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Tips From Our Trainers: Bp Premier Contact Notes!

July 28, 2021July 27, 2021 by Louis Valenti

tips from trainers contact notes blog image

With face-to-face patient contact being limited due to quarantine, lockdowns, and illness, phone consults are now the new normal. Telehealth notes are recorded as part of a consultation, but what about recording other phone calls or communication with patients? This is where Bp Premier Contact Notes can assist, and in this article I’ll offer some tips on how to use them. If you haven’t utilised them before, let’s take a minute to introduce how they can be of benefit to you and your Practice.

A Contact Note represents any attempt by the Practice to contact a patient by phone, letter, SMS, mobile app, or even when using external email applications. It will record the essentials: when contact was made, who the contact was with, what the contact was about, how the contact was made, and the success status.

One of the great things about Bp Premier Contact Notes is that your Practice can create customised contact reasons specific to your team, like chasing up overdue invoices, speaking with a specialist on behalf of patients, or booking an ambulance transfer.

You can add new reasons quickly and easily by accessing Setup > Configuration > Lists tab

Click Add under the list. The Reason for contact note window will appear.
Enter your new contact reason: Specialist bookings.
Click Save.
Click Save again and close the Configuration screen.

Contact Notes are designed to not only support your patients, but also to support your team and business practices.

More Contact Note Tips in Bp Premier are available on our Knowledge Base from within Bp Premier. Click on Help > Online and search ‘Contact Notes’.

Authored by:

Belinda Bazant
Content Developer at Best Practice Software

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Changes to the Closing the Gap PBS Co-Payment

July 27, 2021 by Louis Valenti

PBS co-payment closing the gap blog image

From 1 July 2021, changes to the Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS Co-payment have taken effect. These changes will allow patients eligible for the co-payment relief to benefit from cheaper medicines, or free medicines if they have a concession or health care card, under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Previously, only Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders living with, or at risk of, chronic diseases were eligible for the CTG PBS Co-payment program. After 1 July, however, patients will be eligible if they meet the following criteria:

Self-identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian
Will have setbacks in preventing or managing their condition if they don’t take the medicine
Are unlikely to keep up their treatment without help with the cost
Are enrolled with Medicare

To support these changes and make the registration process easier, Services Australia has introduced a national registration database where patients must be registered to receive these co-payment benefits. Patients who were previously registered will have their registrations transferred to the new database, and nothing further will be required from them.

Only PBS prescribers and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Health practitioners (who are registered with both AHPRA & Medicare) will be able to add new registrations to the national database via the Health Professional Online Service (HPOS) once they have received consent from eligible patients.

For Bp Premier users, there will be no changes to workflows within the system. Eligible patients will still need to have their ethnicity recorded, and the ‘Registered for CTG PBS Co-payment Relief’ checkbox must be ticked in the patient’s demographic window.

For prescribers using Bp Premier, prescriptions created in Bp Premier will have the relevant alpha numeric code included, such as ‘CTG00B’, on both paper and electronic prescriptions. For handwritten prescriptions, prescribers can include the letters ‘CTG’ along with their initials or signature. While annotation is not a legal requirement, it will help pharmacists in dispensing the medicine.

Further information on changes to the Closing the Gap PBS Co-payment can be found on Services Australia’s website.

Authored by:

Jessica White
Manager of Commercial and Customer Enablement at Best Practice Software

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An Interview With AAPM (Australian Association of Practice Management)

July 29, 2021July 27, 2021 by Louis Valenti

The Australian Association of Practice Management, or AAPM, is the peak national association and professional body dedicated to supporting effective practice management in Australian healthcare.

We spoke with Miranda Grace, the Manager of Engagement and Member Services at the AAPM, about some of the unique challenges the organisation has faced over the past 18 months, as well as how they continue to advocate for Practice Managers nationwide.

Q: As one your longstanding partners, we love seeing the various ways in which you support your Practice Manager members. For readers who may not be familiar with AAPM and the services your association provides, can you provide a brief overview on the support and resources you provide?

A: We are dedicated to supporting effective practice management in the healthcare profession, and provide our valued AAPM members with a suite of resources to assist them in their day-to-day activities.

AAPM provides support through its membership team, dedicated HR Advisory Service, the online Practice Community Portal and in the development and coaching of career pathways. This recognises experience and qualifications for members to achieve a Certified Practice Manager status or Fellow as they develop in their career.

The Australian Association of Practice Management provides resources and support in the following key areas:

Financial management
Human resource management
Business planning and marketing
Risk management
Governance and organisational dynamics
Information technology management
Business and clinical operations
Professional responsibility

Q: What did you observe to be the greatest or most common challenge facing Practices in 2020, and how do you think that’ll shift in 2021 and 2022?

A: The single greatest challenge for Practices in 2020 and continuing through 2021 – 22 is Practice Managers’ mental health.

The COVID pandemic has had a significant effect on Practice Managers. Often in isolated roles, and the leader in the business, they take on their own personal challenges, together with that of the team and the Practice as a whole. This has seen many Practice Managers step away from their job, retire early or dedicate time to recruit new team members. All of these have significant impact, and we will see this over the next few years, particularly until most of the population have been able to receive their vaccine.

