Medical invoice clearing firm Healthcode has revealed that the number of invoices received for insured treatment grew by nearly 7% year-on-year in the first three months of 2026, and that it received over 50,000 private medical insurance (PMI) invoice volumes per day, making Q1 of this year the busiest quarter in its history.
Healthcode reports that overall, it processed over 3.1 million invoices in Q1, meaning that all three months passed the 1 million mark for the first time.
Outpatient care accounted for the most activity in Q1, including over 1 million invoices in March. The total invoice volume for outpatient care rose 7.3% compared to 2025, totalling 2.87 million during Q1 2026. The total volume for admitted care was 294,878, a 3.6% increase, which Healthcode claims was mainly driven by a rise in day cases.
Meanwhile, PMI invoices generated more than £1.5 billion for healthcare providers, an increase of 11% compared with Q1 2025.
Just over 2 million PMI invoices processed by Healthcode came from clinics, private practices and practitioners instead of hospital sources. Volumes for the former were up by 9.2% year-on-year, compared with a 2.8% increase for hospitals.
Of the top ten hospital specialities in Q1, radiology had the strongest growth year-on-year of 13% (138,000 invoices), and remains the second largest hospital speciality to orthopaedics, which also saw a year-on-year increase in volume of 6% to 200,000.
Non-hospital physiotherapy saw the most growth in Q1 (14%), with 405,000 invoices, while physiotherapy volumes within hospitals went down by 9% year-on-year to 80,000.
Wales saw the biggest increase in hospital activity in Q1, with its invoice volumes up by nearly 11% year-on-year when averaged across Q1, compared with 7% for Scotland, 4.7% for Northern Ireland and 2.7% for England.
"This was a brilliant beginning to 2026 for private healthcare and sets things up nicely for the rest of the year," Richard Aris, director of strategic partnerships and external affairs at Healthcode, said.
"After a slowdown in annual growth during 2025, it shows the resilience of the PMI market, which continues to be the driving force in private healthcare. Most importantly, it ensures providers have the funding to deliver high-quality diagnostics and treatment to patients in need."
