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The Dos and Don’ts of Marketing Your Practice

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Your practice is up and running. Your admin staff are well trained, you have the top clinicians in the area, and your appointment book is ready to be filled. However, if no one knows about your practice, it might as well not even exist. That’s where marketing comes into play. Marketing your practice involves getting the word out about your practice to attract patients and keep them coming back.

The Australia Medical Association estimates there are around 7,000 GP clinics in Australia. How will you ensure your practice stands out amongst the crowd?

When devising your practice’s marketing strategy, you might ask yourself plenty of questions, like: do I need a website? Which demographic should I be targeting? How much should I spend on advertising? Where should I be advertising?

While making these decisions, it’s important to understand the dos and don’ts of marketing your practice. This article is here to help you determine which marketing channels may be the right fit for your practice and get you thinking about advertising regulations that may impact your strategy.

Which Advertising Channels Should You Choose?

Before considering which advertising channels to invest in, it’s important to establish your marketing objectives and budget to achieve those goals. A great place to start is understanding how many patients you need to hit your goals and the amount you’re willing to spend to acquire a patient.

Regardless of your budget’s size, it’s important to figure out what you’re comfortable spending before planning your advertising channels.


Online Channels
You can use countless channels and strategies to market your practice, and a website is the perfect place to start. In an increasingly digital world, you should first build a website for your practice, which will be the hub for your marketing efforts. This is where potential patients will come to learn more about your practice and can likely be their first impression. The simpler your website is, the better! Building a website might sound overwhelming, but plenty of website providers such as Wix, SquareSpace, and WordPress make setting up a site with ready-made templates easy. Make sure it’s mobile-friendly and easy to navigate. A website is also the backbone of your online marketing; it’s the destination for online ads, social media links, search engine optimisation, and google my business listings. To learn more about building an online presence, check out our recent article.


Offline Channels
Despite the prominence of online marketing, offline advertising, such as billboards, street signs, retail signage, and radio, can still play a role in your marketing strategy. Depending on your target demographic and marketing goals, a localised offline advertising push can help to build awareness of your practice. Consider enquiring with nearby retail centres offering signage for advertising, as this is a great way to target locals while they’re doing their regular grocery shopping. A similar option is advertising in local bus shelters, another great way to target a local audience. Remember to include your practice’s name and contact information in your advertisements – you don’t want them to forget who you are!

You’ll also want to consider external signage for your practice. Visiting a medical practice can be stressful for a patient, so you want to ensure their experience locating and arriving at your practice is as seamless as possible. A clear street presence improves your patient’s experience from the moment they arrive at your practice and alerts others passing by that you exist!

You can also consider the signage you have inside your practice. You may have added a new service or would like to remind patients to book in for a routine vaccination or screening. You could consider flyers at the reception desk before patients settle into their social media scroll session or opt for posters with bright colours and bold text that will capture their eyes in the waiting room.

Email
Once a patient has visited your practice, email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with them. You may want to set up automated appointment reminders to reduce last-minute cancellations or no-shows. Or maybe you’d like to send out a monthly newsletter that provides existing patients with updates about your practice and relevant health information. Email marketing is a great way to build patient trust and loyalty to your practice, and plenty of online platforms make the process as easy as possible!

What Considerations Do You Have To Make In Your Advertising?

Whether your marketing strategy includes a website, social media, email, or offline marketing, it is crucial to consider the advertising regulations that can impact your messaging.

 

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) works to protect the public by ensuring Australia’s health practitioners are “suitably trained, qualified, and safe to practice.”

 

AHPRA’s ‘Guidelines for advertising regulated health services’ provides a great starting point for wrapping your head around the regulatory framework of advertising your practice. It’s also important to note that other legislation may apply to your marketing, such as the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Keeping AHPRA’s regulations in mind, below are some dos and don’ts when marketing your practice.

DO: Identify Your Target Demographic

Spending $100,000 on billboards in the city might sound appealing and attract many eyes; after all, the more people that see your ads, the better, right? Not necessarily. if your practice is an hour south of that billboard, you’re unlikely to see a return on your investment. Identifying your target demographic will allow you to tailor your advertising channels and messaging to address their needs. Doing so will also ensure you’re efficiently spending your marketing budget and not wasting it on media your desired audience will never see. Quality over quantity!

If you’re an established practice with existing patient data, your practice management system should have reporting functionality to allow you to extract demographic data. If you’re a Bp Premier user, our training team offers an advanced practice management course that deep-dives into the reporting feature. If you’re a new practice, researching the demographics of your geographical location is a great place to start!

