Medical Insurance / Cost of Treatment

It is usually a requirement of medical insurance companies that patients are referred by their general practitioner for specialist treatment. You are advised to seek your GP's approval and referral letter if possible. Once you have the referral, you should then contact your insurance company and ensure that you are covered for that particular condition. In many cases, pre-authorisation numbers or documents are given to patients. Please bring these with you to your consultation. Ideally, you should contact your insurance company prior to each episode of treatment to ensure cover.

Many insurance companies now have either excess payment or cost sharing schemes, requiring the patient to pay part of the treatment. Please determine this in advance with your insurance company so that there are no surprises afterwards. Ultimately, the patient is liable to settle any costs of treatment, including any excess payment or shortfall of reimbursement.

Mr Patel is registered with all the insurance companies which operate in the United Kingdom. (Mr. Patel's BUPA number is 02953492 and his PPP number is KP00335.) Mr Patel is part of the BUPA partnership and his charges are within the guidelines set out by insurance companies. Therefore, all fees should be reimbursed entirely by the insurance company.

Certain insurance companies operate a preferred provider scheme, which can restrict the patient from choosing a particular location for treatment. This usually applies only to inpatient treatment, such as an operation. If inpatient treatment has been recommended by Mr Patel, please check with your insurance company as to any restrictions which may be imposed. To date there have been no incidences when an operation has not been possible at one of the hospitals used by Mr Patel.

If you have any queries regarding your insurance cover, our practice staff will endeavour to help you. However, as medical insurance is a matter between the patient and the insurance company, many times the insurance company will not entertain enquiries by our staff on patients' behalf.

Initial consultation fee is in the region of £180 - £200. Operation fees depend on the particular operation and for self-pay patients, a quotation to include Mr Patel's fees, the hospital costs and the fees for the anaesthetist can be provided.

Many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are done in the Outpatient Clinic setting. These may require application of local anaesthetic, usually in the form of a spray. These procedures attract a fee for the physician and the provider (hospital or clinic), over and above that for the consultation.

In most cases these costs are covered completely by medical insurance companies, but the patient is always advised to check with their insurance company that this charge will be covered.

All treatment costs can be paid either in cash, cheque or by credit card.

For non-insured patients operation costs are payable in advance of the operation by the methods detailed above. Our practice staff will be able to assist you in all administrative aspects of your treatment.