Healthcare Business Solutions

What Healthcare Business Solutions does

Healthcare Business Solutions (UK) Limited, trading as HBSUK, is a CQC-regulated healthcare services company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Annesley, Nottingham. The company operates two interlocking service lines: clinical insourcing, deploying specialist teams across 34 specialties within NHS Trust facilities to reduce waiting lists under tariff-sharing or fixed day-rate contracts, and a digital outpatient offering built around Virtual Lucy, an MHRA-registered Class I Medical Device web platform that captures patient history through structured questionnaires, supports asynchronous and synchronous (video, telephone, face-to-face) consultations, and integrates with NHS PAS and EHR systems via InterSystems IRIS for Health and HL7/FHIR standards. Blended Pathways, combining digital triage with on-site clinical teams, is positioned as the company's key differentiator. HBSUK generates revenue through NHS framework contracts (NHS Shared Business Services, NHS Workforce Alliance, NHS Wales, Countess of Chester), an exclusive partnership with AXA Health for MSK and Dermatology triage and assessment services for UK private medical insurance members, and pathway redesign and data validation services. Since AXA's February 2024 acquisition, HBSUK operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA Health, serving 50+ NHS Trusts across England, Wales and Scotland, a pool of 1,500+ clinicians, and an international reference deployment with the St Helena Government.

Name

Healthcare Business Solutions

Legal name

Healthcare Business Solutions (UK) Limited

Website

https://hbsuk.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HBSUK provides digital outpatient solutions (Virtual Lucy), clinical insourcing across 34 specialties, and blended care pathways to NHS Trusts and private medical insurers in the UK. Acquired by AXA Health in February 2024, the company serves 50+ NHS Trusts with CQC-regulated digital and in-person services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Insourcing & Digital Outpatient Services

NAICS

Offices of Physicians (6211), Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual Visit & Scheduling Platforms (EHR-integrated) (HLALABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Care Navigation, Referral & Digital Front Door Platforms (HLALABAH), Virtual Specialty Care Programs (Payer-Sponsored) (HLALACAD)

Keywords

• Clinical insourcing services
• Digital outpatient platform
• NHS waiting list management
• Specialist clinical assessment
• Blended healthcare pathways

Headquarters

HQ city

Annesley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Insourcing Services: Clinical insourcing services to NHS Trusts delivered on-site using NHS facilities. HBSUK works on a tariff sharing basis where NHS Trust covers costs including prosthesis, consumables, sterilisation and overheads from tariff. Trust only pays if patients are seen, guaranteeing no losses. Also offers fixed day rates for trauma services. The model is always more cost-effective than outsourcing.
2. Digital Outpatient Platform: Virtual Lucy platform providing remote specialist clinical assessment. Revenue from NHS framework contracts and private medical insurers including AXA Health. AXA Health is the exclusive partner for MSK and Dermatology triage and assessment services.
3. Private Medical Insurance Services: Virtual outpatient services covering NHS and Private Medical Insured work. HBSUK is the exclusive partner to AXA Health for MSK and Dermatology triage and assessment services. Refers patients for surgical interventions to HBSUK/AXA preferred consultant network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

HBSUK delivers clinical insourcing services and a digital outpatient platform (Virtual Lucy) to NHS Trusts and private medical insurers. Clinical insourcing deploys consultant-led teams across 34 specialties within Trust facilities to run outpatient clinics, surgery, diagnostics and one-stop clinics. Virtual Lucy is an MHRA-registered Class I Medical Device that enables remote specialist clinical assessment typically within 72 hours via structured questionnaires, image upload and video/telephone consultations. Blended Pathways integrates the digital platform with insourcing teams into end-to-end patient journeys.

Product overview

HBSUK offers a unified portfolio combining two core services: Virtual Lucy (a CQC-regulated digital outpatient platform) and Insourcing Services (clinical capacity deployed within NHS facilities). These are integrated through Blended Pathways, HBSUK's key differentiator that combines digital and physical care into end-to-end patient pathways. Virtual Lucy enables remote specialist assessment via structured questionnaires, image upload, and virtual consultations within 72 hours, achieving 90% right-clinician-first-time accuracy. Insourcing deploys clinical teams across 34 specialities within NHS Trusts to reduce waiting lists. Supporting modules include Digital Triage, Pre-assessment, Patient-Initiated Follow-Ups (PIFU), Data Validation, and Pathway Redesign services. The portfolio serves NHS Trusts, private providers, and insurers including AXA Health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Virtual Lucy: Digital outpatient platform registered as a Class I Medical Device with the MHRA. It serves as a patient intake and assessment tool, capturing medical history and symptoms to facilitate clinical review by healthcare professionals. Supports clinical decision-making but does not provide automated medical diagnosis.

