PHIN: presumed publication update

PHIN have now changed the way it accepts and publishes data under an approach called ‘presumed publication’. Previously consultants needed to review and accept the data submitted about them before it could be published. This was a potential extra burden on them, and reduced the amount of information they could publish.  

Under the presumed publication approach, consultants can still check and verify their data or notify hospitals if they have an issue with their data (which is then not published until the issue is resolved). If consultants do not but choose to interact with the data, it will be assumed as correct and published.  

The PHIN team have worked closely with consultant and hospital representatives and offered support to all stakeholders to ensure that the introduction of this change was managed with care, and they would like to thank the members of the Working Group whose advice was very valuable as it moved through the planning and implementation process. Presumed publication led to over 6,000 consultants being added to the PHIN website within a month of launch.  

The requirement for consultants to submit fee information to PHIN is set out in the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014, as amended:
  
22.1 Consultants providing private healthcare services shall provide to the information organisation, from a date no later than 1 December 2016, the following information in accordance with a format provided by the information organisation and shall keep such information up to date: 

(a) outpatient consultation fees, which may be expressed as either a fixed fee or an hourly rate. 

(b) the standard procedure fee for the 50 types of procedure most frequently undertaken by the consultant; and 

(c) standard terms and conditions, plus any exclusions or caveats, expressed in a standard form as determined by the information organisation. 

Breast Surgeons engaged in private practice should be encouraged to submit fee information for self-pay patient services and also provide an indication of the fee arrangements that they have in place with insurers. The process needs to be done by ensuring that the final step of ‘publishing fees’ is completed. 
  
Fees need to be submitted to PHIN by accessing the portal that has been designed to help consultants with the process. The Consultant Services Team at PHIN is available to support consultants to complete the process of fee submission and publication. If you need help, contact PHIN by email at consultants@phin.org.uk or telephone Anne Coyne on 0203 823 7518. 
  
Consultants are also encouraged to create profiles on the PHIN portal, as patients are more likely to look at profiles where the consultant has supplied a photograph and included biographical and detailed information about their specialty/sub-specialty interests. The PHIN website now receives and average of 40,000 visits each month, so it is an important way to build your profile with patients and it is free to consultants.