BHeC: “Registering Health Service Businesses”
The Bermuda Health Council and Bernews have teamed-up to answer your questions about the island’s health care system. Visit www.bhec.bm to submit your queries and look for the response on Bernews.
In September last year 245 health service providers registered with the Bermuda Health Council for the first time. Though voluntary, this registration represented 76% of all eligible health service providers.
As this is the first time health service providers have been asked to register on the Island, the Health Council said they would like to provide some answers to frequently asked questions below, with the answers supplied by Tawanna Wedderburn, Acting CEO of the Bermuda Health Council.
Question: Why register health service providers [HSP]?
Answer: HSPs are registered by the Health Council to ensure standards of appropriate clinical care and safety are met. In addition, registration allows for promotion of safe clinical practice environments, health system planning, ethical practice, and protecting patient rights and care. The Health Council does not regulate the clinical practice of regulated health professionals. Regulated health professionals are registered by legal bodies charged with overseeing a profession.
Question: What is an HSP?
Answer: An HSP is any person, group of person or organization that operates a business offering health services to the public. Health services include hospital, medical, dental and professional services related to health. The definition excludes any person who is an employee under a contract of service. If you deliver clinical care and/or submit claims for insurance reimbursement, please call our office as you may be considered a health service provider. Contact us on: 292-6420.
Question: What is a health professional?
Answer: A health professional is an individual who provides clinical care directly to the general public. In Bermuda some healthcare professionals are regulated and some are not. Regulated health professionals are registered by legal bodies charged with overseeing a profession. Registration usually involves checking a health professional’s training and qualifications, and agreeing to adhere to any established standards of practice for that profession. Unregulated health professionals are usually members of professional associations, which allow the professional to keep up their skills and benefit from some oversight of clinical practice.
Question: What is the registration process for HSP?
- Health service providers submit an application form to the Health Council. The form requests:
- Demographic facility information
- Declaration of financial interests
- Identifying information for the business owner[s]
- A list of medical equipment
- Facility inspection and accreditation dates
- A description of the health services to be performed
- The names and qualifications of the staff carrying out those services
- The Health Council checks to see if there have been any verified complaints about the provider.
- The Health Council reviews the application and provides a compliance report.
- The details are then published on the Health Council website: link
Question: What is contained in the compliance reports?
Answer: The compliance reports of each HSP include information on provider compliance on four different criteria – Safe, Well-led, Responsive and Effective.
Safe: The Health Council assesses safety to protect the public from avoidable harm. We use Department of Health inspection reports to assess the safety of clinical practice environments. The Health Council looks at whether the provider has registered staff to perform specific functions; the facility has been inspected and accredited; any complaints have been lodged against the provider; and inspect records, where applicable.
Well-led: The Health Council reviews the business practices of each health service provider in the areas of compliance, malpractice insurance, declaration of financial interests, and registered staff to make sure it is providing appropriate clinical care that is based around protecting patients and promoting an open and fair culture
Responsive [Coming Soon]: The Health Council looks at the responsiveness of the health service provider to their patients. The Health Council will check that services are organized so that they meet the patient’s needs.
Effective [Coming Soon] The Health Council will review whether the provider’s care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes; helps the public to maintain quality of life; and is based on the best available evidence. The Health Council will look at whether the health service provider uses clinical guidelines and which ones they use; whether they have electronic health records and whether they release patients’ private records to them when requested.
For the complete definition, visit here
