Using private medical insurance

One Heart Clinic is UK leading independent provider of cardiac services. We have relationships with all major insurance companies. You can use your private medical insurance to fund your care, subject to any applicable excess and authorisation from your insurance company. The main companies operating in the UK are BUPA, AXA PPP, Simply health, Vitality health, Aviva, Cigna and WPA, although there are many more smaller companies as well.

A private health insurance policy will allow you to see a cardiologist privately, bypassing the long waiting times in the NHS. The insurance company will have a list of cardiologists or cardiology companies that they recognise and have a contract with for providing cardiology services. We are the preferred provider for several of these companies.

If you have been advised to see a cardiologist, for example by your GP, you are usually required to contact your insurance provider who will then advise you of the cardiologists available in their area.  You may be given the name of the company and/ or cardiologists you can see and asked to research them yourself. Alternatively, you may be directed to a particular company or specialist by your insurance company or your GP. The insurance company will provide you with an authorisation code for your visit to the provider.

Usually, all baseline tests are authorised as standard. This includes tests such as an ECG, echocardiogram, 24-hour (or longer) ECG monitoring, ambulatory blood pressure monitors, and initial consultations. If you need further tests or more advanced tests, such as cardiac CT or MRI, or an exercise tolerance test, it is likely you will need to gain further authorisation from your insurance company for this, which they are usually happy to provide.