DON'T: Use Misleading Images

AHPRA states that advertising may be in breach if the advertisement doesn’t clearly say which treatment has caused the benefit shown in the image or if the image has been edited. That includes using before and after photos, as this may mislead the audience into thinking they will achieve the exact results as the photo.

If you’d like to use images in your marketing materials, people are increasingly attracted to businesses with an authentic feel, and real photos and videos of your practice and team can go a long way to connecting with potential and existing patients. You can also use licensed images from a site like Shutterstock or Getty Images to supplement your original content.

DO: Encourage Reviews From Current Patients

Despite digital advertising being so prominent in modern society, word of mouth has remained the most trusted marketing channel, with 88% of people saying they trust recommendations from people they know more than any other channel (Neilson 2021). Online reviews are the digital evolution of traditional word-of-mouth, with a BrightLocal consumer survey indicating that 49% of respondents trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from family and friends.

Not only can positive reviews help attract new patients, but they can also help you understand how to improve your patient experience. For example, you may discover a patient had difficulty finding your practice’s location, which indicates you might need to enhance your external signage and check your online listings.

A way to encourage reviews is to strike while their appointment is front of mind. You can request feedback while the patient is still in your practice or set up automated emails requesting feedback a couple of hours after their appointment.

DON'T: Use Testimonials About The Clinical Side Of Your Practice In Your Advertising

AHPRA’s advertising guidelines indicate that your advertising “must not use recommendations or positive statements about the clinical aspects of a regulated health service.” Therefore, if a patient leaves a review about how great the medication the GP supplied was for treating their sore back, that review cannot be used as marketing material. Alternatively, suppose a patient review mentions how the receptionist made them feel comfortable and relaxed. That is a great review to include as a testimonial on your website or advertising.

DO: Use Truthful Messaging In Your Advertising Based On Your Practice's Merit

Content is king! Your marketing messaging should be based on your practice’s merit and speak to your level of care. Clear and professional messaging will go a long way to gaining credibility and trust with potential patients.

On your website, you may include:
• Your doctors’ qualifications.
• The history of your practice.
• Your practice’s vision and approach to patient care.

DON'T: Offer Significant Discounts Or Gifts

A retail store advertising a flash 30% off sale is a vastly different story than promoting 30% off a GP consult. Issues arise when the value of the discount or gift outweighs the value of the offering, as this may encourage people to seek unnecessary treatment. According to AHPRA, you can advertise discounts or gifts if the advertisement states the terms and conditions and that those terms and conditions are not misleading. If you’re ever in doubt, it’s best to steer clear of this advertising method.

The success of your practice is greatly dependent on your marketing strategy. Your practice may be just the one someone’s been looking for, so let’s make sure they discover what you’re all about. Take the time to figure out what marketing pathways fit best with your practice’s vision and goals, and don’t be disheartened if you don’t get it right the first time! Make sure to familiarise yourself and any team members looking after your marketing with the complete list of AHRPA’s advertising guidelines and set up a clear framework within the current regulations.

Authored by:

Photo of blog author Tegan Swann

Tegan Swann
Marketing & Communications Specialist at Best Practice Software

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The Patient Population of General Practice

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As a healthcare professional, it’s crucial to understand the benefits of providing tailored and effective care to patients, and planning for the future of your practice. Understanding the population of general practice takes the guesswork out of your strategic business decisions and provides a deeper insight into how practitioners can personalise care.

 

Fortunately, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) compiles the Health of the Nation Report each year, which includes valuable insights into the patient population. This annual report sheds light on the current state of Australian General Practice. It provides insights into trends RACGP gathers from government and industry publications alongside data from surveying GPs.

 

To ensure their report addresses the most prevalent topics circulating the general practice landscape, the RACGP asks members to vote on a focus topic. 2022’s Health of the Nation report focuses on the sustainability of general practice; including themes of unsustainable workloads, burnout, administrative burdens, and remuneration. Understanding the patient population is crucial when considering the sustainability of general practice and planning for your practice’s future.

 

This article summarises RACGP’s findings on the patient population and results from the 2021-2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics information on patient experiences.

What Factors Influence the Patient Population of Australia?

With 84% of Australians visiting a GP annually, it may seem like a no-brainer to tailor your practice’s business and marketing strategy to a broad audience. However, the patient population is constantly evolving. When planning for your practice’s future, it is essential to consider factors such as geography, gender, age, and socioeconomic status and how such factors determine how often a patient may visit and the number of services they use.

