Last night, I attended the online event 'All Consuming Problem: Protecting Patients in the Fertility Market' put on by Progress Educationall Trust (PET). Fascinating discusssion about the conflict between the view of us as patients v. as consumers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation has produced draft guidelines (available here: www.gov.uk/cma-cases/self-funded-ivf-consumer-law-guidance) and have extended the deadline for feedback to May, so if this concerns you, please check it out and let them know your views.
The main concerns are about clarity and comparability of information so that patients can make properly informed decisions and choices. One of the astonishing facts that came out in this event is that 93% of the fertility cinics' websites currently fail to meet the standards set by the HFEA, so clearly, any remedy needs to include some teeth for the regulators, some penalty for those who dont abide by the rules....