We caught up with busy Practice Manager, Moonisah Wentzel, about how going paperless enabled her & her multibranch Paediatric medical practice to thrive. Take a minute to find out how.  

Were you a completely paper-based practice before implementing Healthbridge? 

No, we made use of a software system however, it still required a lot of manual input & data capturing on the admin side. So although elements of our practice were run using tech, there was still a lot of paper-based work to be done. 

What would you say are the top three benefits of going paperless? 

Before Healthbridge, I would have to manually calculate & update changes in medical aid rates at the start of every year. Now, it’s done automatically. 

Submitting claims is so much easier now too. I used to have to figure out & manually add in the description to get to the right procedure codes. Now I just check the doctor’s diagnosis & add the procedure code to generate an invoice. I know the procedure codes by memory now & not having to write the description is a huge time saver. 

Lastly, my husband (the Paediatrician) & I no longer have to work weekends to generate in-rooms invoices & do the in-hospital & admissions billing. Now it’s all done in real-time, & we get paid much faster. 

What technology features are essential for you running a multibranch medical practice? 

The fact that the system is cloud-based, has made communication between myself, the doctor & our admin staff much clearer & more efficient. We can all now safely access patient & practice data without needing to be in the same location.  

Healthbridge’s system has also made workflow & processes much more transparent & traceable. We can leave notes for the staff to patient files to action changes & see whether the task has been done.  

It’s also really important to us that Healthbridge is a live system. With  real-time benefit checks we can generate invoices in minutes & collect payment immediately – meaning fewer outstanding balances at the end of the day. 

Are you 100% paperless now?  

Yes, & one of the reasons why I can work entirely digitally is the online calendar. The calendar is synced between our different branches, so we all have the same view of where the doctor is seeing patients & what appointments are set. No more trying to set & change appointments between branches using paper. 

How has going paperless impacted your practice finances? 

We’ve seen a distinct drop in rejected claims. This is because the doctor is using customised click templates to send billing instructions. I can check claims in a matter of minutes because all the heavy lifting has been done for me.

We’ve also benefited from faster payments & more consistent cash flow. I can keep a close eye on money coming in by generating an easy-to-use Daily Transactions report. Balancing the amount in the system with what’s in the books was something we struggled with in the past but not anymore.  

Having a handle on practice finances makes the prospect of growing the practice much easier & more achievable. 

Any last-minute advice for Practice Administrators? 

Choose a system that doesn’t only make things easier for you, but for your patients too. We see worried parents of sick children & the last thing they want is to be burdened with unnecessary admin. Healthbridge allows us to access up-to-date patient information & focus our attention on the patient, instead of being distracted by the system. Ultimately, choose a system that boosts your patient experience & your efficiency as a practice manager.

For more information about how Healthbridge can help you build your best practice, click here.