 

It’s no surprise that the geography of patients can impact their relationships with general practice. According to the RACGP’s 2022 Health of the Nation Report, people living in and close to major cities see a GP more frequently. Regional or remote patients visit a GP for an average of four services, compared to eight from patients living in the city or surrounding suburbs. City dwellers are also more likely to have a telehealth consultation than those living in remote or regional areas (32.2% compared to 22.5%), contributing to the higher frequency of using GP services.

 

The Health of the Nation Report also explores how females access GP services more than males, with 88% of females visiting a GP annually compared to 78.9% of males. This has remained consistent year-on-year. Females also utilise more services, averaging around nine services used yearly, compared to males averaging around seven. Females were also more likely to have a telehealth consultation than men (36.5% compared to 24.8%). Despite Females utilising more services than males, they were 31.3% more likely to delay or not use GPs when needed than 24.8% of males. Similarly, females were less likely to utilise after-hours GP support than males.

 

Age also affects the frequency of GP visits and services used. 97.2% of people over 85 saw a GP compared to 72.2% of people aged 15-24. Age also contributes to the number of GP services used, with the RACGP’s report showing that the number of GP services used increases as the patient ages. The report also outlines how younger age groups are more likely to delay or not visit a GP due to economic factors, predominantly with the 25-34 age group.

 

Whether patients have long-term health conditions also contributes to the frequency and use of GP services. Those with long-term health conditions were significantly more likely to visit a GP at 94.5% compared to 71.4% of people without. Also, 6.7% of people with long-term health conditions visited an after-hours GP compared to 4.2% of people without. These results have also remained consistent year-on-year.

What Impact Do These Factors Have on the Perception of Care?

According to the RACGP’s Health of the Nation report, people outside of major cities have different views towards GP wait times and are more likely to report longer wait times for a GP appointment. The increased likelihood of reporting longer wait times may be attributed to 49.5% of people living in regional, remote, or very remote areas being more likely to wait at least 24 hours to see a GP for urgent care.

 

Similarly, the report indicates that those with long-term health conditions, females, and those living in areas with the most socio-economic disadvantage were also more likely to report longer wait times than other groups. Despite this, the 2022 report indicated that three in four people believe their wait time was acceptable, and 57% of those living in major cities reported waiting less than four hours between booking an appointment and seeing a GP for urgent care.

Some Topics Continue to Prevail...

The 2022 Health of the Nation report highlighted an important topic consistent over the past six consecutive years. The most predominant reason patients see a GP is for mental health, with 38% of consults including a mental health element. This statistic is also reflected from the GP’s perspective of the most concerning emerging patient health issues, with 49% of GPs reporting mental health as their primary concern.

Despite this concern remaining front of mind for the past six years, the prevalence of mental health issues in Australia has grown significantly since the pandemic, with symptoms of depression in patients increasing from 10% in 2020 to 28% in 2021. The report explores how young females are more likely to use GP services for mental health issues than any other group, with 24% of mental health appointments used by females aged 15-24. The rate of females seeking GP support for mental health decreases as they age. However, they consistently remain higher than males, with 25-34-year-old males contributing to 12% of GP Mental Health consults.

The 2022 Health of the Nation Report highlights the importance of understanding patient demographics in the ever-changing healthcare landscape. As the patient population’s relationship with general practice evolves, it is essential to consider how your practice can evolve. Patients appreciate the convenience of telehealth, with 76% of those who have used it agreeing that funding should continue in a post-pandemic world. Telehealth’s recent rapid adoption can be attributed to COVID-19. 

However, a report by RACGP explores how the benefits were recognised pre and post-pandemic. Patients accessing telehealth have increased satisfaction levels as it allows for reduced travel costs and disruption to employment. In turn, telehealth can help to reduce no-shows for your practice. Therefore, if lowering a patient’s barrier to accessing your practice is your goal, consider implementing and marketing your telehealth services. Along the same line, an online booking platform is a great way to evolve your practice into the digital world. In the 2021 Commbank Insights Report, 20% of patients prefer to manage their appointments via websites and apps. Patient satisfaction increases when they can manage their appointments anytime and from anywhere, with 56% of patients who used online bookings saying this process improved their patient experience.

The RACGP’s Health of the Nation report clarifies that a patient’s location, age, gender, socio-economic status, and medical history all play a role in determining the frequency and uptake of general practice services. Combining these patient population of general practice insights with your practice’s unique data can help you develop personalised strategies to meet the needs of your patients.

