One of key aspects of starting or running an existing private medical or healthcare practice is practice management software, it is the key to the day to day administration of your practice. In the past Practice Management software was essentially a way of keeping an electronic diary, patient record, producing invoices and letters from templates and also maintaining practice accounts. There was no way of understanding profitability or cashflow in real time and it was not a tool for business growth. 

Having used one system for many years and then finally changing to another I was actually quite frustrated because  I realised that for me personally having the most sophisticated system was not necessarily the best fit for my practice and I had missed a huge opportunity to build my practice using the features of my practice management software as a tool. Features like being able to mailshot my whole practice were obsolete and it was clunky and certainly not usable on my IPAD pro which was becoming my device of choice day to day.  

Practice management software has had to evolve due to several key drivers. These are firstly GPDR and the need to be able to communicate with patients and store and share data in a secure and  compliant way. Secondly the way in which people pay and use services and the way in which all small businesses operate has dramatically changed.   Patients access services online not by phone or email and the explosion in small business accountancy solutions such as Xero and Payment services such as Stripe have meant that many practice management software  providers are looking to integrate with these third party service solutions rather than keeping these features in house. Thirdly the way we communicate with each other and with patients has completely changed. Patients want to book online not call a number, they want their results and correspondence electronically, not via post and in many cases they don't actually really want to see you at all and are happy to meet you on their phone screen. As a Doctor who started in Private Medical Practice in a flat in Harley Street (Number 67!)I would  ring the lab for the results, lick the stamps, and with a flourish produce my mont blanc pen (which I left in theatre at night and lost)  out to sign the letters.  I would anxiously watch my secretary type your letters, answer the calls and leave preparing the invoices till tomorrow. Modern independent medical practice should happen live, it should be integrated and as far as possible automated. 

The key factors to consider when choosing a provider of practice management software are up front cost, the size of your practice and the type of your practice. A small individual or small group practice may be very different to a larger multi-speciality practice where there may be a dedicated on site practice manager or IT support manager who can troubleshoot, and set up more sophisticated integrations such as integrations to imaging networks. A very large practice might need for example internal communications between departments and other more complex systems integrations such as different systems for different service lines, clinical pathway tools, sophisticated stock and batch control, and other features. 

If you are setting up a private GP surgery in London for example , the ability to code disease, using SNOMED coding or similar and integration with the Doctors Laboratory TDL is a must.  

There are many providers of practice management software including big names such as Meddbase and DGL.  I use a practice management software provider called Semble (previously known as Heydoc) who have rapidly expanded over the last few years. They are a young dynamic and rapidly expanding company with great interactive customer service and they have a great respect for functionality with an in house weekly meeting where they discuss customer ideas and implement them into the platform - us medics call this quality improvement projects. In our course we get to grips with Heydoc and show you how to design and tailor it  to grow your private practice and deliver a technology driven modern and efficient practice accessible to patients online.