What Role Does Your GP Play In Your Medical Insurance?

Most GP's in the UK work for the National Health Service. Their medical services are free so what role do they play in the private medical insurance sector?

The GP is the main port of call for your health insurance provider as they usually hold a customers long term medical details. With 12% of the UK public having private medical insurance it stands to reason that GP's are being called upon regularly to administer the details of a clients medical history. Usually on application for health cover an insurance company takes medical details straight from the customer but if there are any specific queries about a particular condition then they turn to the GP. The GP is usually asked to provide a report on the patient's medical status. It is important to note here that a patient has to consent to this information being shared and that legally this must be done is writing.

Confidentiality is in fact a huge issue between patients, GP's and the health cover providers. In some cases patients may shrug from approaching their GPs with concerns for fear of their confidentiality being breached, for example in cases where patients are concerned over symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. However there are safeguards to protect consumers. The BMA (British Medical Association) and ABI (The Association of British Insurers) have produced joint guidelines about medical information and insurance and they state that: 'Only relevant information should be provided and it is ethically unacceptable to provide extraneous information.'

Where GP's are particularly important is in cases where there is a policy dispute. In these cases the GP has a great deal of power. For example, if your GP did not believe it necessary for you to see a specialist in mental health then your insurance company may not sanction payment for you to do so and you would need to discuss the matter further with your health cover provider. Could your GP's impartiality be dependent on the relationship that you have built up with them?

From a practical point of view filling out insurance forms is not part of a GP's NHS duties therfore there is always a charge for this service. But how much NHS time is taken up by this and should a service which is designed to provide free healthcare for all take up a GP's valuable patient time?

So, in conclusion you can see here that the GP is pivotal to the smooth running and efficiency of the private medical insurance industry and that this fact may have implications for their professional relationship with you.