If you have ever considered moving practice management providers one question you may have asked is ‘What should I consider? With so many practice management providers in the market, where should I look to find a system right for me?’
You can spend a long-time Googling different key words and sentences like ‘Best PPM system’ or ‘Best Private Practice Management System UK’ is another, but if companies pay Google to have their company listed higher on their search engine, then you could be hoodwinked into investing time and energy looking at the wrong options based on a good Marketing budget.
Independent review sites for PPM systems exist to help. Just like TripAdvisor for holidays or Trust a Trader for DIY, Capterra is one such site for PPM systems. They list multiple options in one place for you to search using specific criteria. Filter options by features, Ebilling, Patient Portal PPM or even filter to ensure options displayed are Cloud based for example.
One tip though, when using Capterra is it does recognised worldwide software’s so when searching for PPM systems, use the UK button at the top of the page, so your search shows those listed have a base in the UK, follow the GDPR protocols for the UK and if they offer Support, by way of telephone or email, ensure you are likely to get that help during your working hours. www.capterra.co.uk
Word of mouth! The best recommendation is from your fellow colleagues. If they are in the similar field of expertise as you and use a good PPM, then it’s likely, the PPM they use will work for you. This could really help narrow down your search making it 90% likely to work in your favour. That last 10% is down to your specific requirements which may not be widely used or needed by others.
Assuming you now have a few options narrowed down, what’s next?
Check the all-important functionality offering! The software must have the tools you and your team need. Most, if not all providers offer details of the different tools and functions available and list them on their website. If you use eBilling with Healthcode for example, you can check that your new provider works with them.
Do your patients and clients book appointments through your website? If so, check your new provider offers a Patient Portal, so your business doesn’t lose the potential income gained through an online 24/7 booking function and so on.
What about support for questions? Are you and your team likely to be needing help on a day-to-day basis?
If you know your new provider offers support via telephone and email during office hours, then your team will already be less concerned about moving and having to learn a new system, as the help will be there for them.
Knowing they can pick up the phone to ask a quick question, really will help during those first few weeks of using a new system.
Remember that its always good to establish what service level agreements (SLA) are in place for when you need help or what training is offered. Does this training come in a paper document or is it online or face-to-face, are there any hidden costs?
Next, how will your new provider handle the import of your data? Most, providers dedicate a page of FAQ regarding moving your clinical data from one provider to theirs and this will answer many questions relating to experience and timeframes.
However, in my experience issues and frustrations occur when lack of planning and realistic timeframes are not always identified. I cover this a little further below.
If you have narrowed down your search to one or two PPMs, you have checked that their functionality ticks your requirements and you know they have the experience in migrations, then contact your potential new provider and request a demonstration and trial of the system.
Both allow you to see the inner workings of the system, allow for dialog to open between you and the company and finally, the opportunity to play with the system once you have a secure login.
Its at this point that the trialing option should be open to more of those likely to be using the system after you migrate. I am sure my fellow providers will agree and nod along with me when I say… All PPM systems are different. Written in different code using different languages.
When you migrate to a new provider, the structure in which you have worked previously will be different. You and your team will need to adjust to a new system and a new way of working. You will need to give yourself time adjust to different terminologies that will be used to describe functions.
Take advantage of any trial offer you have with a new potential PPM system and include key members of your team as well, so they start to understand or ask questions.
If only the decision maker trials the new software, there is a potential for discontentment or mistakes further down the line within a larger team. Take the opportunity to gather genuine questions and feedback from your entire team on the new system, prior to deciding so the move will be met with team-wide confidence and not concern.
The trial went well and I’m ready to move, what are the next steps to consider?
First and foremost, what does your current contract state regarding leaving?
I can’t stress this enough with all Clinicians to check the termination clause in your PPM contracts!
I have spoken to many clients over the years who have asked for advice when trying to move away from a provider to come to MidexPRO. They have been completely frustrated at the costs quoted to leave their current provider and take their data to us.
One provider in particular works with an annual contract, meaning if you wish to leave some way through that year, your contract allows them to charge you the rest of the outstanding year to take your own data.
It’s not nice and can have a big impact to your business plans. The cost to move may be cost-prohibitive and stop any plans to move forcing you stay under duress, or you take on the export fee to leave during your contract which could cost you thousands. Neither is an ideal situation.
If you have a monthly rolling contract, brilliant. You can give notice with your current provider by emailing and officially asking to take your data set to a new provider. When you are at this point, add the following points to your official notice email.
- Request that your current provider supply your data in a machine-readable format. The most common format is CSV.
- Request the date that your data will be transferred and share this with your new provider. At this point, its wise to have both parties on the same email chain so that the technical aspect can be conveyed between both providers.
- Clarify the cost for the transfer? There is some technical work to be carried out with your provider to enable a transfer of the data and there is normally a charge anywhere between £400 and £600+VAT in most cases which covers off the formatting of data ready to be securely transferred. Unless, as mentioned above, you are locked into an annual contract where the costs could run into thousands.
Once a date has been agreed on both sides, work towards a downtime when the transfer will happen. This is where I pick back up the point made above on setting realistic timeframes.
Both parties need to agree when their teams can do:
- a) Export of your data to your new provider.
- b) Import the data into a new Account.
Downtime will likely be a full day depending on the size of data. Your new provider will be able to help with this timeframe.
Once the migration starts, using your old provider system must not happen. If you do, you risk any new updates made by your team, being missed by your new provider rendering your data incomplete.
To avoid impact to your business whilst the import takes place, you may decide to download diaries to work on for that day or download other relevant information onto your PC ready to re-upload once your new system is ready if necessary.
It is imperative that you ensure all GDPR obligations are followed here to avoid any data being accidentally seen.
Your new provider will have outlined how training on your new system will be provided and point you to any User Guides available to you.
At MidexPRO, we provide you and your colleagues with a dedicated plan for training for your entire team.
On day one of using MidexPRO, we offer a 20-minute walkthrough on the particular part of the system to get you up and running, plus individual secure logins to ensure that each of you has an individual access to your new PPM.
Furthermore, intensive training can take place that week or as and when it’s required.
With all new things, the more you use it the easier it gets! Practice makes perfect so allow for this.
Also remember the terminology bit mentioned above… all PPM systems will display functions differently and will have different terminology to explain actions. It’s always wise to factor this knowledge, especially in the first few weeks.
In summary, moving providers isn’t a quick task.
It takes a little time to investigate but if you do the checks mentioned above and involve the right people, you will reduce the impact and be up and running with your new Practice Management software before you know it!
My final bit of advice is mentioned above: Always ask any providers you speak to, what their exit terms are if you ever decide to leave.
This question is often missed in early conversations after all, why would you ask about leaving when you haven’t even started using the new system?
If you find out you are likely to be moving to an annual contract though, it might sway your decision to take your data and move.
Knowing the implications of leaving will give you peace of mind and help you to understand the type of company you’re dealing with.
FYI – MidexPRO works on a rolling month. You give notice on one date of your monthly Direct Debit, and we charge for one month.
I hope this blog has helped outline several key points to consider when changing providers but if I can be of any further help, I am happy to.
You can contact me via email caroline@midexpro.com or call the MidexPRO Support team on 0330 999 3399 and ask to speak to me.
I look forward to hearing from you.