We aim to ensure we continue, where appropriate, to pre-authorise and arrange for the care and procedures you propose for our members.
For providers we are:
- consulting with the facilities offering care to our members to understand and support their capacity to provide care
- offering providers the option to consult remotely where appropriate
- authorising consultations at alternative facilities, even if out of network, when a provider’s normal facility cannot offer in-person consultation
- consulting with the providers managing our diagnostic and other pathways to ensure continuity of care.
For our colleagues we are:
- splitting the key teams which arrange for the treatment of our members, to ensure these teams can continue to do their job
- asking colleagues to work from home where possible and to use conference and video calls instead of in-person meetings
- asking colleagues to follow government advice on self-isolation if symptomatic of the illness COVID-19 and if they have returned from travel abroad
- avoiding travel between our offices (with a wide spread of offices across the UK we have a good level of built-in resilience)
- encouraging good hygiene practice in accordance with Public Health England and NHS advice
If COVID-19 forces a hospital closure, or where an individual healthcare provider tests positive for the disease, we will make no referrals to that hospital or provider until they are no longer an infection risk and able to accept patients back into their care.
We expect providers to inform us if they can no longer practise or receive members due to infection, and to arrange for continuing care.