Best Practice Software

Bp SMS

Bp Comms and Electronic Prescribing – A Perfect Match!

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Want Some Great News?

The Department of Health (DoH) has announced an extension to their SMS subsidy funding for the electronic prescribing program until 2022!

So this means your practice can begin using eScripts and the cost is subsidised by the DoH. How exciting!

But, before you jump straight in, there is one very important step required to use electronic prescribing. Practices wanting to use the electronic prescribing program will need to sign up for Bp Comms to enable the functionality in Bp Premier.

What is Bp Comms?

If you’re new to Bp Comms, it combines the benefits of using Bp SMS and the Best Health App. Bp SMS has many features that will save you time and money:

  • Seamless integration into Bp Premier
  • Send Clinical Reminders effortlessly **
  • Send other clinical-related communications directly from the Inbox, Patient Record and Follow-Up Inbox **
  • Appointment reminders and replies to reduce “patient no shows”
  • Simple and easy to use functionality, whether sending single customised messages or bulk communications
  • Dedicated number available in Bp SMS, so patients can save it in their phone for ease of future use (applies to appointment reminders only)

** Available in Indigo SP1 or higher

How Do I Get Started?

It’s easy. Contact the friendly Best Practice sales team either by phone 1300 401 111 or email sales@bpsoftware.net to sign you up and enable Bp Comms and electronic prescribing at your practice.

Our team will take you through the process of signing up and purchasing Bp Comms credits to get started.

Bp Comms credits are flexible, tiered messaging packs with pricing starting from as low as 7 cents per message. The best part is that Bp SMS doesn’t have any subscription or annual fees! Bp Comms credits also never expire – so you’ll never find yourself in a position where you’re rushing to use your remaining messages!

There are a few steps to setting up Bp Comms and electronic prescribing for the first time in Bp Premier, but we’ve got you covered with full step-by-step articles on our Knowledge Base and Video Library

Where To From There?

Once you have Bp Comms enabled and your credits verified in your system, you can start setting up electronic prescribing. Be sure you don’t miss a step by accessing the suite of instructions on the Knowledge Base, which you can access from within Bp Premier by selecting Help > Online.

  1. Set up a Prescription Exchange Service (PES)

Whether it’s eRx or MediSecure, you will need to register and install a Prescription Exchange Service in Bp Premier.

  1. Enable Electronic Prescribing in Configuration

Follow our suite of enablement materials to configure eScript for your practice and doctors.

  1. Record Patient and Prescriber Information

Ensure each doctor’s prescribing details are recorded and set their preference to enable eScripts.

Record patient consent to receive eScripts in the Patient Demographic.

  1. Set the Patient’s Preferred Token Method

Lastly, confirm how the patient would like to receive their eScript token, whether by SMS, email or paper token.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to start sending your eScripts!

*Conditions apply. Please refer to PBS for pharmacists – Electronic prescription fee – Services Australia for further information.

Additional Resources

Knowledge Base

Further information can be found on our Knowledge Base, which you can access from within Bp Premier by selecting Help > Online. Use the following search terms for relevant documentation on Bp Comms and Electronic Prescribing:

  • Set Up eRx Script Exchange
  • Electronic Prescribing
  • Frequently Asked Questions from Electronic Prescribing Masterclass

Vimeo Links

Authored by:

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Belinda Bazant
Training Content Developer at Best Practice Software

Explore our range of news and training resources:
Bp Learning Video Library | Bp Learning Training Options | Bp Newsroom Blog
Subscribe to Our Newsletters | Bp Learning Webinars

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Bp SMS & the Best Health App – More Than An Appointment Reminder Service!

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Bp Comms is the umbrella brand for our Bp SMS service and the Best Health App. Practices can use one or the other, or both at the same time.

Anyone who has worked in a medical practice will appreciate how important an appointment reminder service is in day-to-day operations. However, many people don’t consider the wider benefits of a robust patient communication solution beyond reminding patients of upcoming appointments.

Bp Comms is a practice-patient communication solution that offers much more in the way of functionality than just being appointment reminder software (though that is one of its features!)

We’ve put together a list of ways that you can get Bp Comms working for you outside of sending appointment reminders. Many of these are easy to setup, and in the long run will save you time and money! One added benefit of using Bp Comms is automatic Contact Note generation. This records all Bp Comms messages and contact points, keeping your communication record concise, centralised and easy to review at any time.

Make the Most of Your Appointment Book

Appointments Running Late?

We all know things happen and appointments can end up running late. You can save your team from having to make time consuming phone calls by sending single SMS messages or bulk SMS messages to book patients.

