Survey Results: What do Clinicians really look for in Practice Management Software?

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Survey Results: What do Clinicians really look for in Practice Management Software?

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COVID impact, working habits and rejection of Telehealth?

Throughout July we ran a survey for users of Medical Practice Management Software, like MediRecords. The aim was to listen to, and learn from, both our own users and those who use alternatives.

In this article we have summarised some of the more interesting insights around:

  • the impact of COVID on doctors
  • the working environments of clinicians
  • what users want from practice management software, and
  • How important Telehealth features are to clinicians.

If any of this sounds interesting, then please read on! But before we get into it, we would like to say a big thank you to all who took part in the survey.

As with all survey data, the stats can often be interpreted in many ways. If you have any insights or explanation for what we found in the survey, we would love to hear from you via marketing@medirecords.com.

About the Survey & Audience

Our survey was delivered to GP clinics via fax, email and through The Medical Republics e-newsletter. Whilst the survey was open to clinicians, practice managers, nurses and business owners, most respondents primarily identified as clinicians.

We ran our survey throughout July, which ended up being an interesting time. The initial explosion of conversations around Telehealth had begun to quieten down (more on this later), whilst Victorians began seeing lockdown restrictions gradually being enforced as they experienced their ‘second wave’.

One noticeable skew was that the audience had a significant amount of professional experience, with over 40% having over 20 years in General Practice, which is worth bearing in mind as you read this article:

 

 

GP’s Working Environment

We were keen to understand how GPs tend to work, as this allows us to better understand how MediRecords can be as useful to clinicians as possible.

We found GP’s were split fairly evenly between those who work in one location, and those who work across multiple locations. What is not clear if this means they work across multiple practices, or often from home, something which could be influenced by the current pandemic.

Far more clinicians work on multiple devices rather than one, which us unsurprising given our consumer habits across phones, tablets and computers. It is particularly interesting for practice management software however, as ease of working across devices and locations is very difficult on server-based solutions such as Best Practice and Medical Director, compared with cloud solutions like MediRecords.

It was interesting to see that almost as many people use Apple products as do Windows, again something that could make browser-based software more appealing to ensure consistency of experience and usability for GPs on whichever device they use.

Preferences for practice management software

We asked our GP respondents a lot of questions about their preferences are for practice management software. This information is best summarized in the two questions:

  • What do you like about your Practice Management Software ? And…
  • What do you not like about your Practice Management Software?

Surprisingly, the same sort of answer was most popular for both questions – Usability!

It can be easy to get lost in specifications and functionality lists when choosing Practice Management Software, but what this shows us all is that, fundamentally, it means little if the platform is not easy for clinicians to use. We suspect this will also be what drives most day to day frustrations users have with their current software.

(By the way, we think this is great news given the positive feedback we have had on MediRecords from our users. If you are struggling with usability there is a solution!)

So, are clinicians looking for something better?

We then asked if clinicians were planning on reviewing or upgrading their software over the next five years. Only 40% of respondents said they would consider doing so.

Many in the healthcare tech space may find this disappointing, but we believe it shows us the wider trend of reluctance to adopt and change with new technologies. Whilst many may be heralding a silver lining of COVID to be increased adoption of technology, the results suggest this mindset change will not happen overnight – even if pushed by a major event such as COVID.

If clinicians are still reluctant to change, what does this mean for Telehealth adoption?

We asked respondents to rank features in terms of the importance to them when choosing practice management software. Whilst we won’t be sharing the full results of this (hopefully you can understand, we want to keep some knowledge to ourselves!) what was surprising was that Telehealth was the second least important feature to the GPs we asked.

The timing of the survey may have had something to do with this. Whilst in the earlier days of the pandemic many GPs were trying to figure out how to incorporate Telehealth into their daily workflow, by July Telehealth MBS items had been live for over a month, with GPs finding that using the telephone was an easier, more familiar solution in the short term.

Again, this may reflect the reluctance of many to adopt new technologies, even if these technologies lead to better experiences for patients. We can see the benefits of telehealth via remote monitoring via projects such as Spritely’s recent trial in retirement villages in Christchurch, but clearly there is more work to be done to help clinicians see if there is a benefit for them.

So, what do clinicians want from their PMS?

Finally, we asked what GPs wished their PMS could do that it does not already.

The results here were less clear, with 27% of people wanted a feature specific to their practice’s requirements, and a further 20% wanting an integration with a specific other service.

This shows how personal and bespoke the needs of many practices are, and how software such as MediRecords must not only be flexible for different workflows, but also responsive to users when they need new feature.