The above mental health impacts flow through to business revenues and in some cases, can cause Practices to close as operations become unviable. The new healthcare reform will further impact Practices over the coming years, however, until the COVID pandemic settles globally, this will be the greatest ongoing challenge for the foreseeable future.

Q: COVID-19 has obviously had a massive impact on our economy and nearly every business in Australia. Often in the face of adversity, innovation and opportunity are born. What have been some of the challenges Practice Managers have faced over the past year, and how have they adapted to overcome those challenges?

A: The silver lining for Practice Managers has been the agile and responsive approach from software vendors to Practices. Being able to deliver fast and practical solutions to allow for Practices to work effectively, even in remote locations, has shown the innovation available.

Physical treatment of patients has been a challenge for many Practices. The adoption of telehealth consultations has become increasingly popular and more practical than ever before. Again, Practice Managers have adapted their Practices, mostly with the assistance of their software provider to overcome this challenge.

Q: What percentage of your members are female and what percentage are male? Do you think female and male Practice Managers face different challenges, and if so, why do you think that is?

A: The profession has always attracted more females than males. At present, the AAPM has 91% female members and 9% male. Practice Managers experience the same challenges, regardless of their gender. The role of a Practice Manager is diverse and anyone who can juggle many things, show compassion, empathy, leadership, and all that goes with business management, succeeds in their chosen profession.

Q: Government initiatives have come down the pipeline fast and hard as of late (i.e. Active Ingredient Prescribing, Secure Messaging, ePrescribing, SafeScript, National Cancer Screening Register, My Health Record etc.). Which has challenged Practices the most and why? What have Practices looked forward to most?

A: The answer to the question is in the question – “government initiatives have come down the pipeline fast”. This has been incredibly challenging for Practice Managers to understand the changes, adopt and implement in a short amount of time.

Initiatives which provide a “toolkit” seem to be easier to digest and implement, however, when there are constant updates that also require software updates to take advantage of the tool, it presents further challenges.

Q: How has the shift to corporate ownership of Medical Practices impacted healthcare in your opinion and through your observations? Has it impacted the role of practice managers, and how so?

A: Corporate ownership has not had a significant impact on the role of Practice Managers. In many instances, the role of the Practice Manager is sought out more and regarded as a leading role in the business. In addition, this often leads to further career opportunities and growth in a Practice, and can offer a different type of experience to single or Doctor owned Practices.

The Australian Association of Practice Management has experienced growth in the recruitment of Corporate owned Practices becoming members.

Q: What is something that is right around the corner that many companies/organisations are not considering?

A: More technological solutions. Future patients are spoilt for choice with technological solutions, and Practice Managers and their Practices need to embrace this to remain competitive.

Q: We’ve recently seen criticism emerge in the news about the pace of the COVID vaccine rollout. What is your take on this?

A: It is a significant issue and challenge for everyone. There is limited firsthand experience in dealing with a pandemic and fast-tracking a vaccine rollout, however, the pace and process has been less than desirable. The changes to information, the shifting dates of deliverables adds to concern and lack of confidence.

Q: What are your go-to resources for all things Practice Management, that our readers could bookmark for themselves?

A: The AAPM website – aapm.org.au member portal. This is where to find the latest information and resources.

Q: What healthcare trends have you seen emerge over the past 1-2 years, and does this surprise you? Can you please elaborate on why this surprised you, or if it didn’t why that is?

A: The main trend has been telehealth and technological advances. This hasn’t surprised us, but it will be interesting to further watch its growth.

Q: Where do you see General Practice in 10 years’ time? What will be the biggest change?

A: Perhaps we will have a clinic on Mars? Perhaps it will be AI appointments?

GPs are the most frontline business when it comes to healthcare. This is changing and the pandemic has fast tracked this. The future will host far more technology supported services and the scope of development is as far as the imagination can take you.

Best Practice Software would like to thank Miranda Grace and the Australian Association of Practice Management for contributing to this article. For more information on the AAPM or the resources and services they provide, you can visit their website here.

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Bp VIP.net Tips & Tricks: Creating a Prescribing Protocol

July 20, 2021 by Harmony Sanderson

Creating a prescribing protocol blog lead image

If you find yourself frequently prescribing a specific combination of medications and could benefit from these combinations being easily accessible, then creating a Prescribing Protocol may be the shortcut you’re looking for!

The major advantage of creating a Prescribing Protocol in Bp VIP.net is the time saved for any future prescriptions that require those repeat medications. Creating the Protocol will allow you to select it in only a few clicks, rather than adding each individual medication every time. It is also worth noting that when prescribing via a Protocol, Bp VIP.net will still look for interactions and allergies, just as it would if you were prescribing a single medication, so there is no loss of this important functionality when utilising a Prescribing Protocol.

To Create a Prescribing Protocol:

1. Click Setup> Medical> Medications Protocol.
2. Click the New button to create the new Protocol.

(The Choose Medications screen should be displayed)

3. Select the first required medication (From Mims, Custom List or NZULM).
4. Click the OK button.

The Prescription Item Details screen should be displayed:

5. Write a name for the Protocol into the protocol field.
6. Complete the Prescription details for dose and frequency and click the OK button.
7. Click the New button to add a second item to the Protocol.
8. Select the required medication and click the OK button.

