Private practice processes at Gynehealth

Overview

GyneHealth is a specialist in reproductive health and part of the ‘Reproductive Health Group’. The group was formed in 2012, bringing together three of the North West’s leading gynaecological and fertility experts, offering treatments in Manchester, Chester, Nantwich and London.

GyneHealth provide a wide range of general gynaecology and assisted conception, IVF and fertility services, including specialist consultations for endometriosis, fibroids, infertility, menopause, recurrent miscarriage and cancer screening.

The need

Already incredibly busy, and operating from several different sites, GyneHealth was looking into merging its centres in the North West as well as streamlining the entire business.

Staff were frustrated with slow systems, an abundance and reliance on paper notes and lack of flexibility in invoicing and clinic diaries. Paper notes were easy to lose, posing a business risk, and information was only accessible from one site. They needed a system that was simple, reinforced their merger plans and most importantly, that supported an electronic patient record that provided upmost efficiency and saved time at critical points of patient care. It was at this point they turned to Bluespier.

The solution

Bluespier’s aim for GyneHealth was to remove the painful processes that led to inefficiency, whilst also providing a streamlined process between all the sites that reflected the merging of the North West centres.

Firstly, Bluespier provided GyneHealth with an electronic appointments system that included all of the Consultants from various sites. The Consultants and Practice Nurses were able to manage and book in their own outpatient appointments, creating a constantly up to date working diary that could be managed at all levels – particularly useful for clinical staff who are working variable hours.

Karen Arnold, Practice Fertility Nurse, said: “My working day means I am on call 24/7 for our patients, so I need to be able to regularly update notes and patient cases from home and at antisocial hours. Bluespier enables me to book and monitor my own appointments electronically, as well as add these key patient updates off site and out of hours, reducing the need for paper notes – and the extra time to scan these in manually.”

Additionally to this, patient notes can be securely accessed from any of the North West’s sites. Crucial notes from Karen can be retrieved electronically by Consultants based elsewhere; ensuring patient information available is always the most up to date and reducing delays in patient care at critical times.

With Practice Manager Barbara McKenzie and Rachel Lopes taking care of the billing and financial elements of the business for ten consultants, efficiency in invoicing processes was another key factor for Bluespier to take into account.

Barbara said: “We average 25 invoices per day, but this sometimes can exceed 35 at particularly busy times. We handle invoicing for all of the sites here, so having a streamlined system that provides us with the right information from the right clinic is imperative. The Quick Invoice function is our preferred method, and we find it a lot more flexible than our previous system.”

The staff at GyneHealth are also impressed with the clinically-focused electronic assessments customised especially for them by Bluespier. The clinical assessments save them considerable time and have been cleverly constructed to help them complete tasks effectively, demonstrating Bluespier’s understanding of both the clinical and administrative needs in their environment.

Simon Shepherd, Managing Director, summed up: “Using Bluespier has already helped us bring the sites together smoothly, creating the streamlined structure we were aiming for. The system provides a consistent approach and – despite the expected implementation pain of the first two weeks – has made an impact in the first four months.”