 

The complete 2022 RACGP Health of the Nation Report is available here.

Authored by:

Photo of blog author Tegan Swann

Tegan Swann
Marketing & Communications Specialist at Best Practice Software

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Document Management In Your Practice

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As a healthcare professional, you understand the importance of managing paperwork and patient documents. You would know how challenging this ongoing task can be. It’s an essential daily responsibility that can quickly consume your valuable time — time that could be spent in patient care. It can be tedious, but it’s a necessary part of the job.

Documentation is an essential component of effective healthcare communication. Given the complexity of healthcare and the fluidity of clinical teams, patient documents are one of the most important information sources available to practitioners. Good documentation improves patient outcomes by enabling information exchange and continuity of care by all healthcare team members.

When practice staff upload medical documents, there is always the risk of human error. The document upload process is repetitive and regularly interrupted by patients, phone calls, or colleagues. Admin staff often find this task boring and repetitive making it more likely for them to lose attention. The chances of making a silly little mistake are high – incorrect patient search, selecting the wrong document to be uploaded, and hitting the delete button while uploading are examples of where it can go wrong. This can result in uploading the wrong document into the wrong patient file, which can have serious medico-legal ramifications for doctors and medical practices.

All too often, when files are lost or misplaced, practice staff will spend hours looking for the correct document. This can result in calls to other providers requesting these documents be resent. This time-consuming process happens at the practice’s expense, resulting in patient appointments needing rescheduling and a bad reputation for the practice’s document-handling process. Lost files can also be a safety and quality risk, particularly at transitions of care where there is a higher risk of information being miscommunicated or lost.

GP practices deal with highly sensitive information daily. Little mistakes in documentation upload can lead to significant adverse outcomes in the future. Document management solutions are more than just vaults for securely storing healthcare information. They are dynamic tools that allow for safe and effective collaboration as documents evolve.

The medical document upload tool, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), can upload any file landing in the doctor’s investigation inbox, elevating the burden on staff to sort and upload manually. It is a widespread technology that recognises text inside images, including scanned documents, PDFs and photos. OCR technology converts virtually any image containing written text (typed, handwritten, or printed) into machine-readable text data. The OCR tool can perform an exact match of the patient’s name, date of birth, address, and other identifying details, then sort the documents into their appropriate files as they are received. Saving your practice time and resources that would otherwise be used to manage unsearchable data.

Click here to learn more about how the OCR tool can work for your practice, or arrange a free demo.

 

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RACGP Three Key Principles for the Secondary Use of General Practice Data by Third Parties

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General practitioners and general practice staff need to be adept at discerning to whom, when and how to provide their data for secondary use. To help GPs and general practice staff navigate this territory, the RACGP has developed courses centred around three key principles for the secondary use of general practice data by third parties.

In consultation with software vendors, like Best Practice, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has recently developed resources centred around three key principles for the secondary use of general practice data by third parties. These principles are designed to ensure that patient privacy is protected and that any secondary use of the data is appropriate and ethical.

Patient privacy must be protected. This first key principle means that any use of general practice data must comply with the relevant privacy laws and regulations and that patients must give informed consent before their data can be used. In addition, any third party using the data must have appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure of the data.

The second key principle is that the use of general practice data must be appropriate and ethical. Meaning that the data should only be used for purposes that are consistent with the primary purpose of the data collection, which is to support patient care. Any secondary use of the data must also be transparent, and patients must be made aware of how their data is being used. Finally, the third key principle is that general practice data should only be used for research or other secondary purposes where there is a clear public benefit. This means that any use of the data must be able to demonstrate a clear and tangible benefit to the public, such as improving patient outcomes or advancing medical research.

These principles are important because they help to ensure that patient privacy is protected and that any secondary use of general practice data is conducted appropriately and ethically. By following these principles, third parties can help build trust with patients and the wider community and ensure that the use of general practice data is seen as a positive development that benefits everyone. It is worth noting that these principles are not binding legal requirements but rather a set of guidelines that the RACGP have developed to promote best practice using general practice data. As such, they are intended to be flexible enough to accommodate different contexts and situations while providing clear guidance on handling general practice data responsibly and ethically.

In practice, this means that third parties who wish to use general practice data for research or other purposes must first obtain patients’ consent and ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to protect the data from unauthorised access or disclosure. They must also ensure that any use of the data is consistent with the primary purpose of the data collection and that there is a clear public benefit to the proposed use. These principles form an essential framework for ensuring that patient privacy is protected and that any secondary use of the data is conducted in a way that is appropriate and ethical. By following these principles, third parties can help build trust with patients and the wider community and ensure that using general practice data is a positive development that benefits everyone.