Again, usability came up, this time as something that respondents wish their PMS offered. Given the large share of the market enjoyed by traditional solutions such as Medical Director and Best Practice, perhaps this reflects the need for clinicians to look at some of the newer, easier to use options that are out there.

Personally, we think MediRecords fits the bill perfectly! If you would like to find out more you can contact support@medirecords.com, book a demo, or enjoy a 30 day free trial now.

About the Author

Andrew Dyson is our Digital Marketing Lead here at MediRecords, and managed this latest survey. Prior to joining MediRecords he has worked on marketing projects, including in depth market research, for some of the largest employers in the UK.

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    Are the benefits of cloud solutions for healthcare more than we realise?

    Cloud solutions for healthcare

    The benefits of cloud solutions for healthcare: More than we realise?

    Cloud solutions for healthcare
    Michelle O'Brien

    Michelle O'Brien

    Could the shift to cloud solutions provide the healthcare industry more benefits than we previously realised?

    Cloud computing is finally changing healthcare.

    The consensus on the overall benefits of the cloud for our industry appears to have shifted, which was perhaps inevitable given the increased interoperability, maturity of security and the significant cost savings cloud services provide.

    However, I believe most organisations are barely scratching the surface when it comes to making the most of other benefits cloud solutions can offer. Some of the lesser known benefits, from small clinics right up to larger public health and enterprise organisations, include:

    • Improved health information exchange & interoperability
    • Predictable costs
    • Faster and more efficient scalability and fast system deployment
    • Improved backup and business continuity
    • Enhanced user experiences
    • More robust data security
    • Improvements in diagnosis and treatment through AI & Analytics
    • Easier compliance

    I am a firm believer that cloud-solutions will provide healthcare organisations with even more benefits than many currently realise.

    This is one of the key reasons I joined MediRecords, a leading cloud-based PMS, and why, over the next few months, I will be putting together a series of articles explaining each of the benefits listed above. Where it is relevant, I will be including examples of organisations who have achieved these benefits, and if possible, some tips on how your organisation may be able to follow these examples.

    You will be able to find these articles via the MediRecords blog, via our company LinkedIn page, and via my own LinkedIn page. Feel free to send me a connection request!

    In the meantime, if you are interested in finding out more about any of the above, you can always reach out to me directly, either via email (michelle.obrien@medirecords.com), or on LinkedIn.

    Michelle O’Brien, based in our Sydney office,  is Head of Strategy here at MediRecords.

    Michelle O'Brien

    Michelle O'Brien

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      MediRecords partner with The BlackDog Institute to provide cloud-based practice management software

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      MediRecords partner with The BlackDog Institute

      MediRecords BlackDog Institute announce partnership
      Matthew Galetto MediRecords banner

      Matthew Galleto

      MediRecords partner with The BlackDog Institute to provide cloud-based practice management software

      The team at MediRecords are delighted to announce we are now working with the world-renowned BlackDog Institute.

      BlackDog, global leaders in suicide prevention research, also provide mental health advocacy, education, and treatment across Australia. They have led awareness for the increased rates of mental illness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and MediRecords will be further supporting their work to be more secure and accessible for patients through digital innovation.

       

       

      How will MediRecords help BlackDog?

      Put simply, by greatly improving the way they share information and data.  

      The ability to exchange information between healthcare providers securely is essential in mental health treatment – there are often multiple care providers across primary, allied, hospital and community care and the patient’s treatment can extend over a lifetime.

      Improved access breaks down barriers to care. MediRecords allows patients and clinicians to connect virtually, provides clinicians with inbuilt Telehealth, and is a full practice management system for appointments, billing, online claiming, staff rostering, client management and secure messaging.

      The bottom line is BlackDog can now manage all aspects of patient care through an online, secure practice management system. Our MediRecords solution will allow BlackDog to provide improved, accessible and timely care for patients. This will create detailed, secure and useful data that improves patient outcomes and informs better service planning for the future.

       

       

      What does this mean for MediRecords?

      This partnership represents another notable success for the team here at MediRecords, following our recently announced partnership with Healthdirect and our successful rollout across Queensland Health.

      Our Founder and CEO Matthew Galetto commented “We are very excited about partnering with the Black Dog Institute, who do such important work in suicide prevention and improving outcomes for people with Mental Health issues. We are really looking forward to supporting them in achieving their strategic goal of becoming a leader in e-health through innovative models of care.”

       

      About The BlackDog Institute

      Since their foundation in 1985, The BlackDog Institute have been at the forefront of mental health research. Rapidly evolving to drive the creation of new knowledge and ensure that clinical best practice continues to be improved and refined in line with the latest evidence.

