Helping doctors reduce out-of-pocket expenses for patients

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Bupa has launched a new tool that provides a medical directory of doctors across Australia with the goal of helping to minimise out-of-pocket costs.

Bupa said it has worked with the digital health platform HealthShare to create an easy-to-use directory that aggregates information including if a hospital is part of its network or if a specialist participates in its medical gap scheme. 

The general manager of Bupa's health and medical operations Dr Tony MacDermott said the directory was a quick and simple tool for GPs to use during their referral process. 

The directory allows doctors to search for private practising specialists based on their location, speciality or name, and also includes their areas of interest, qualifications, languages spoken and hospital affiliations. Hospitals can also be searched by location or name and filtered by Bupa network status. 

“Doctors can now easily see what hospitals the specialists work in, and whether these hospitals are part of Bupa’s network. Accessible and affordable healthcare has never been more important given the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and significant cost-of-living pressures right now,” said Dr MacDermott. 

“The digital database is a great tool to help reduce out-of-pocket hospital costs for patients by referring them to specialists who practice in Bupa network hospitals. Medical costs may also be reduced if these specialists participate in our Medical Gap Scheme. 

“It’s one way we can support doctors and their patients to make informed decisions while helping to keep out-of-pocket expenses low at a time when household budgets are under strain.”