Medicals Direct refutes GPRs accusation

Medicals Direct has denied criticism that its purchase of Medibureau has damaged the industry and its reputation with doctors who produce GP reports (GPRs).

As reported by COVER, last month medical outsourcing specialist, Medicals Direct, bought Medibureau's assets out of administration.

Medicals Direct  is a company with a similar market offering to Medibureau, and believes it has done the industry a favour by maintaining Medibureau's service of producing GPRs for insurers.

Andrew Gething, managing director of competitor Morgan Ash, criticises the purchase from administration, suggesting it has left thousands of GPs out of pocket and a stain on the industry.

"According to the Administrator there are approximately 4000 - 5000 people they owe around £100 each to, presumably the majority of these are GP's and GP surgeries," he says.

"The providers are now having to pick up the pieces and either pay the GPs to get the report, and then pursue the administrator for recompense, or the GP's will have to pursue the administrator themselves.

Gething continues: "When we rely on the doctors to process GPR's in a timely manner, this will not help in efforts to try and speed up this process, and equally annoyed GP's are more likely to side with their patient when giving opinions on claim situations.

"This may have been a good commercial deal for Medicals Direct, but it can only be a bad deal for everyone else who relies on GP's for medical information," he adds.

Responding to the outburst, Mike Benton, CEO of Medicals Direct, explained it did not take Medibureau into administration and has helped avoid a chaotic situation.

Along with an expected payment from the administrator to those owed money, Benton has agreed payments for any GPRs not invoiced by Medibureau before 8 July (when it entered administration.)

"Anything done post 8 July we're fully responsible for," he says.

"And anything done before 8 July where the insurer has not been invoiced by Medibureau, we've got an arrangement with the administrator where we will pay the doctor, and we will then invoice the insurer.

"I think that demonstrates what we're trying to do is solve the problem, what we can't do is take on Medibureau's past debts that we're not responsible for," he adds.

Benton also feels Medicals Direct is doing to insurance industry a service.

"Had we not bought it from the administrator then all the services that Medibureau was providing the companies would have been stopped by the administrator, so the insurers would not have got their medical evidence, meaning their service would have been disrupted and their clients would have been harmed.

"We didn't set out to buy it, but we bought it and we think we've saved the industry a lot of embarrassment and aggravation because of the continuation of service.

"Can you imagine what it would have been like had all these insurance companies not been able to get their GPRs?" he adds.