For more information and to download the RACGP’s resources, please click here.

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The Power of Online Bookings: Increase Patient Satisfaction and Improve Practice Efficiency

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Have you ever woken in the middle of the night with a sore throat or an ear infection? You want to book the next available appointment with your local GP, but their reception doesn’t start taking calls until 8am. A common scenario.

In an increasingly digital world where convenience and accessibility are highly valued, patients are seeking digital solutions to find local healthcare providers and make appointment bookings. An online booking system may be the competitive advantage that your practice needs.

Prior to COVID-19, there was a general opinion that older generations may reject the idea of adapting to smart phone technology. Since COVID, most people have had no choice but to become familiar with QR code check-ins, online vaccine appointment bookings and telehealth appointments. Research undertaken by the Global Centre for Modern Aging in 2020 indicates that since COVID-19, 22% of Australian’s aged 60 and over have had an online consultation with a practitioner and 44% had a phone consult, with strong approval.

Some people expect a self-service option when booking their appointments across every industry, a sentiment shared particularly amongst the younger generation. If you are not providing online scheduling as an option, these patients are going to be more likely to switch to a practice that does.

Let’s explore 5 significant benefits that implementing an online booking solution may provide for your practice:

1.     Convenience is KING

One of the main reasons people appreciate online booking systems is the 24/7 convenience and access to your practice. Being able to make bookings on the go and after-hours is a BIG bonus. It grants the flexibility and freedom for patients to book appointments at any time of the day or night. Gone are the days of listening to hold music and being told that you are the 4th caller in the queue. It also empowers patients to facilitate their own healthcare journey and reschedule their appointments when necessary.

2.     Reduced Wait Times & No-Shows

For the majority of us that have come to expect service on demand, this is a hassle-free tool that simplifies the patient journey and closes the loop on patient scheduling. When patients are able to book appointments online, they can see the available appointment times of their preferred practitioner, and then choose the option that works best for them.

Automated appointment confirmations are a key feature that can significantly reduce the number of missed appointments – especially for those with busy lives or for the ones who just have a habit of forgetting important dates.

3.     Improved Patient Satisfaction

Happy patients, happy practice. A patient’s experience is essential to a successful practice. Online scheduling makes it easier and more convenient for patients to manage their own appointments using the web and smart phones. In the 2021 CommBank GP Insights Report, it was stated that out of the 38% of people who manage appointments though apps or websites, 56% reported that these online booking platforms effectively enhanced their overall experience.  Word of mouth is also important to consider, patients who have a positive and seamless experience with your practice are more likely to return and recommend your practice to their family and friends.

4.     Better Resource Management

Introducing an online booking solution can free up your reception staff, allowing them to focus on the patients presenting in front of them. Improved resource allocation can enable admin staff to focus on more pertinent tasks, rather than answering inbound calls and sending out manual appointment confirmations and reminders. According to an article posted by the RACGP in 2022, 60% of practice owners reported working over 40 hours per week and experience significantly higher levels of discontent with their work hours. This is likely a strong contributing factor to 40% of practice owners who state they find difficulty sustaining a good work-life balance.

5.     Superior Data Handling

Online systems eliminate the need for manual data entry and ensures that patient information is accurate and up to date. More importantly, online systems avoid awkward double-bookings, which usually means someone will end up waiting much longer than anticipated. This has the potential to delay the rest of your existing bookings for the day and inconvenience a lot of people that are short on time. However, awkward moments like this can soon be a thing of the past.

Is an online bookings platform the solution your practice needs? Convenience and accessibility reign supreme when cultivating a practice-patient relationship and online booking systems can significantly help improve overall patient satisfaction. Revising your scheduling system may enhance patient satisfaction, retention, and acquisition. It’s often the first interaction patients have with your practice and as we know, first impressions count.

Authored by:

Olivia Savage
Marketing & Communications Specialist 
at Best Practice Software

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Real Time Prescription Monitoring Update

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The rollout of Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) across Australia is one step closer to completion, with the Western Australian Department of Health recently announcing they are next for implementation. Due for release on the 28th of March.

RTPM provides information to doctors (prescribers) and pharmacists (dispensers) about a patient’s history and use of controlled medicines when they are considering prescribing or dispensing these medicines. The Commonwealth, state and territory agencies are working together to implement the RTPM system. However, each state or territory remains responsible for the management of controlled medicines in its jurisdiction.

