With a new year upon us, and medical practices busier than ever, one priority for healthcare businesses should be increasing efficiency. Having an efficient practice means better patient care, smoother administration, and less doubling up of work. As a new year begins, it’s worth checking all of your daily processes and see whether your current clinic management software really delivers what you need.
Manage patients better
Patient management is perhaps the biggest challenge in a medical practice. From booking appointments to keeping concise records, your medical software plays a key role here. The very best software makes patient management so much easier for both office staff and clinicians.
Firstly, when booking appointments, you should have clear visibility of doctor availability at all times. You should also be able to manage cancellations effectively with a central cancellation list. This helps you maximise a clinician’s time and provide more appointments for patients. In addition, you should also be able to send SMS reminders so patients can confirm their attendance. This helps reduce cancellations in the first place.
You also want patient records to be clear, concise and easy to use. Doctors can be more efficient if your software allows for pre-filling of notes. If you’ve got cumbersome patient record-keeping practices, it’s time to find a new solution.
Is your data easily accessible?
Secondly, think about how easy it is to access relevant data. Can your finance staff quickly get a snapshot of monthly figures, or does somebody need to transfer financial data from one system into your accounting software? Can doctors easily access prescription histories and other important patient records at the click of a button?
Are your medical reception staff able to clearly view patient information while booking appointments, or are you still using multiple systems for different tasks? Ideally, you want as much information as possible to be available in one place. It makes it so much easier for everybody to do their job, and also reduces the risk of things being overlooked.
Improve the way you manage practice finances
Finances are a big part of any business, but particularly in a medical practice. It’s not as simple as taking a payment from a customer and issuing a receipt like a retail environment. There’s so much more that happens in a medical practice, such as Medicare and DVA claims. There are different charging levels depending on the nature of the appointment, and so much more.
You want one system to handle all of these transactions smoothly, while also sending the relevant data to an accounting system. When this happens automatically, there’s less chance of human data entry error, and the whole process is more efficient.
Give clinicians the tools they need
Finally, ensure your software gives your medical professionals the tools they need. It’s not just about patient records, but also about patient education. The best clinic management software has built-in healthcare tools such as care plans, and also plenty of educational information sheets for patients. When you make life easy for clinicians, they can ultimately service patients better and also increase their own productivity.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