      Today, their focus has expanded to address new challenges and opportunities in mental health – suicide prevention, digital innovation, lived experience, youth and workplace mental health. Their work in mood disorders continues through the investigation of new and better ways to treat and prevent conditions like anxiety and depression through digital tools and novel treatments.

       

      About MediRecords

      MediRecords is an Australian owned provider of cloud-based electronic medical record and practice management systems. Founded in 2014, their clients range from individual GP, specialist and allied health practices to enterprise scale healthcare providers across Australia.

      For more information please get in touch.

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      Matthew Galleto

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        MediRecords Feature Updates 2020

        Population-Patient-Level-Reporting

        MediRecords Product Updates in 2020 so far...

        Population-Patient-Level-Reporting

        Take a look at what has happened so far in 2020…

        2020 has surely been a year of uncertainty, but you can be certain that MediRecords is still focused on delivering and implementing new and upgraded features. Our main objective is to continue to aid users in increasing and improving their workflows during these unprecedented times.
        Here are just a few of the highlights introduced to MediRecords in 2020 so far:

        SafeScript

        For our users in Victoria, SafeScript is a clinical tool that allows doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to access information about their patient’s prescription history for certain high-risk medicines. This information helps clinicians make safer clinical decisions and reduces the incidence of harm, including death, from the use of pharmaceuticals.

        SafeScript Screenshot

        To find out more about SafeScript click here.

        Interest Parties

        Specialists now have the added benefit of including Interested Parties to patients’ records. This is another category of Contacts that, similar to Referrers, can be sent results, observations or any other sorts of relevant correspondence from right within the letter editor by clicking the + button. These Interested Parties can also be entered in with the Patient Details, under the Referral tab as well.

        Interest Parties Screenshot

        To find out more about Interested Parties click here.

        Create a New Procedure Within the Appointment Popup

        Specialists can now create a whole Procedural run-through straight from the Appointments screen. Including an Admission form, with all facility, assistant and inpatient information; Clinical including anaesthetic, and prosthesis inputs; and an Outcome free-form. This can be accessed by clicking the + button next to Procedure after filling in your patient and appointment details.

        How to create a new procedure within the appointment popup

         

        Invoice Item View

        Users can now Filter Invoices by Item Code. This allows you to increase your visibility on any payments, paid or unpaid, per item within the invoices of a patient record. This can be found in Accounts > Invoices.

        Invoice Item View Screenshot

         

        No Pension Number Visibility

        All Users will now have the option to add No Card to a patient records’ Pension section to increase visibility for the practice to increase a streamlined workflow when billing and claiming.

        No Pension Number Visibility Screenshot

         

        Update to the Appointments Provider Filter

        The appointment provider filter has been updated to a search bar function to give you the ability to search for specific providers rather than choosing from a list. This change has been implemented to improve the response time of the site when accessing the calendar. You can still configure your Appointment preferences to set a default collection of calendars to appear upon opening. Please follow this link for more information.

        If you need any help with any of these new features, or any others, then please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly support team via email at support@medirecords.com, on 1300 103 903 or through the chat function on your MediRecords webpage.

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          MediRecords joins VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner Program

          MediRecords joins VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner Program

          MediRecords joins VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner Program

          MediRecords joins VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner Program
          Matthew Galetto MediRecords banner

          Matthew Galleto

          MediRecords joins VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner Program

          We are delighted to announce that MediRecords is now a VMware Standard Technology Alliance Partner and validated to run on VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition (TKGI).This is a fantastic achievement for our team, but many of our customers will be wondering “what does this actually mean for us?”

          Put simply, it means our software can run anywhere. Clients can implement MediRecords on-premises, in the cloud (via Google, Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Solutions), or as a hybrid-cloud solution. And of course, we will still provide clinical practice management software to thousands of clinics in Australia through our cloud-based offering.


          VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition enables clients to deploy and run their clinical practice management software as a containerized workload across private and public clouds. The flexibility of Kubernetes allows our clients to simplify the management of services and infrastructure in a highly scalable, highly available way so they can focus on running their practice.

          “Our partnership with VMware as a Technology Alliance Partner provides even greater flexibility to our customers,” said Matthew Galetto, MediRecords founder and CEO. “We have an excellent track record when it comes to enterprise-scale projects, rolling out Australia-wide solutions to thousands of users in a matter of days.”


          With VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition, larger enterprises can maintain their IT investments to deploy MediRecords on existing on-premises infrastructure or leverage the greater flexibility of running their practice management solution on a public or hybrid-cloud. MediRecords has invested heavily in the development of operational capability, infrastructure as a code, automation and testing to support businesses when implementing their practice management solution as a containerized workload.