(The Prescription Item Details screen should be displayed)

9. Select the newly created Protocol from step 5 in the Protocol drop down menu.
10. Complete the Prescription details for dose and frequency and click the OK button.
11. Repeat the process to add more medications to the Protocol.
12. Click the Close button of the Maintain Medication Protocols screen when no more medication items are to be added to the Protocol. More items can be added to this protocol in the future through the Maintain Medication Protocols screen.

To Prescribe the Protocol of Medications.

1. Click the Prescribing button (F9) to show the Medications screen.
2. Click the Protocols button.

3. The Maintain Medication Protocols window is displayed. This will show all saved Protocols.

4. Highlight the Protocol from the list.
5. Click the Select button.
6. Click the Print button to prescribe the Protocol.

Authored by:

Suzi Eley
Product Training, Knowledge & Deployment Leader at Best Practice Software

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MediSecure Prescription Exchange Service Now Available in Bp Premier

July 14, 2021 by Louis Valenti

07 July 2021

MEDIA RELEASE

Best Practice Software and MediSecure are pleased to announce that medical providers using Bp Premier practice management software are now able to select MediSecure’s prescription exchange service (PES) for transmitting ePrescriptions (accessed via a token) following a software update on June 9, 2021.

Best Practice Software’s latest update, Saffron Service Pack 1 (SP1), included support for digital token-based ePrescriptions to be sent via the MediSecure prescription exchange.

Medical practices have been utilising MediSecure to securely send electronic prescriptions between GP and pharmacy for some time now; with this latest update, Practices can choose between Australia’s two prescription exchange services for transmitting all electronic prescriptions between GP and pharmacy, be it barcoded paper script or token-based digital ePrescription.

Dr Frank Pyefinch, CEO and Founder said, “Best Practice Software has always understood that choice is important to our customers, and we are pleased to support our many users who choose MediSecure as their preferred prescription exchange provider”.

Dr Pyefinch explained that the sudden urgency to accelerate the rollout of ePrescribing in response to the COVID-19 crisis meant that Best Practice Software could not implement ePrescribing across both prescription exchanges simultaneously.

Paul Frosdick, Chief Executive Officer at MediSecure, said he was delighted to see the update reach all Bp Premier users.

“A significant number of our GP customers wanted to wait for Saffron Service Pack 1 before moving to ePrescriptions,” he said.

“Our users value the fact that we are Australia’s only independently owned prescription exchange, and we know that they appreciate the responsiveness of our service team. But perhaps most significantly, with the increasing fluidity of individual GPs working across multiple practices, our users love the fact that the prescriber set up on MediSecure is a two-click process managed at practice level”.

Since going live on June 9, over 160 Bp Premier MediSecure GP practices have activated ePrescribing and are issuing digital prescriptions to their patients.

“This is a fantastic result, and we will be working closely with our colleagues at Best Practice Software to maintain this rate of uptake over the coming weeks”, said Mr Frosdick.

*******End of Release*******

For Further Information Contact Paul Frosdick on 0400 766 566 and by email at paul.frosdick@medisecure.com.au.

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Key Take-Aways from the 2021 RACGP Practice Owners Conference

July 1, 2021 by Louis Valenti

RACGP Practice Owners Conference Blog Image

The RACGP Practice Owners Conference for 2021 took place in Brisbane on the 19th and 20th of June. The event was incredibly educational and covered a breadth of topics, all presented by a diverse panel of thought-provoking experts in their respective fields.

During the first day of the conference, I was able to attend sessions on the following topics:

The evolution of a consumer-driven primary care clinic
Developing KPIs for your Practice
How to optimise your outcome from a sale or partial sale
Using product thinking in general practice to create a successful clinic for the future
Using data to improve business efficiencies and patient outcomes
Medical compliance; an overview

During the second day, I made it to these sessions:

How to structure your Practice & premises purchase
How to unlock the value of your Practice
Digital tools of the trade
Marketing digital strategies

Each of these sessions were engaging and provided plenty of food for thought across extensive bodies of knowledge. After having a few days to process what I’d seen and heard at the RACGP Practice Owners Conference, here are my key take-aways from the event.

The Future

The future of healthcare will need to be:

Individualised
Intelligently designed to enable successful patient outcomes
Co-ordinated
Co-joined
Compassionate and respectful

Practice Challenges

The five biggest challenges Practice owners face are:

General Practitioner availability
Practice revenue is not keeping up with increases in costs
Keeping up with constant compliance and regulatory changes
Remaining competitive in the face of competition
Finding time to work on the Practice, when they’re not working in it

Economics and Financial Health

Practices have three main methods in which they can drive profits:

They can sell more
They can charge more
They can pay less

Here are some interesting statistics to do with maintaining the financial health of a Practice:

Practices will typically charge 35-45% of their GPs gross takings
The typical net profit margin for a clinic is anywhere from 2-7.5%
Non-doctor revenue can be between 16-19%
A solid staffing ratio for Practices is 1 GP : 0.4 Nurses : 0.9 Admin staff – from this, how are Practices ensuring that their workforce is optimised based on the number of practicing GPs each day?

