Healthcode in nine bytes

Healthcode was founded in 2000 with an urgent mission – create a Clearing Service for private medical bills. We quickly achieved that aim but we have continued to apply our energy and expertise to developing online services that help customers operate more efficiently.

Here are nine facts you may not know about the company and our technology:

Most private providers use Healthcode’s Clearing Service to submit electronic bills for validation
Before we developed the Clearing Service, most providers printed and posted invoices to private medical insurers (PMIs), an inefficient and time-consuming process which could lead to lengthy delays in payment in the event of a query. Now around 60% of practitioners (and 98% of hospitals) generate electronic bills and then submit them online through our Clearing Service. Each invoice is automatically validated against the specific rules set by the PMI. In the event of an error, the system tells you what’s missing or incorrect so you can correct the invoice and resubmit. A status display shows when an invoice has been successfully validated and received by the PMI.

Pre-pandemic, Healthcode’s Clearing Service checked and processed 28,000 invoices daily
The volume of electronic bills processed and validated by our Clearing Service rose every year until the pandemic struck: in 2004, it was just under 2million per year but rocketed to over 7million by 2019. In 2018, the number of bills from non-hospital providers (including independent practitioners) overtook those from hospitals for the first time.

The Clearing Service benefits providers as much as PMIs on grounds of:
• Cost – electronic billing entails a fraction of the printing, postage and manpower costs associated with paper billing
• Security – all data is encrypted
• Efficiency – bills can be submitted to the leading PMIs from one online platform
• Cashflow – validated electronic bills enter the insurer payment cycle quicker and can be paid as soon as one week after submission.

Clearing is one of a range of online solutions we have developed for independent practitioners
We have also become a leading provider of online solutions for independent practitioners, including:
• ePractice electronic billing and payment tracking
• ePractice practice management
• Secure messaging
• Clinical coding tools
• The Private Practice Register (The PPR)

ePractice is the first-choice practice management solution for independent practitioners
Our practice management solution is used by more independent practices in the UK because it gives users complete control of essential admin tasks and a wealth of financial reports to help them manage their business.

ePractice includes unique features to boost efficiency, such as online membership verification which allows practices to quickly and securely confirm patient details against the insurer’s database. And a complimentary App allows access to ePractice in real time so practitioners can see their appointments, account balances and patient information and submit electronic bills to insurers.

However, we aren’t resting on our laurels. In 2021, we will launch the next generation ePractice which has been rewritten to optimise the functionality, speed and design. Look out for the full details in the coming months.

The Private Practice Register (The PPR) is the first online information hub to connect practitioners, hospitals and PMIs
Launched in 2016 to fast-track PMI recognition applications, today The PPR gives 24,000 practitioners a secure online platform where they can control and store their practice information and supporting documents, such as contact details, bank details, insurer recognition details and fitness to practise information.

The PPR connects practitioners to the major PMIs and over 300 hospital providers, so they can securely share accurate information about their current practice with organisations in their network. This helps them maintain PMI recognition and hospital practising privileges.

Healthcode won IT Innovator of the Year at the Health Investor Awards
Judges were so impressed with The PPR that they made us IT Innovator of the Year at the annual HealthInvestor Awards 2020 which celebrate excellence in the independent healthcare sector. We were also finalists in the Technology Provider of the Year category. A fitting way to mark 20 years in business.

Healthcode meets stringent information security standards to protect confidential data
To safeguard the enormous quantities of sensitive financial and patient data we process on your behalf, we use stringent data protection measures, including:

• We secure systems in accordance with internet banking conventions, using 2048-bit certificates for full end-to-end encryption
• Our infrastructure is based in the UK and of enterprise quality, designed to contain no single point of failure
• We take a daily back-up of data which is securely stored in a separate UK facility.
• All users must have their own log-in ID and password which must be changed every 90 days
• Our Information Security Management System complies with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and we have maintained this accreditation since 2009. We are also certified by the Government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme

All our solutions are designed to be interoperable
We believe technology should make it easier for organisations and practitioners to connect and share information efficiently and securely – not create barriers.

We design our solutions to be compatible with the systems used by key stakeholders in the healthcare sector. For example, our Clearing Service is open to users of our own ePractice software and those using common third-party practice management software. All the leading PMIs are able to accept invoices submitted this way.

Healthcode is developing a centralised e-booking service to transform access to private healthcare
We are continually looking to advance the independent healthcare sector through online technology. Inspired by computer reservation websites in the travel and hospitality industries, our current project is a centralised electronic booking application that will transform patients’ access to private healthcare.