          Our partnership with VMware will specifically benefit our enterprise and government customers with existing IT infrastructure investments that they want to deploy their MediRecords solutions on. For smaller clinics, MediRecords will continue to provide cloud-based practice management systems to thousands of users in GP, Specialist and Allied Health practices. These products offer a turnkey solution for small to medium sized practices and larger corporate groups that are growing their businesses. Customers benefit from the speed & scalability offered by a true cloud application offered as Software as a Service.


          About MediRecords

          MediRecords is an Australian owned provider of cloud-based electronic medical record and practice management systems. Founded in 2013, their clients range from individual GP, specialist and allied health practices to enterprise scale healthcare providers across Australia.

          For more information contact matthew@medirecords.com.

          VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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          Matthew Galleto

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            National Coronavirus Helpline

            Healthdirect mediRecords

            MediRecords & Healthdirect Australia delivers the National Coronavirus Helpline

            National Coronavirus Helpline
            Matthew Galetto MediRecords banner

            Matthew Galetto

            MediRecords & Healthdirect Australia delivers the National Coronavirus Helpline

             

            ·         Healthdirect Australia set up the Australian Government’s National Coronavirus Helpline.

            ·         MediRecords technology enabled the build of a bespoke call centre management solution.

            ·         New management model centralises and standardises data from multiple call centres in order to meet high caller demand.

            We are delighted to announce that MediRecords was chosen by Healthdirect Australia to provide the clinical administration system behind the National Coronavirus Helpline.

            The National Coronavirus Helpline is an integral part of the Australian Government’s response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The helpline was directed to rapidly scale-up in March 2020 to become a go-to source of truth for the public during a time of significant change and high anxiety.

            The scale-up required Healthdirect Australia to quickly add hundreds more staff to the helpline, calling on call centre providers from around the country to meet demand. To achieve this, Healthdirect Australia needed a service provider agnostic call centre management platform.

             

            A fast and scalable response

            Healthdirect Australia’s Chief Technology Officer, Grant Sayer, says, “We quickly realised that scaling up the service to meet the capacity of calls we were expecting would involve a total rebuild of the telephony and data management system.

            “Under normal circumstances building a new telehealth service would take a few months, but we really only had a few days. The new service needed to be standardised so that a panel of call centre providers could use it, have shared access to encounter records and we could leverage consistent data, and it needed to be centralised so we could manage it effectively.

            “With over a decade of experience in delivering health helplines, we had a good idea of how the new model could be set up and we knew that we needed to call on the expertise of key industry partners MediRecords, VoiceFoundry, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology to make it happen in time,” he said.

            MediRecords and Healthdirect Australia were able to move very quickly, standing up a robust and scalable telehealth service which managed clinical and general calls in just one weekend.

            The technology solution

            MediRecords technology and AWS enabled the build of the bespoke call centre management solution for the National Coronavirus Helpline. It is delivered through Amazon Connect which provides a cloud-based telephony system and contact routing.  

            MediRecords provided the clinical administration system, which we quickly set-up to fit the specifications of the helpline through a seamless integration with Amazon Connect. MediRecords acts as the database for information collected by call handlers on each call.

            The electronic health record system provided by MediRecords enables our call handlers to record up-to-date, relevant clinical encounter information from each caller. From the start, this de-identified data has been a source of valuable information to provide to the government as they continue to deal with COVID-19,” says Grant Sayer.

            Founder and CEO of MediRecords, Matthew Galetto, said, “Integrating a call telephony system with an electronic health record system configured with COVID-19 encounter response forms within a few days was only possible because of the collaborative working relationship between AWS, Voice Foundry, and MediRecords led by Healthdirect.”

            “Bringing together expert organisations enabled the service to be delivered on time to support the Australian government and the worried public during a difficult time,” Mr Sayer concluded.

            About Healthdirect Australia

            Healthdirect Australia is a national, government-owned, not-for-profit organisation delivering a range of telehealth services to provide every Australian with access to trusted health information and advice, when and where they need it.

            About MediRecords

            MediRecords is an Australian owned provider of cloud-based electronic medical record and practice management systems. Founded in 2014, their clients range from individual GP and specialist practices to enterprise scale healthcare providers across Australia.

            Available for interview:

            ·         Grant Sayer, CTO, Healthdirect Australia

            ·         Matthew Galetto, Founder and CEO, MediRecords

            Matthew Galetto MediRecords banner

            Matthew Galetto

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