In the first six months of 2015, e-billing by private healthcare providers increased by 28%, compared with January to June 2014 and by 50% on the same period in 2013, according to Healthcode.
The surge in billing volumes was particularly marked among independent practitioners which grew by 81% in January-June 2015 compared with the first six months of 2014.
Invoices from independent practitioners represented nearly 40% of the total. This reflects the growing adoption of e-billing by consultants: the number of users in this group have grown by 64% in the last year.
e-billing in the private healthcare sector saw another landmark in March 2015 when over 425,000 bills were processed and cleared by Healthcode, the first time that monthly total had exceeded the 400,000 mark.
Healthcode's managing director, Peter Connor, said: "The upwards trend shows private practitioners are fast recognising the business benefits of billing electronically, especially for their cashflow. Because e-bills are validated on submission, they are less likely to be queried and can be settled faster. Users receive instant confirmation that a bill has been received by the insurer or if there is a problem they need to correct."
