to keep our health care cover comprehensive to meet all our members' needs and at the same time our premiums affordable. This is why we have been working with consultants and hospitals to ensure our three million members continue to have access to high quality consultant-led healthcare at a price which represents value for money."