Healthcode processed more than 1 million healthcare invoices to insurers in a single month for the first time in May amid a significant increase in insurer-funded activity with monthly volumes of more than 900,000 since the start of the year.
The online clearing service said overall invoice volumes were up by just under 15% last month, compared with May 2023 with both hospital and non-hospital settings showing similar levels of growth.
It also projected providers will submit 11.5 million invoices in 2024, compared with 10.2m in 2023.
Treatment setting
The data also showed most invoices are from non-hospital settings but both achieved year-on-year growth of 15% in May.
Volumes for the year-to-date are 1.73 million for hospitals and 3 million for hospitals.
In hospitals, there was a 16% year-on year increase for outpatient invoices and 9% for admitted patients
Specialty
Orthopaedics and trauma emerged as the hospital specialty with the largest volume of invoices (63,000) which represented a year-on-year increase of 10%.
Radiology was next with 49,000
The largest year-on-year increase was in oncology (31%) although the specialty was the 7th largest in terms of actual numbers (19,000).
Radiology was second, up 27% year-on-year
The top 10 hospital specialties posted year-on-growth of 6% (cardiology) or above.
Countries and regions
Hospital invoice volumes rose across all UK countries with year-on-year growth of 14% in England, 61% in Northern Ireland, 18% in Scotland and 15% in Wales
While London saw the highest year-on-year growth (22%), all the English regions saw average growth of more than 12% compared with May 2023.
Peter Connor, managing director at Healthcode, said: “The number of invoices is another measure of the strength of the private healthcare sector in 2024 with activity across all regions, settings and hospital specialties exceeding previous years.
“Insured provision allows more patients to access the treatment they need quickly, eases the pressure on the NHS and contributes to the wider economy so I’m proud that our Clearing Service has a part to play in this success story.”