Damien Adler from Zanda explores what it means to run a practice when human augmented AI is an everyday undertaking. He shares tips on how to get the most out of your practice management software in the digital age.
The backstory behind Zanda’s creation continues to guide us – it’s about helping practices grow and giving time back to practice owners. This is truly what makes us tick. It influences everything we do, from the features we release to the employees who make our engine run. They are all tech people with a purpose.
Practices come to Zanda at different stages in their journey, and for over 16 years we’ve watched them grow, develop and become more efficient.
It’s gratifying to see customers get enjoyment out of what they’re doing and keep their focus on client care. As they become more familiar with our software, they’re less likely to be stuck on the treadmill of working clinical hours in the day and completing admin work in the evenings and on weekends.
Our customers deserve more time, and frankly more money than being a salaried owner, given the risk they take. Chances are, they didn’t choose this profession to be bogged down by systems and paperwork, but to help clients focus on the best versions of themselves.
That’s why I’ve compiled some tips to help any practice owner reach this goal faster, regardless of whether they’re a Zanda customer or not…yet.
My advice to any practice owner is to make sure you don’t underutilise your software and its features. Take time to review the updates and don’t assume your software doesn’t have a particular feature.
Have a look at the feature pages. We’re rolling out new features all the time, with several updates made each week – and your practice management software provider may be doing this, too. Remember to check out the feature updates in your software, including in-app updates and emails.
It’s a fine line for us at Zanda, as we don’t want to overwhelm customers with this information, given that we all experience content fatigue. That said, because we update features on a weekly basis – we want to ensure our customers always have access to these updates.
It can be easy to think that practice management software exists solely to support administrative processes. However, I encourage you to explore whether your software reduces friction points for your patients in a more meaningful way. This can be as simple as staying on top of feature updates.
It can be easy to think about practice management software as a tool to simply support admin processes. Yet I encourage practice owners to explore the entire patient journey through the software’s capabilities.
This can be as simple as helping a new patient to find your premises before their first appointment. Let’s say there’s a trick on where to park, or which end of the street to come in. If your software doesn’t automate this communication from the outset, then this simple oversight can have big implications.
The patient may arrive late and flustered, this may cause the practitioner to feel cranky or under pressure – and the opportunity to make a positive first impression has been lost. The way to help avoid all this is through automations, which extend far beyond calendar management. Explore what your software can do and then build it into your patient’s journey from the very outset.
Don’t forget to make use of any ‘health checks’ your practice management system offers. At Zanda, we offer a Zoom call to customers where we learn more about their business – what they are doing, where their pain points are, and so forth.
Our team will give 1:1 assistance to look at gaps where features could be utilised, or to even set up automations for our customers so they can copy and replicate them in other parts of their business.
Make the most of these opportunities for 1:1 support from your software provider. It can make a big difference to you and your practice.
Our whole mindset is: ‘Let us show you how we can automate your business.’ Yet everyone has different learning styles to reach this goal.
Some people want us to show them 1:1 how to implement a feature or automate their system. Others will love reading detailed, knowledge-based articles step-by-step and some want to see it visually, with simple steps. Another option is to tap into our chatbot, HelperBee, which defers to a team member if additional human guidance is required.
The fact that everyone learns differently is partly what led us to launch the Zanda Academy. It’s a dedicated learning platform with free courses. In these video courses, a person demonstrates, step-by-step, how to do something, with certificates provided to show completion of learning.
Make the most of the different ways your software provider caters to your learning style, and if this variety is not included, share that feedback.
Look at the features your software provider offers to reduce the manual steps you must take in any process. For example, our system takes your AI augmented notes and automatically transfers them into your template in the style and tone of your practice.
If your software can reduce touchpoints like this, make sure you use these features. Another example could be the way you document your policies and procedures. Your software should integrate with AI to document this information and create systems manuals for you; shaped around your own ideas.
Look at how your software can help you plan for your next consult with less manual touchpoints required from you. We offer a feature called ‘Insights’ – so if you’re about to see a patient, but you don’t have time to read all the old notes, you can click a button that produces a 30-second summary of your patient’s condition as of your last interaction. It reads the notes, looks at any diagnosis, previous session notes, and even letters you’ve written to their GP and so forth. Insights will give you a snapshot of what you need to know going into this consultation.
