Practice management software? Any ideas on what to choose? A replacement for MYOB, appointment book, tracking clients writing letters, emails birthday records etc.

I know Health quest has been recommended to me and smart soft front desk has been as well , just wondering before I spend thousands if you have had any good ones or anyone has any comments on software programs?

I am sorry Jodie, I do not have a good answer for you.

When I started out with Passionate Management, we offered a remote receptionist service for natural health practitioners. Their phone diverted to us, we booked clients in and looked after the invoicing and payments.

We used a system called Ealth. We mainly chose it because of its online capabilities, practitioners could access it from their homes. Its biggest downside was how slow it was, so I would not really recommend it.

Decide what you need

What I would do is write a list of your needs. Do not even look at all the features that are available in the different programs, just think about your business processes and what you need.

Here are the steps:

1. Look at all the different places you keep data (e.g. patient addresses, treatment records). Write them all down.
2. Write down what you do with that data (after you have recorded it). How do you use it (e.g. sending birthday cards, using addresses for invoices.
3. Add what you are not currently doing but would like to do (and what data you need to capture to be able to do that).
4. Think about each item, deciding whether the current system is working well (a lot of patient management software can keep treatment notes, but very few practitioners are faster putting them in than writing them on paper). Do not go for things that you do not really need, just because they are possible.
5. There might be some items that are not clear cut. Mark them as your optional functions.
6. Send your list with the features you need (the essential ones and the optional ones) to a sales rep from the practice management software companies and let them get back to you with what their program can do.
7. Do not get too excited about additional features. They often make the program more complicated. Simplicity makes it quicker to learn and quicker to work with.

I know that it is always different to actually use such a system, so if anyone has a suggestion for Jodie, please leave a comment.

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Tags: natural health practitioners, Practice Management Software

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