Products and services

• Virtual Lucy CQC-regulated, MHRA-registered Class I Medical Device digital outpatient platform that captures patient medical history and symptoms via structured asynchronous questionnaires and image upload, enabling remote specialist clinical assessment typically within 72 hours and supporting video, telephone or face-to-face consultations. Built for NHS Trusts and private medical insurers (including AXA Health) to reduce unnecessary face-to-face appointments by up to 50% and achieve a 90% right-clinician-first-time hit rate.
• Insourcing Services CQC-regulated clinical insourcing service deploying consultant-led teams (consultants, nurses and support staff) within NHS Trust facilities to deliver outpatient clinics, surgery, diagnostics and one-stop clinics across 34 specialties, typically mobilised within 4 weeks on evenings, weekends or in-week. Sold to NHS Trusts on a tariff-sharing basis where the Trust only pays if patients are seen, with fixed day rates available for services such as trauma.
• Blended Pathways Integrated care model combining the Virtual Lucy digital outpatient platform with on-site clinical insourcing teams to manage end-to-end patient pathways from initial referral to treatment, enabling seamless movement between physical and virtual services based on patient needs and clinical requirements. HBSUK's key differentiator, supporting pathway redesign and enabling up to 50% of patients referred from primary to secondary care to be managed without physical secondary care services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 37% reduction in dermatology patient tracking list at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered key and core.

• Hexaware TechnologieskeyTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2026Strategic collaboration to enhance HBSUK's workforce management proposition through digitised recruitment and onboarding. Implementation on Journey36's App36 cloud platform with LLM orchestration and AI governance through Axonyx.ai. Key features include rota management, payment reconciliation and contact centre enhancements.
• InterSystemskeyTechnology or Integration · 29 January 2025Integration of Virtual Lucy platform with InterSystems IRIS for Health to enable NHS system interoperability. Supports HL7 messaging standards and connectivity with NHS PAS and EHR systems. Pilot at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust demonstrated 35% of patients had clock stop outcome.
• AXA HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024AXA acquired HBSUK in February 2024 and uses HBSUK as exclusive partner for MSK and Dermatology triage and assessment services for AXA Health members. Services expanded to offer consistent care across MSK, digestive health and dermatology for private patients.
• NHS Shared Business ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHBSUK is on the NHS Shared Business Services framework for Insourcing of Clinical Services, enabling NHS Trusts in England to procure insourcing services directly through this framework.
• NHS Workforce AlliancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHBSUK is on the NHS Workforce Alliance framework for Total Workforce Solutions III Clinical Insourcing Solutions, enabling NHS procurement of insourcing services.
• Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation TrustcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHBSUK is on the Insourced Clinical Services framework hosted by Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for NHS procurement.
• NHS WalescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHBSUK is on the NHS Wales Framework Agreement for Surgical Procedures: Provision of Insourcing (Lot 2a) for procurement in Wales.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Circle Health Group: Circle Health Group is a large UK private hospital operator with NHS partnership contracts, providing elective surgery capacity that partly competes with HBSUK's insourcing service while operating a broader care portfolio.
• Livi (Kry): Livi is the UK arm of Swedish digital health provider Kry, offering NHS video GP and digital consultations at scale — a broader incumbent with overlapping NHS virtual consultation capability to HBSUK.
• HealthHero: HealthHero is a European digital healthcare platform offering telehealth, remote monitoring and corporate health services — overlapping HBSUK's NHS and AXA-facing virtual care proposition at a broader geographic scale.

Direct peers

• Totally plc: Totally plc provides NHS insourcing, urgent care and planned care services across the UK through subsidiaries, competing with HBSUK for NHS Trust insourcing contracts and waiting list reduction work.
• Push Doctor: Push Doctor is a UK telehealth platform offering video GP consultations through NHS and private channels — comparable to the patient-facing virtual consultation features of HBSUK's Virtual Lucy platform.
• Doctor Care Anywhere: Doctor Care Anywhere is a UK-based virtual GP and specialist consultation platform working with both NHS and private medical insurers, including AXA Health — overlapping HBSUK's digital outpatient and private insurance use cases.
• Medefer: Medefer is a UK-based virtual specialist outpatient platform working with NHS Trusts to reduce waiting lists through asynchronous clinical assessments and remote triage — a direct competitor to HBSUK's Virtual Lucy service.
• 18 Week Support: 18 Week Support is a UK NHS clinical insourcing provider deploying specialist teams to NHS Trusts to clear elective backlogs — directly comparable to HBSUK's insourcing service across multiple specialties.

Regional players

• Modality Partnership: Modality Partnership is one of the largest UK NHS primary care super-partnerships and runs community dermatology, MSK and outpatient services — overlapping HBSUK's NHS specialty outpatient capacity augmentation.

Emerging players

• Medloop: Medloop is an emerging UK digital health platform supporting NHS primary and secondary care providers with remote patient management and triage — comparable as an emerging digital outpatient alternative to Virtual Lucy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hbsuk
• Xx.com/hbs__uk

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthcare Business Solutions