Other benefits of this functionality include:

  • Improving the patient experience by reducing their wait times, while still reassuring patients they will be seen
  • Controlling the number of patients in your waiting room. By using the SMS feature, you can ask your patients to arrive later for their appointment, or to kindly wait outside until they’re called in.

Oh No, a Doctor Has Gone Home Sick!

It happens. Just like anyone else, sometimes doctors need to leave unexpectedly due to illness or emergencies.

You can inform your patients ahead of time by sending an individual message, or a bulk message to all patients booked for that day. This gives patients the ability to reschedule their appointments, or organise to see another doctor who is available.

Come Back - We Need To See You!

You can support your practice’s recall and reminder process with Bp Comms. Send SMS messages to patients to inform them that their results are in and they need to make a follow-up appointment. This functionality is what most people think of when they hear ‘appointment reminder service’!

These SMS messages can be sent by the doctor directly from the Provider Inbox or by the team from the Follow-Up Inbox. This gives you the flexibility to adjust the workflow to suit your practice needs!

This functionality benefits your team in several ways:

  • Free up your receptionists and nurses by minimising the number of phone calls they need to make
  • Prompt your patients to call you to make an appointment
  • Record a Contact note for each contact attempt

Keeping In Touch

Keeping in touch with your patients is essential for your business. The Search Utility in Bp Premier can be the ultimate tool for sending information and marketing campaigns to your patient base.

Before we continue, it is important to note that you must have the patient’s express consent to receive Health Awareness messages.

Customer Experience Feedback

Want to know how your team are meeting the needs of your patients, or would you like feedback about a service you’re providing? Did you know that you can create a survey using an online survey creator, and send the URL to patients to complete?

This is where the Search Utility can really make your day by:

  • Allowing you to search for patients by date or day of visit, or by the doctor or nurse they saw
  • Offering functionality to send the SMS in bulk
  • Recording a Contact Note, and
  • Recording the marketing campaign details

And if you’d like to check which marketing campaign went out and when, you can review the survey results. If you’re interested in creating a patient survey, there are a number of excellent online options such as Survey Monkey, Typeform and Survey Planet.

Your Practice Would Like to Promote New Workshops

Here are two examples that might inspire you:

  • You’ve decided to run an information session for patients on the ins-and-outs of ePrescribing and why scripts look different with Active Ingredient Prescribing
  • After speaking with patients, you have found a diabetes education system could help your community.

In both scenarios, you can create a specialised SMS template to send to your patient list in bulk!

Practice Offerings

Sending out proactive health reminders and tips can be a great way of supporting your community. Here are some examples of how our practices use the Search Utility to send out bulk SMS messages:

  • Proactive Health Assessments available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
  • Availability of Covid-19 vaccines
  • Baby clinics and parenting groups
  • Offering specialised services such as employment medicals or medico-legal appointments

Notification of Practice Changes

Made a change to your opening hours? Has a new specialist joined your team? Let your patients know!

The Search Utility can make this super easy. Simply create your message template and send via Mail Merge!

Clinical Info - Just a Click Away!

Did you know that you can send SMS messages directly from the clinical record? It can help save your doctors time on the phone, and record the Contact Note straight away.

So with that in mind, what kind of information can you send from the clinical record? Here are a couple of examples that practices tell us they use.

Ad-Hoc Messages

A patient may need a gentle reminder about a change to their medication or dosage. For example, a patient who may have started taking Zoloft needs to gradually increase their dosage over several days. 

Your doctor can send an SMS message on the third day to remind them to increase the dose that day. Doctors can send messages to the patient during the consultation, or even immediately after by accessing the clinical record again.

Health Summaries Via BHA

With patients often seeing multiple doctors or specialists, your team may be asked to provide Health Summaries regularly. Proactive patients may also like having their up-to-date health information available for those ‘just in case’ moments in life.

Practices using the BHA can send Health Summaries in just three clicks. The summary will be sent straight to the patient’s phone and will be available within the App.

Providing Support With Information Leaflets

Has your patient just been diagnosed with a new condition, or starting on a new medication?

Support their health journey by sending education materials via the BHA. Select the View tab and you’ll have access to MIMS Consumer Medicines Information, Patient Education materials, and fact sheets.

For patients enrolled in the BHA, the Send Leaflet option under the Send icon will be available at the top of the window. Additionally, you’ll save on paper printing, and it’ll be recorded in your Contact Notes!

Want to Know More?