The misuse of controlled medicines is a growing concern within Australia, with levels of overdose and accidental deaths rising. RTPM allows healthcare professionals to identify patients who may be at risk of harm due to their medication use. By monitoring prescription data in real time, healthcare professionals can quickly identify patients receiving high doses of opioids or other controlled substances. This information can then be used to develop an appropriate treatment plan for the patient, which may include referral to addiction treatment or the provision of alternative pain management options. RTPM also allows healthcare professionals to detect instances of doctor shopping, where patients attempt to obtain multiple prescriptions for controlled substances from different healthcare providers.

The implementation of RTPM in Australia has been successful in reducing prescription drug misuse and abuse. In Victoria, for example, the introduction of RTPM led to a 30% decrease in the number of patients receiving high doses of opioids. Overall, RTPM is a valuable tool for healthcare professionals in Australia that helps prevent prescription drug abuse, reduce doctor shopping, and improve public health outcomes. Technology developments can help reduce the misuse of medicines listed as controlled substances while ensuring that patients who genuinely need these medicines are able to access them.

RTPM is easy to set up in Bp Premier, but before you can enable RTPM in your user preferences, your practice must be using eRx or MediSecure as your electronic prescription service. For more information on RTPM, please visit our Knowledge Base (F1 and search for ‘rtpm’) or your Department of Health Website.

Want to learn more about RTPM? Watch our explainer video for the rundown!

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Transitioning to a New Software Platform

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It’s no secret that transitioning to a new software platform can be time-consuming and stressful, but if done correctly, it is a rewarding and valuable process for doctors and management staff.

The importance of database technology in healthcare cannot be overstated—it’s crucial for doctors, providers, and management teams to access health data quickly and securely. In what seems to be an ever-changing landscape with new rules and regulations being introduced every year, ensuring your practice uses a software platform that meets your individual needs is paramount.

There are many reasons why a practice might decide to change software vendors. Missing crucial functionality, expensive subscription costs, or maybe your practice has decided to change its business model, and your software is no longer a suitable solution. While the idea of change may be daunting, sufficient research, preparation, and perspiration will ensure your transition is seamless and has minimal impact on your business.

Some fantastic IT tools are now available to convert databases from one platform to another. Trial conversions should always be done to ensure the data quality is maintained and that you don’t run into any unexpected issues once your practice goes live with the new software. Typically, at least six weeks of preparation should be allocated for database migration to minimise risk and prevent any last-minute stress.

Some staff may be hesitant about adopting new technologies but employing the proper change management techniques is undoubtedly the best approach. Reiterating the benefits of the new software platforms should help ease concerns, even if staff may see little incentive to change initially. The right amount of training and support from your new software vendor can increase confidence and get hesitant staff onboard with the change.

Most software vendors offer excellent training services and resources to help equip staff with the tools they need to learn a new system. There are four learning styles; everyone has a preferred method: visual, auditory, reading & writing, and kinesthetic. A problem with remotely delivered training can be that it generally only covers the first three styles of learning – seeing, hearing, and reading & writing. While these styles may work for some, many will feel more confident in their understanding when they can practice what they have learnt as they are learning.

The kinesthetic learning style encourages students to be active in their education and find new ways of solving problems rather than being passive, simply observing and listening to demonstrations. Training staff in real-time and putting them in the driving seat will enhance their skills, knowledge and intuition, allowing them to become familiar with the workflows of a new system quickly.

On day one of using the new software in your practice, staff need to feel supported and know that someone is on the sideline available for help whenever it is required. Best Practice Software has listened to the feedback from practices who have previously migrated from other solutions and developed a new training offering to fill this training gap with Bp Go-Live Support.

This new day-one support service involves a dedicated training specialist and a support specialist being available to practices in real-time so that any issues can be quickly and easily resolved. Allowing staff to receive the help they need as soon as they need, reducing anxiety on their first day of operation using the new software solution. Along with learn-as-you-go training, the training or support specialist can also remotely log in to your network to deal with any complex issues that may arise immediately.

Being able to troubleshoot any issues for a practice on their first day of change is imperative in making sure they start on the right foot. For more information, contact Best Practice Software.

Authored by:

Lucy Saul 
Marketing & Communications Specialist 
at Best Practice Software

Matthew Smith
Training & Deployment Specialist
at Best Practice Software

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Bp Premier Orchid Release is Now Available!

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The inspiration for many of the Orchid release features came from your suggestions and ideas. So, keep those suggestions and ideas coming!