Marketing Position & Ease of Doing Business

Clinics need to understand their position in the market and their business models. This is especially important with regards to scale vs specialisation. There are a number of levers that clinics can utilise to differentiate themselves in the market:

Price
Speed
Convenience
Patient experience
The reputation of individual doctors
Being a ‘one-stop shop’
Proximity to retail outlets
Community connections
Ease of accessibility

It is also important for Practices to consider how easy it is for patients to do business with their clinics. To accurately assess this, Practices need to understand their current end-to-end patient journey, ensuring they are meeting their patients’ evolving needs. This is something we covered in a recent blog article on the topic of Healthcare Consumerism.

It’s critical for Practices to remember that it is much easier to improve their service for existing customers, than trying to capture new ones.

Understand Your Customer

A key theme present at the RACGP Practice Owners Conference was that Practices need to ensure that they understand their customers.

What problems are your customers facing? Of these, which are the most important? Do you have a solution to these problems? It is recommended that Practices regularly validate and test their hypotheses on how those problems can be solved.

A strong indicator that you have a good understanding of your market is when you are receiving positive recommendations, and have a healthy number of sale volumes.

Above all, Practices need to remember that they can’t be all things to all people. Decide early on which segments of the community you’re trying to service, and focus on those segments.

Measuring Success

Measure the metrics that matter to you, while ensuring that those metrics are practical and support your business model. In addition, don’t misallocate your KPIs, and always make sure that there is a clear link between your targets, and how you measure them.

When considering metrics for success, many Practices focus on the past. This isn’t always helpful, as you can’t change the past! Focus on what needs to be changed for the future, and how you can measure the progress towards those objectives.

When measuring success, break your business down into parts. Ask yourself the following questions:

How profitable is each part?
Is each part worth doing?
How can one area of the business support another?
Are we using appropriate benchmarks? (are you comparing apples to apples? or apples to oranges?)
Pilot initiatives and measure their effectiveness. If those initiatives are delivering success, persist with them. If not, stop and reassess, then pivot

Use Data to Drive Positive Outcomes

It’s critical that Practices know where their data is coming from. A Practice can generate value from triangulating Practice, financial, HR/Rostering and MBS data.

However, not all data is equal. Just because the data is there, does not mean it’s going to be insightful in developing Practice value.

According to an interview with Cubiko, here is a list of what data Practices will want to track:

Total number of billings (vs the Practice budget)
Average wait times (week-on-week)
Bulk billing (week-on-week)
Utilisation of appointments – booked vs available vs admin
The number of appointments vs billing – ideally in a 4×4 matrix
Last week vs forecast with regards to recalls and reminders, and telehealth
Room utilisation
No Shows
The cost of each appointment and net profit from billings, more specifically:
- - - Don’t always look backwards at what previous appointments have cost you, look forwards to what appointments are going to cost you
    - How much of your diary is booked? If you have large gaps between appointments, consider why
    - Look at your roster of doctors, and consider your ratios to nurses and admin staff. Does it make sense?
    - Benchmarking – internal benchmarking is powerful, If possible, find a sister Practice that is similar and partner with them to benchmark your performance. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples!

Consider Your Technology as a Tool of the Trade

Recent trends have shown that patients want greater control over their data. Practices need to better utilise digital tools to engage with their patients.

Websites – Have they had their day? Make sure your Practice website is designed for your patients, and not focused on your business
Social Media – Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are great mechanisms to connect with peers and share your business best practices, helping you to work towards positive patient outcomes. Social media is also a great tool to gauge market sentiment
Telehealth – How do we leverage telehealth for follow-ups? Telehealth has given us an opportunity to forge our future on how to better interface with patients. For example, can telehealth be used by metropolitan Practices to support rural sites?
My Health Record – GPs were once the custodians of their community’s medical records. Now, that data is available for people to control. As an example, mothers and fathers can now help in their children’s journey – this is especially true for initiatives like the NDIS.
eOrdering – Coming soon, and coming quickly. Pathology and radiology providers are coming online and enabling eOrdering. Patients receive an electronic token, and the tests go straight back to the GP.
What else is on the horizon?
- - - Provider Connect Australia – A new system that, once information is entered, will be a single point of reference. However, service directories have been an issue in the past.
    - Home Monitoring – Is virtual care something that’s in the future?

The RACGP Practice Owners Conference provided attendees with some incredibly valuable information for the present and future of the healthcare industry in Australia.

The past few years have been unprecedented in how global events have impacted healthcare, and now more than ever it’s crucial that Practices take control of their businesses and ensure viability and success for the years ahead.

Authored by:

Peter Polacek
Product Manager at Best Practice Software

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Third-Party Integrations for Your Software – 10 Key Considerations Before Implementation

June 3, 2022June 22, 2021 by Louis Valenti

Integration with Best Practice Software blog image

With our Bp Partner Network reaching over 100 partners, there are many fantastic third-party software solutions to choose from that offer integration with Best Practice Software products, whether it’s Bp Premier, Bp VIP.net or Bp Allied. And with choice comes the responsibility and necessity to ensure you have selected the right tools, to meet the ever-changing needs and growth of your business.

But with so many options available, how do you ensure that you are using the right one? Let’s explore 10 key considerations to think about when selecting a new product or reviewing products currently being used by your Practice.

Identify the Problem You are Trying to Solve

Before you consider purchasing third-party software to complement your Practice management system, it is important that you clearly articulate the problem you are trying to solve. Sometimes this requires input from all staff operating in the Practice to ensure that the product chosen meets the needs of your business.