You can also interact with this feature. You could ask, “Was there a medication issue with this person?” Or, “Was this a motor injury that has an insurance implication?” It can also measure pain improvement over time, track patient trends over multiple administrations and more. This is not about dictating treatment; instead it is about filling in the gaps to help you do your job more efficiently.
Whichever software you have, and whatever features it offers, look at the touchpoints it can reduce for you. Remember, your practice is a system. The more automated your practice is through its software, the more you can focus on your patients.
You already know that patients increasingly want to book online. I know patients who choose their providers solely because they can book online and avoid picking up the phone to make their appointment. Make sure your practice management software not only supports this, but does so in a way that is streamlined.
Patients have an increased preference towards self-service. They don’t want to interact where they don’t have to. This same approach applies to patient payments. If someone misses an appointment and you have a no-show payment policy in place without automated payment functions, the patient now must pick up the phone to make the payment. This task is often avoided by the patient. So now you have patient disengagement, plus you’re owed money, and the patient may even feel ashamed. They may even change providers.
These days, people expect to be able to click a link, book an appointment, or discreetly pay a bill. Make sure your software provides these features in a user-friendly way.
A data-driven conversation with your team member is a very safe way to potentially have tough conversations, given you remain curious and don’t prematurely draw conclusions.
Don’t be afraid of the data that your practice management software yields. Let it spark internal conversations, especially if there are significant differences in practitioner performance. You can have neutral conversations about the data and work on a conclusion or an inference from there.
Data can also highlight the level of patient follow-up after an initial consultation to learn what percentage of patients come back for the next consult. There can be big differences between practitioners, with a significant business impact. Your software should have all this data – and much more.
Let’s say for example, that some practitioners have unusually short or unusually long lengths of treatment – either could be a flag for a conversation. The conversation may go something like this: “We’re running some reports. We noticed this. Having had a look at the clinic average, we notice this is a bit of an outlier here for you. What do you think might be happening there?”
Remember that data is a reference point. It doesn’t tell the story. For example, perhaps a practitioner is about to go on maternity leave, and the admin team are deliberately filtering lighter cases. The data might surface shorter episodes of care which is entirely justified – so the intent is to understand what’s happening.
Each data point can help fuel a future positive data point: a better environment, lower admin, better retention, and ultimately a real difference to both the practice and the patient. As long as you remain curious, data can guide your practice towards positive change.
With the same growth mindset, ensure your software enables you to run reports on referral sources. Ask your software: “How much revenue has that referral source generated?”
When it comes time to acknowledge your network at the end of the calendar year, it might be worth sending your top referrals a personal note – “Hey, appreciate the support,” without crossing any ethical boundaries. The data your software holds can help you to nurture key relationships in meaningful ways.
Many software providers will write marketing copy about their security and privacy position. It may even contain phrases like “bank-like” or “military-grade”. Yet unless accreditation certificates – from external audits – can be provided to back up these marketing claims, it may pay off to explore alternate software providers if privacy is a priority for you (and it should be).
Check what external validation exists around security and privacy in your practice management software. Simply ask your provider: Do you conduct external audits? Do you employ a data protection officer? Can I see the ISO 27001 certificate in the name of the practice management software provider – and not simply the infrastructure that surrounds it (such as Amazon which is also ISO 27001 certified)?
These questions will reveal the level of security offered by your software provider. This quick call or email may give you more peace of mind in the long run.
Finally, every software provider has its own take on where it wants to sit in the market, what it values, and where it is headed. Some providers offer a transactional system which simply manages administrative tasks, while other practice management software providers may effectively become a business support system in every sense.
Think about where you sit regarding your needs. In our world, we roll out multiple features and updates within any given week, which are transparently voted on – and even originally suggested – via practice owners on our customer forums.
This is not a transactional customer experience. We care about your business, and we want you to earn more as the practice owner given the risk you take on – and get your evenings and weekends back. We know this will make you a better clinician for your patients, and certainly a more effective practice manager.
As part of this more personal process, you will build a relationship with our fellow customers and tech people, and it will feel like Zanda is more than a transactional software provider. If this is what you are looking for, then it’s worth checking us out.
 |
A collaboration between Zanda Health and STRIDE. |
© Copyright 2021 The Australian Podiatry Association