Record Multiple Sets of Daily Observations 

Orchid introduces the ability to record Primary and Additional observations. You can include multiple sets of observations when generating graphs, when viewing past BMI and blood pressure data, using the search utility or subpoena tool, and when inserting observations into correspondence in the letter writer.

Selecting the Primary observation and recording multiple observations enables better clinical outcomes

Improvements to Outgoing Emails

We’ve enhanced the outgoing email functionality in a few ways:

  • You can now email invoices and payment receipts directly from the billing history screens and send emails from the word processor. 
  • You can send PDF files as large as 3MB without affecting Bp Premier’s performance.
  • You can also set the outgoing email body for all emails sent out of Bp Premier.

Updates to AIR Functionality 

The direct integration of AIR into the patient clinical record, one of Saffron SP3’s most popular features, is expanded upon in Orchid.

  • Medical exemptions and natural immunities details can now be instantly uploaded to a patient’s AIR record from Bp Premier.
  • You can also filter Immunisations by Disease. 

Along with the major enhancements, there are more exciting new additions in Orchid.

  • We’ve increased the number of parameters you can use to search for patients.
  • You can now search and sort internal messages
  • We’ve introduced a range of new sexuality preferences that can be recorded for patients.
  • Improvements have been made to the ‘Restore missing notes functionality.’
  • We’ve strengthened password security in Orchid.
  • We’ve fixed several bugs.
  • And more…! 

For a complete list of changes, please refer to the Orchid Release notes. Orchid is available now for download from the Resources page on the Best Practice Software website.

Check Out Our Brand-New Orchid Knowledge Base

Our Content Creation team has been hard at work, and we’re excited to launch the all-new Orchid Knowledge Base. It is packed with a bunch of improvements so that you can find the answers to your questions quickly and easily. 

If you’re using Saffron, you can access the Orchid Knowledge Base by selecting Help > Online from inside Bp Premier to open the online knowledge base and search for ‘orchid’.

If you have already upgraded to Orchid, you can access the Knowledge Base by selecting Help > Online from inside Bp Premier.

Watch the Bp Premier Orchid Masterclass

The Orchid Masterclass recording is a fantastic way to familiarise yourself with the new Orchid Release. Watch the Bp Premier Orchid Masterclass below.

As always, Help is available! If you need assistance with anything related to Orchid or any other enquiries, our Support team are available via phone or email, so please get in touch! 

Our support hours for Bp Premier are 7 am – 6 pm AEST, Monday to Friday. You can contact our Software Support team on 1300 40 1111 (Australia) or 0800 40 1111 (New Zealand) and selecting Bp General Products (Option 1/1) on the menu or by emailing us at support@bpsoftware.net.

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How Video Telehealth Can Help Practice Sustainability

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Practices are feeling the pressure of increased costs and flat Medicare rebates. This year’s General Practice Health of the Nation report by the RACGP found that only 3% of GPs stated that the current Medicare rebate is sufficient to cover the cost of care.

Using technology to deliver health care has several advantages, including cost savings, convenience, and the ability to provide care to people with mobility limitations or those in rural areas who do not have easy access to a clinic. Medicare data indicates that approximately 20% of GP consultations are conducted using telehealth, and patients still have an appetite for telehealth consults post-pandemic.

There are many upsides for a patient to use select telehealth appointments as their preferred method of consultations. But why should your practice offer telehealth?

Well, there are a few reasons to consider.

Flexibility for Doctors

Firstly, telehealth can offer flexibility to your doctors. They can simply login from home to see patients. This is particularly useful if they, or their family, are sick.

Reduced Cancellations

Because of how easy and accessible telehealth appointments are, your practice will likely notice a reduction of cancellations and no-shows. With enough notice, appointments can be converted to video telehealth appointments which still allow a rich clinical interaction. 

Efficiency

Some telehealth booking platforms can seamlessly integrate with your Best Practice appointment book. This two-way communication between the telehealth platform and Bp greatly reduces the risk of double booking an appointment time slot.

Reduce Practice Costs

Delivering consultations via telehealth can reduce overhead costs for your practice. You can streamline your reception by reducing bottlenecking and busy periods, as telehealth can reduce the number of consults booked over the phone. It also removes the need to verify patient details and in-person check-in upon arrival, as this is all done through the telehealth platform.

Grow Your Radius of Care

Your patients no longer need to live within driving distance of your practice. This can also mean that you can offer consults to people living in rural and remote areas who may not have a local GP.