For example:

Are you trying to save time?
Are you trying to save money?
Are you looking to improve internal workflows?
Are you looking to improve the patient experience?
Do you need to introduce a product to compete with other businesses?
Do you need to reduce medico-legal risk?
Is the product required to expand your business offering? Meet new legislation?

We recommend that your problem statement is agreed to by all relevant stakeholders in your business before moving through to the next step.

Gather Your Requirements

Now that you have defined your problem statement, you can start documenting your requirements. This is an important process, as this will provide a framework for you to assess each third-party product and its integration with Best Practice Software products. Some key points to consider when documenting your requirements are:

Ensure that your requirements reflect your identified problem statement
How much are you willing to invest in the solution? Licensing/training/support?
What licensing terms are you comfortable with? Fixed term/flexible?
Is this product needed by a certain date?
Document your end-to-end workflow requirements, ensuring you think about both Practice and patient requirements
If connecting to a Bp product, ensure that the vendor is part of the Bp Partner Network, otherwise the solution won’t integrate with your practice management system
Consider documenting any Australian and state based legislation that you want to ensure the product meets, such as the Privacy Act, or Anti-Spam laws

Put Together a Rating System

Before you can adequately assess third-party integration options for your practice management system, we recommend putting together a rating system. This system will document the extent to which each product in review meets your requirements. To do this, we recommend putting requirements into a spreadsheet and during the product review process indicating to what extent each product meets your needs.

As a first step, we recommend you indicate the degree of importance of each requirement, for example:

Extremely important
Important
Somewhat important
Neutral

We recommend rating each requirement as:

Exceeded = 3 points
Fully met = 2 points
Partially met = 1 point
Did not meet/Below expectation = 0

Gather and Analyse Products

Now that you understand your problem statement, requirements, and have a rating system in place, you are ready to scan the market for potential products and start the review process. Before booking a time with each vendor to complete your full analysis, ask them some top line questions to ensure that they are suitable.

We also recommend including your PMS (Practice Management System) in this analysis piece, as some of your key requirements may be able to be delivered through existing functions and features that you may not have been aware of.

Vendor/Product Agreement

Once you have completed your analysis and determined your front runner, you will need to move through to the contract/agreement/licensing phase. There are a number of important items that should be considered as part of this process:

How long is the agreement for? What are the termination terms?
Is their pricing model clear? Are there any hidden costs?
What support is being offered and it is clearly documented?
What are your obligations versus the vendor’s?
Have you read and understood their terms and conditions?
Have you read and understood their privacy policy?
Do they comply with federal and state laws, e.g. Privacy Act?

Complete Communication and Change Management Process

Prior to implementing any new solutions that offer integration with Best Practice Software products or workflows, we suggest engaging your internal staff to ensure that they clearly understand the scope of the implementation, the role they play, the value to the business and how they will be supported through this process.

If the product being implemented will also be used by your patients, we suggest communicating with them early in the process to ensure that they are also adequately engaged. Communications can occur in writing, verbally or even visually using posters and notices within your Practice.

Update Internal & External Artefacts

Prior to implementing a new product, we recommend that Practices review their internal and external artefacts. Some examples of these include:

Internal policies
Work instructions
Checklists
Your Practice website
Other external websites/directories that may reference your Practice
Patient registration forms

Conduct Staff Training

Training is critical to the successful implementation of any new product or workflow being introduced at your Practice. We recommend that all impacted staff are trained prior to the implementation occurring and that supporting documents and instructions are prepared in advance. We recommend identifying a ‘super user’ at the Practice who can assist with internal staff queries and escalate to the software vendor if required.

Additional training may be required post-implementation and with future releases of the product. It is important to keep across these changes and to take advantage of the documentation and training being provided by the vendor.

Review and Measure

It is always important to review your products to ensure they are meeting your requirements. This can be easily achieved by revisiting your initial problem statement and documented requirements to ensure that they are being met. In some instances, your business may have also changed, along with your requirements, and it is important that these are communicated with your vendor.

Also consider what other metrics can be used to measure the success of the implemented product.

For example:

If your goal was to reduce Practice spend, did this occur?
If you goal was to increase patient numbers, did this occur?
If your goal was to introduce efficiencies within the Practice, did this occur?
If your goal was to decrease the number of ‘no show’ appointments, did this occur?

Having data to demonstrate the success or failure of a product will assist with any discussions you are having with your vendor.

Look For New Opportunities

With new third-party products that offer integration with Best Practice Software coming onto the market frequently, we always recommend that you keep on top of what offerings are available in the market. This is particularly important as your business changes and grows, your requirements change and new products enter the market with new functionality and potentially a better pricing offering!

The best way to keep across new solutions available for your product is to check the integration section on your respective Practice management system webpage:

Visiting our Bp Partner Network web page, engaging with peers via your peak bodies, and other platforms such as online forums and blogs can also help keep you abreast of new solutions on the market.

We also recommend keeping across the new features and functions being delivered by your PMS by reading Release Notes and attending relevant training to better understand what they have available.

If you have any questions regarding the above information, our Commercial Partnership Team can be contacted via partners@bpsoftware.net

Authored by:

Jessica White
Manager of Commercial & Customer Enablement at Best Practice Software

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Enhanced eOrdering – Available Now in Saffron SP1!

