Thirty Years at the Front Desk

I have been a receptionist in a medical practice for thirty years. In that time I have seen appointment books go from pencil and paper to screens, and I have worked on a number of medical software and billing packages along the way. Some were clumsy, some were expensive, and some simply were not built for the way our practice actually runs. Eminance, from Health Focus, is the one I would choose every time. This is my honest account of why.

More than thirty years of experience

Health Focus first installed its software in 1988, so the company has more than thirty years of experience in practice management. It started out building systems for small and medium medical and optometry practices, which is exactly the kind of practice I work in. Today Eminance supports more than fifty practice types, and Health Focus reports a customer retention rate of over 99.5% across several decades. That matches my own experience: once a practice is on Eminance, it stays. Some newer systems I have looked at do not even say when they started.

Capture it once

My biggest frustration with other packages was capturing the same information twice: once in the diary, again for billing, and sometimes a third time for the clinical notes. In Eminance the clinical, medical and practice management sections all share one set of patient details. I capture a patient once, and the doctor, the accounts and the diary all see the same information. Claims are integrated, so there is no double capturing, and there are far fewer mistakes.

A diary patients can use too

The diary is flexible and easy to read, with multiple appointment books. Video consultations can be booked straight into it, and patients can even book online, 24 hours a day, which is a standard Eminance feature. That alone has taken pressure off my telephone.

Claims that go through

Every receptionist knows the pain of a rejected claim. Eminance applies each medical aid’s own rules and works out the patient’s portion for me. Where the medical aid allows it, I can validate a patient’s details and check benefits electronically while they are standing at my desk. The account can be generated immediately and sent electronically to both the patient and the medical aid. If a claim does come back, the feedback appears in Eminance straight away and I can correct and resubmit it without leaving the program.

Always up to date

Tariff codes, medicines and medical aid rules are updated automatically, and those updates are free for life. I no longer worry about whether we are billing on last year’s codes. Health Focus also developed one of the first electronic claims (EDI) systems in the early 1990s, so this is not something they bolted on recently. Commonly used items can even be grouped into a macro and entered with one click.

Costs that make sense

Other programs I have seen charge per claim, take a percentage of the practice’s collections, or lock useful features such as reporting and reminders behind more expensive tiers. One general accounting package I looked at could not handle medical aid claims at all and needed separate add-on apps just to run a diary. Eminance is different:

• Low start-up costs Installation costs are low and the software is licensed month to month, so there is no large upfront investment.
• Choice of switching house Eminance integrates with all the medical switching houses and the practice chooses its vendor. Health Focus points out that a difference of just R1 per claim can save more than R15 000 a year.
• Cheaper messaging SMS is built into the program, not sold as an extra, and costs roughly half the standard SMS rate.
• Free updates Updates are included and applied automatically, with several new releases each year.

Messages that save time

With one click I can send an SMS without leaving Eminance. I can let patients know the doctor is running late, send appointment reminders and recalls, or send a polite reminder to everyone whose account is over 60 days. Patient details are merged into each message, I can choose English or Afrikaans, and each message can be logged in the patient’s notes. Recalls can also go out by post or email. Fewer no-shows and fewer late payments make my days calmer and the practice healthier.

Letters and credit control

I can write letters to patients and third parties inside Eminance, and the credit control system gives me track and trace, admin notes and follow-up notes on every account.

Your data, your choice

Some packages only run in a browser on someone else’s servers. Eminance gives the practice a choice: a complete desktop solution on our own local network, or secure cloud access from anywhere with an internet connection. Either way, the practice keeps control of its own data, and Eminance is POPIA-ready. The doctor can read treatment notes remotely without compromising security, and real-time reports show exactly what is happening in the practice.

Support that answers

The true test of any software is what happens when something goes wrong. With Health Focus, almost every problem is sorted out within a few minutes by phone or through remote support, and they only connect to my computer with my permission each time. There is a nationwide call centre, a network of dealers, on-site training and industry-recognised certification, as well as regular workshops. Many improvements come from users’ own suggestions, so I feel listened to.

My honest verdict

After thirty years and many different systems, I can honestly say that Eminance makes my job easier. It is efficient, it is friendly to use, and it was clearly designed by people who understand our practice from the front desk to the consulting room. One user is quoted on the Health Focus website saying the program has made their rooms more efficient, and I could not agree more. If a colleague asked me which system to choose, my answer would be simple: Eminance by Health Focus.