Charges & Claiming
You only claim for the work you have provided, i.e. examination and referral= Band 1, examination, referral and any other work= band 2 or 3.
What band of treatment should be claimed when referring the patient to a secondary care provider?
You are required to collect a band 2 charge even though you may be only claiming 1 UDA. Please complete section 5a of the FP17 and tick box ‘G’ “referral for Advanced Mandatory Services “The IMOS provider does not collect any charges.
If you charged the patient for Band 2 and no band 2 treatment took place in primary care, the patient is eligible for a refund. However if you have already submitted the claim the patient has to get the refund from the NHSBSA. Please look at their website for further details.
Secondary care
All level 2 complexity referrals should be sent to the IMOS providers in the first instance.
Patients should be encouraged to use primary care but referrals into secondary care can be made, however, patients must be notified of increased waiting times.
If you are referring a patient directly to secondary care for level 3 services you should not be collecting a patient charge
The IMOS provider will notify the original referrer by letter that the patient has been forwarded to secondary care. The hospital will contact the patient directly to arrange an appointment. Once the treatment is complete, the hospital will issue a discharge letter to the original referring practice.
Referral & Referral Forms
Yes, the form is designed for both level 2 and level 3 referrals and can be used for referrals in to primary or secondary care.
You should be using the new referral form for MOS for levels 2 and 3. However you can still use the FP17RN form for other services on referral.
Yes you can send your patient to any service in London there are no geographical boundaries between the IMOS providers
If the patient has a GP, you should include their details on the form. If the patient is not registered with a GP please say so on the referral form
If you hold the information you should include the details on the referral form. If you do not have the NHS number please ask your patient to provide it next time they attend and to inform the IMOS provider of this number (easy reference it appears on the top right hand corner of any NHS prescription issued by a GP)
No, patient information may only be sent electronically from nhs.net to nhs.net accounts. If this is not possible, the referral documents must be sent by post. NHS.net accounts are being rolled out to all providers from March 2018 onward.
You cannot refer to the IMOS providers via fax.
The IMOS service is primarily for London residents or patients with a London GP. These services will not be advertised outside of London
If you are unsure please send your referral to the IMOS provider in the first instance.
Triage
Each IMOS contract will be providing their own triage.
Treatment
Referrals will be triaged by the provider within 5 working days
Assessment appointments if necessary to take place within 3 weeks of on receipt of a complete and valid referral
All treatment to take place in primary care within 6 weeks
There is a link on our website.
If you are not confident in the procedure you are about to undertake please speak to your peers within the practice in the first instance. If you are unable to do this then refer to IMOS services with a full explanation as to why the procedure could not be carried out by you in your practice. If you do not provide a full explanation your referral may not be accepted by the IMOS service.