June 22, 2021 by Louis Valenti

Diagnostic Imaging and Pathology eOrdering Blog Image

Saffron SP1 was released in early June and has some exciting new features! Diagnostic Imaging and Pathology eOrdering has been updated, and what users will see has changed as they request a pathology or diagnostic imaging service with one of our onboarded partners.

What is eOrdering?

An eOrder (or electronic request) is the digital version of a request for pathology or diagnostic imaging services. The HL7 message is generated using your Bp Premier software, then encrypted and delivered safely and securely to your nominated addressee using a secure messaging provider.

What Has Changed?

From Saffron SP1 there is a new streamlined process for configuring pathology and diagnostic imaging providers in Bp Premier. The new eOrdering setup screen includes all functionality required to set up and configure eOrdering providers for pathology and imaging, combining functionality found under Setup > Preferences > Pathology and Imaging and View > Contacts.

See Set up Pathology E-Ordering in Saffron SP1 and Set up Imaging E-Ordering in Saffron SP1 for more information. These are available on our Knowledge Base which can be accessed by clicking Help, then Online from within Bp Premier.

Doctors will see the pathology and diagnostic imaging partner’s logo and up-to-date contact details during the service request workflow, making getting in touch when needed a quick and easy process.

Pathology partners will now supply test lists, which will be kept up-to-date through our monthly data update process. Having a pathology provider supplied test list will ensure that a doctor is not only requesting a test that is offered by their selected pathology provider, but that the terminology is consistent between the Practice and provider processes and systems. In addition, recommended tests will be provided, saving doctors time as they will be able to quickly and easily add the recommended tests for a given medical condition or query.

Our imaging partners will now supply their printed request layout coordinates, again saving Practices time as this used to be a time-consuming manual process. Also, the printed request will now include a barcode so that the service request can be quickly selected on the provider’s system upon the patient arrival.

Training materials, designed to help you get the most out of Saffron SP1’s newest features, can be found in the ‘What’s New’ section of our Bp Premier Knowledge Base, and available to access around the clock. You can access the Knowledge Base from Bp Premier at any time by clicking Help, then Online, then searching for What’s New in Saffron SP1 article to see all of the new additions in this release.

What Are the Benefits of Using Enhanced eOrdering?

As the receiving pathology or diagnostic imaging provider has the eOrder sent to them securely and directly, there is no need for them to request and enter the patient’s data into their system once the patient arrives. eOrders mitigate the risk of error and provide the best possible experience for the patient.

In fact, using electronic requests can provide benefits to the requesting doctor, receiving pathology or diagnostic imaging service provider, patient and Practice!

They include:

The highest level of clinical safety and data integrity
Workflow efficiencies that are intuitive, save time and reduce errors
Confidence in the privacy and security of transmitted patient data
A single channel through which requests and results are sent or received

To help Bp Premier users understand the value eOrdering may introduce to your Practice, you can view our short video below on eOrdering: Benefits for Your Practice

Does My Patient Still Have Choice?

Of course! The patient can still decide to take the printed request to a provider of their choice. It is commonplace for diagnostic imaging and pathology providers to accept all referrals.

How Do I Get Involved?

Several diagnostic imaging pathology providers have already joined the Bp Partner Network! We recommend contacting them directly to start discussing the implementation of eOrdering at your Practice.

To view an up-to-date list of these partners, please visit the Bp Partner Network page on the Bp Software website.

Authored by:

Monica Reed
Commercial Partnership Leader at Best Practice Software

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Preparing for the Introduction of Medicare Web Services – Taking Your First Steps

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 by Louis Valenti

preparing for medicare web services blog image

You’ll all be aware that Services Australia is upgrading the technology used by Practice management software such as Bp Premier and Bp VIP.net to connect to digital health services such as Medicare online. Hopefully, you also know that this new technology will replace the existing Medicare client adapter and PKI certificates, and that will be facilitated by the use of PRODA. Most importantly, what you definitely need to know is that Practices must migrate to this new technology by March 2022, to maintain access to Medicare Online functionality.

What you might not know, is that while March 2022 may seem too far away to begin preparation, now is actually the perfect time for you to start preparing for Medicare Web Services. There are a few steps in this process and you can not only be across what this change is all about, you can also complete steps 1 – 4, right now. Imagine that – you’d already be 70% of the way there, and across one of the biggest technological changes in the healthcare industry for quite a while, with plenty of time to spare.

Ok, so you’re ready to take the first steps?

Firstly, familiarize yourself with what this change is all about, and how it will impact you and your Practice by clicking here to watch this short introduction to Medicare Web Services and PRODA.
Next up, click here to view Step 1. Registering an individual account in PRODA. Already got one? Fantastic! Onto the next step. Does everyone in the Practice need one? No. Not sure if that’s you? The clip in this step covers that.
Click here to access Step 2. Registering an organisation in PRODA. Already got one? Even better. Step 3 will be for you.
Click here to access Step 3. Managing members and delegates in PRODA.
Finally, this one is only relevant if you actually have subsidiary organisations. Click here to access Step 4. Add subsidiaries. Not sure you if you have any? The clip in this step will guide you through what they are, if they’re applicable to you and whether you need to register them.