Stay Competitive

And, of course, the convenience it offers to your patients. Appointments can be easily booked through the telehealth platform. Patients no longer need to organise time away from their regular duties to sit in busy waiting rooms. With more and more practices offering telehealth, you could be losing out on consultations by not offering this service.

Dr Jared Dart, practice owner and GP advocate, recommends that practices do whatever they can to reduce costs and increase revenue and suggests that private billing Video Telehealth may be one such way. 

Welio, a doctor-focused telehealth platform, takes a novel approach to improving practice sustainability by charging the patient and not the practice. This minimal $2 charge per patient telehealth video consult means that there is no out-of-pocket cost to the practice and no lock-in subscription.

Created by Dr Jared Dart, GP and practice owner of iHealth Centre Indooroopilly, Welio provides privately billed telehealth consults through seamless access to secure payments, informed patient financial consent, and flexible post-consult billing options. Dr Dart commented that data shows 20% of iHealth Centre revenue is generated by telehealth.

The platform is private and secure with end-to-end encryption. Any personal data stored by Welio is kept in their secure Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The simple user interface means patients can use their Face ID, fingerprint, or passcode to enter the Welio app, and within three clicks, they are in the virtual waiting room. Using the app means that patients don’t have to click a link to open their video consult – something patients are becoming more wary of.

Payments are taken through the app using the PCI-compliant and highly secure Stripe payment platform. Doctors can choose to charge the expected fee to which the patient has already agreed, an increased or decreased fee, or a $0 charge which effectively allows them to bulk bill. If the patient is bulk billed, Welio does not charge them a fee.

For more information about Welio visit their website – www.welio.com

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Calling Australian GPs and General Practice Staff – Join the Discussion on NBCSP!

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Bp Blog_Daffodil Centre

The MAIL, GP & SCALE project aims to help the Australian population and reduce the burden of bowel cancer. The Daffodil Centre are conducting a co-design with general practitioners and practice staff of an intervention to increase National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) participation.

The Cancer Council Australia recognises the key role that GPs and other primary health professionals play in the success of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). As a health professional, you are integral to the success of the program. Evidence shows that a recommendation by a primary health care provider is a key motivator for participants to screen.

Currently, only 44% of eligible Australians complete the free NBCSP home screening test. Following a comprehensive review of the evidence and the publication of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the prevention, early detection and management of Colorectal Cancer, immunochemical faecal occult blood testing (iFOBT) every 2 years from age 50-74 was recommended for population screening in Australia. Modelling has shown that with current levels of participation, the NBCSP is expected to prevent 59,000 deaths over the period 2015-2040; an additional 16,800 and 24,800 deaths would be prevented if participation was increased to 50% and 60%, respectively.[1]

Modelling has shown that with current levels of participation, the NBCSP is expected to prevent 59,000 deaths over the period 2015-2040; an additional 16,800 and 24,800 deaths would be prevented if participation was increased to 50% and 60%, respectively.

The Daffodil Centre – a partnership between the Cancer Council NSW and the University of Sydney, is inviting GPs and practice staff to take part in a new study that aims to co-design a general practice led intervention to increase NBCSP participation. Specifically, this study aims to:

  1. Co-design a general practice led intervention to increase National Bowel Cancer Screening Program participation.
  2. Identify potential barriers and enablers that may affect implementation of the intervention.

Focus groups will be held online in late 2022 and early 2023, with reimbursement provided.

What Does the Co-Design Process Involve?
  • Eight focus groups with ~5 participants per group from across Australia, conducted from late 2022 to early 2023.
  • Focus groups will be held online and last approximately 60-90 minutes.
  • Participation is voluntary and there will be reimbursement for participant time.
  • Focus groups will explore participants perspectives of an optimal general practice-led intervention to increase bowel screening participation.
  • Focus group data will be de-identified.
  • After the focus groups, participants are welcome to make further contributions or revisions to design of the intervention, but this is not required.

What Happens Next? 

Findings from these focus groups will support the design of a general practice led intervention. This intervention will be piloted in a trial in within 80 general practices across two Australian states.

Click here to see the Participant Information Statement and indicate your expression of interest or contact bowel@daffodilcentre.org if you would like further information. 

References:

  1. Lew JB, St John DJB, Xu XM, Greuter MJE, Caruana M, Cenin DR, et al. Long-term evaluation of benefits, harms, and cost-effectiveness of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program in Australia: a modelling study. Lancet Public Health 2017 Jul;2(7):e331-e340 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29253458.

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