Hopefully, these examples have demonstrated how Bp Comms is so much more than just an appointment reminder service. But we’ve only just scratched the surface!

Knowledge Base
Don’t forget that as a Bp Comms user, you’ll receive access to our Knowledge Base, which contains a wealth of articles that are designed to walk you through everything from setting up Bp Comms, creating templates, sending messages, using Contact Notes, and much more!

Vimeo
Our previously recorded Bp Premier & Bp Comms Masterclasses are all available for you to watch on our Vimeo channel. Click on the links below to take a peek!

Bp Comms Training
We have an online training course focused specifically on Bp Comms! During this 3-hour course, our trainers will discuss the importance and implications of patient consent, demonstrate the setup and configuration of Bp Comms including creating and managing templates, along with the complete recall and reminder workflows, including the use of manual Contact Notes. For more information visit the Bp Virtual course page, or contact our Training team at 1300 40 1111 or training@bpsoftware.net.

Authored by:

appointment reminder software blog author image belinda bazant

Belinda Bazant
Training Content Developer at Best Practice Software

Explore our range of news and training resources:
Bp Learning Video Library | Bp Learning Training Options | Bp Newsroom Blog
Subscribe to Our Newsletters | Bp Learning Webinars

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Improving Patient Communication During Unprecedented and Unusually Busy Times

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For those practices who are currently enrolled and using the Best Health App, sending notifications via the App may help to reach some of your most vulnerable patients and, subsequently, the patient reach may be improved.  This may help to reduce the need for more direct methods of communication such as phone calls, SMS and emails.

The three communication options available through the BHA include Practice Notices, Health Awareness messages and Individual messaging. Before we jump into using these three communication options, let’s quickly review the messaging types available in Bp Comms.

Message Type Consent Type

Appointments

A patient is allowing the practice to send messages about their booked appointments, either as needed or on an automated schedule.

Can be sent individually or in bulk.

Implied consent.

Where communications form part of the doctor-patient relationship

Where communications are in accordance with a clinical duty of care

Clinical Reminders

A patient is allowing the practice to send messages to them about attending appointments for health care of a preventative nature, such as reminders set for care plans, immunisations etc.

Can only be sent in bulk.

Clinical Communication

A patient is allowing communications to be sent to them about their investigation results, medication compliance, or other important information of a clinical nature.

Can be sent individually or in bulk.


Health Awareness


Health Summaries

A patient is allowing communications to be sent to them about a health issue that may be relevant to them, or important information about the services your practice provides.

Can only be sent in bulk.

Using the App you can send patients

  • Health Summaries
  • Patient Education Materials (Factsheets)
  • NPS and CMI Leaflets

Express consent.

Where consent cannot be implied for the communications.

Consent must be given explicitly, either verbally or in writing.

Practice Notices

The first option is using the Practice Notices function within Bp Comms configuration.  This can be sent to all patients enrolled in the Best Health App and may help to communicate information on a whole clinic basis such as new isolation procedures or trading hours.

Best Health App

Health Awareness Messages

The second option is sending messages to a group of patients via Health Awareness messaging.

You have the ability to message your vulnerable patients in groups such as patients with chronic illnesses, patients over 70 years of age or those with newborn babies.

Examples of the messages clinics might send;

  • Instructions on visiting your clinic – identifying isolation areas or separate entrances
  • Informing patients they may be eligible for telehealth or telephone consults,
  • Providing useful hygiene and health tips specific for their chronic illness
  • Send a patient Health Summary which can include their prescription information

Please note – your patients must expressly consent to Health Awareness messaging to receive these messages.

Sending a Health Awareness message works in three parts;

  • Part 1 – Set up your templates within the Bp Comms configuration
  • Part 2 – Run a search in your database. Filter patient list using age, conditions or medications
  • Part 3 – Run a mail merge to generate the communication to bulk group of patients

Remember that Best Health App messages are not limited by characters, therefore, you will only be charged one credit per message sent regardless of its length.

Individual Messaging

Don’t forget practices have the ability to send app messages directly to individual patients as normal via the Appointment Book.

     Where to find more information

For more information and instructions on how to utilise the Best Health App messaging options please click on the Vimeo link below.

Bp Premier JADE SP1 Masterclass – Patient Communication using Bp Comms.

Alternatively, access the Knowledgebase directly via Best Practice under the Help > Online > Search for Best Health App.

Resources

Click on the links below to access our PDF guide to give you all the information you need for using Bp Comms and the Best Health App.

A full guide to getting started with the Best Health App is also available on our Knowledge Base.
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