And that’s pretty much it for now! You’re 70% of the way to preparing for Medicare Web Services access through your software! What happens next? Well the team here at Best Practice Software are working hard to develop the product versions integrated with Medicare Web Services by the end of Q3 this year. Plenty of time to complete the final two configuration steps from within your software. Stay tuned to our Knowledge Base and communications for more information, or you can contact us with any questions on medicarewebservices@bpsoftware.net.

Authored by:

Suzi Eley
Product Training, Knowledge & Deployment Leader at Best Practice Software

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The 2020 RACGP Health of the Nation Report

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 by Louis Valenti

RACGP 2020 Health of the Nation Report Blog Image

Each year, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), conducts a range of surveys and collates data from nationwide sources to generate an insight into the state of general practice in Australia. From this, the annual Health of the Nation report is produced and published.

Given the tumultuous events of the past several years in Australia, beginning with a spate of bushfires in late 2019, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic from early 2020 to the present day, the RACGP 2020 Health of the Nation report has presented some stark differences when compared to prior editions.

This article summarises some of the findings from the 2020 Health of the Nation report, primarily those relating to current and emerging issues, telehealth, the funding of Australian general practice care, and the business and economics of a general practice.

Common Health Presentations in General Practice

Unsurprisingly, issues relating to the 2019-2020 bushfires and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were represented heavily when considering common reasons for presenting to GPs in 2020. Psychological issues including depression and anxiety remained the most prevalent, with 64% of surveyed GPs listing psychological issues among their top three most common reasons for patients presenting.

Preventive care, primarily comprised of vaccinations and health screenings, rose to the second most prevalent reason for presenting to a GP. This was largely due to the government drive to encourage early vaccinations for things like the seasonal flu to avoid heaping more stress onto the healthcare system during the pandemic. It’s interesting to note that while vaccinations increased, preventive health screenings dropped, likely as patients were not presenting for usual care among COVID-19 directives.

The Mental Health Impact of Natural Disasters

For the fourth year running, the RACGP 2020 Health of the Nation report has listed psychological issues as the single most prevalent reason that Australians are presenting to GPs.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entirety of the Australian population to some degree, young Australians have been impacted most heavily, with female patients being disproportionately affected within that subset.

But it is not just patients being negatively affected – healthcare workers were similarly affected. While 43% of GPs reported no impact to their wellbeing, 57% reported a negative change to their wellbeing with regards to either physical health, being able to maintain a healthy work-life balance or managing their mental health.

This is of particular concern, as GPs have, for the past several years, ranked managing their own wellbeing as one of the top three challenges for being able to provide consistent, high-quality patient care.

Issues Requiring Policy Action

When it comes to policy issues that GPs believe require action, MBS patient rebates are the most significant area of priority for the fourth consecutive year with more than 40% of surveyed GPs placing it in their top three issues for policy action.

Consideration for mental health services remains the second most identified area for Australian Government priority, while a focus on creating new funding models for primary healthcare rounds out the top three most significant issues.

However, the priorities of GPs working in Aboriginal Medical Services did vary slightly. For GPs working in these communities, social and cultural determinants of health equity and equality held particular concern, with 33% and 31% respectively noting these issues in their top two policy concerns.

A Critical Issue in Focus - Pandemic Response

When it came to considering the Australian Government’s response to the pandemic, the survey showed mixed opinions.

On one hand, many GPs supported the government’s initial response, with one in two GPs labeling the response either ‘good’ or ‘very good’ with regards to ensuring the safety of GPs and their Practice teams.

GPs were also quick to acknowledge that amid a pandemic, the need for telehealth was identified quickly and acted upon – with the government quickly providing funding to support the model of care.

However, many GPs also noted that much more could have been done in the early stages of the pandemic and throughout its progression to support frontline healthcare workers. A particular challenge and area of concern was accessing personal protective equipment (PPE). Eight out of 10 GPs surveyed believed that the government could have done much better in providing Practices with PPE when they needed it most.

Of the many challenges faced by GPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the inability to provide their usual standard of care to patients ranked the most highly, with the aforementioned lack of access to PPE following closely behind, with a notable number of GPs citing the constantly changing MBS rules as a cause of concern also.

Perhaps the most interesting statistic to consider when looking at the pandemic response holistically is the percentage of Australians that visited a GP. During 2019-2020, 87.4% of Australians visited a GP, which was the lowest rate seen in the country since 2014-2015. This is likely due to a significantly decreased number of patients presenting for usual care while they were being encouraged to isolate at home, or socially distance under COVID-19 directives.

A Fast-Tracked Adoption of Telehealth

When social distancing measures and stay-at-home mandates were implemented, telehealth quickly became the standard by which GPs would continue to be able to offer consultations while still being able to protect themselves, their patients and Practice staff.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 17% of GPs surveyed had used telehealth to deliver a consultation – 4% via video, and 13% over the phone. During the pandemic however, 30% of GPs conducted at least one telehealth consultation over video, and 96% conducted a consultation over the phone.

When asked about their thoughts on the initiative, 67% of GPs reported a positive change in their attitude towards telehealth, with only 10% noting a negative shift in attitude.

Those that felt positively about it noted that telehealth allowed them to see their patients more regularly and in a timely manner, which often led to patients discussing health concerns as they arose, rather than ‘saving them all up’ and attempting to fit each concern into a single consult. In addition, GPs noticed an increased feeling of safety and security in patients being able to consult with them in their own home. This was of particular benefit for mental health consultations and some forms of counselling.

Among those who felt negatively towards telehealth, the primary reason was that they felt telehealth presented limitations to the provision of patient care, and that telehealth should complement, not replace, face to face consultations.

7 out of 10 GPs believe that a continuation of telehealth consultations post-pandemic is possible, and it would continue to support patient access to high-quality care in general Practice. However, many noted that telehealth should only be made available to patients already known to the Practice and should only be available for specific types of consults; repeat scripts, discussing uncomplicated test results, some forms of counselling, and referrals.

Government Contribution to Patient Services

Australian government contributions to patient services continues to be an area of concern for general Practice. While most patient care in Australia is being delivered in the general Practice sector, the overwhelming majority of government healthcare expenditure is in hospitals.

In 2017-18, state and federal governments spent approximately $52 million in the hospital sector, while unreferred medical services (which is primarily general Practice), received a little over $11 million, with almost the entire expenditure coming solely from the federal government.

Across both state and federal governments, the total expenditure on general Practice is approximately 7.5% of the nation’s total health expenditure.

The Australian government’s expenditure on healthcare, as a share of our gross domestic product (GDP), is lower than almost all other developed countries with a similar primary care focused system.

Trends in General Practice Billing

The 2020 RACGP Health of the Nation report showed the following bulk billing trends in 2019-2020:

The report did note, however, that patients may receive multiple services when visiting their GP, and that some of those services may be bulk billed, while others are billed privately.

Nationally, the proportion of patients who have all GP services bulk billed is rising, but in several states the rate is in decline. It is also interesting to note that while the number of bulk billed services has increased year on year, each year the rate of increase slows further.

Business and Income Challenges in General Practice

General Practice as a business is a key part of the Australian healthcare sector, worth over $13b annually to the Australian economy, and employing more than 100,000 people nationwide.

When consulting GP Practice owners about the most common challenges they face, respondents nearly unanimously agreed that maintaining a healthy work-life balance, maintaining a steady income, and sourcing and retaining quality staff were at the top of their list of concerns.

GP Practice owners working in regional, rural, or remote areas were still concerned with managing a work-life balance and steady income but are comparatively more concerned with ensuring the ongoing delivery of high-quality care to patients from disadvantaged backgrounds.

GPs and Practice owners noted that at a time when the country needed their services most, many were faced with a lack of job security. In a survey conducted in May of 2020, 71% of GPs reported that their income was lower than the same time the previous year, with 25% of those reporting a much lower income. Only 5% of GPs reported a higher income than the previous year.

When asked for their thoughts on the main contributing factors for the reduction in income, 83% cited fewer patients presenting for care among stay-at-home directives. 70% also indicated that while telehealth consultations did allow patients to still present to their GP, the requirement to bulk bill these telehealth consultations contributed significantly to a reduction in income. Approximately 50% of GPs surveyed agreed that the removal of mandatory bulk billing of telehealth services would improve the viability and sustainability of their Practice.

There were a range of other reasons cited for reduced income revenue – these included reduced rental income, reduced work hours, changing circumstances and generally increased demands in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Practice Ownership

The trend in Australian Practice ownership continues to shift towards more heavily towards multi-partner and corporate arrangements. Broadly speaking however, GP interest in owning a Practice is relatively low, even more so amongst women. Just over a quarter of Practices operate in conjunction with other businesses, with 28% of GPs surveyed reporting that their Practice was networked with another site, often sharing human resources, payroll, marketing, or clinical governance arrangements.

The 2020 RACGP Health of the Nation Report in Summary

The RACGP Health of the Nation report is an incredibly insightful, thorough report for which we have only just scratched the surface. However, even this brief look has managed to outline some interesting data points, both new and recurring, that have surfaced over the past 2 years.

Given recent and ongoing tumultuous events, many of which disproportionately affect the healthcare sector and in particular GPs, the 2021 Health of the Nation report should shed some light on whether many of these trends are anomalies, or whether they will begin to evolve and embed themselves into what we now consider the ‘new normal’.

The RACGP Health of the Nation report for 2020, along with previous editions, are available to read in full here.

Authored by:

Louis Valenti
Marketing Specialist at Best Practice Software

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To Create a Prescribing Protocol:

To Prescribe the Protocol of Medications.

The Future

Practice Challenges

Economics and Financial Health

Marketing Position & Ease of Doing Business

Understand Your Customer

Measuring Success

Use Data to Drive Positive Outcomes

Consider Your Technology as a Tool of the Trade

Identify the Problem You are Trying to Solve

Gather Your Requirements

Put Together a Rating System

Gather and Analyse Products

Vendor/Product Agreement

Complete Communication and Change Management Process

Update Internal & External Artefacts

Conduct Staff Training

Review and Measure

Look For New Opportunities

What is eOrdering?

What Has Changed?

What Are the Benefits of Using Enhanced eOrdering?

Does My Patient Still Have Choice?

How Do I Get Involved?

Common Health Presentations in General Practice

The Mental Health Impact of Natural Disasters

Issues Requiring Policy Action

A Critical Issue in Focus - Pandemic Response

A Fast-Tracked Adoption of Telehealth

Government Contribution to Patient Services

Trends in General Practice Billing

Business and Income Challenges in General Practice

Practice Ownership

The 2020 RACGP Health of the Nation Report in Summary

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