What is medical practice management software?

Medical practice management software covers all the administrative tasks a healthcare provider or facility requires.

Medical practice management software is designed to help healthcare provider facilities run more efficiently. It’s a IT solution that can be used for scheduling appointments, tracking appointment times, managing billing cycles and managing patient information.

Medical practice management software is an essential component of any modern medical facility, as it allows healthcare providers to stay organised and ensure high-level patient care. By consolidating all information related to patients and providers into a single platform, healthcare professionals can easily navigate important details about patients and other information.

Without this software, organising any medical practice would be labour-intensive and subject to significant human error.

Top features of medical practice management software

Medical practice management software covers patient information tracking, billing and reporting, which are all key functions of running a healthcare practice as a business.

Intuitive and effective practice management software is central to a practice’s workflow.

Here are some features to look out for and why they’re important:

Patient information tracking

The most basic and arguably most important feature for medical practice management software is the ability to maintain up-to-date information on patients, including medical history, family history, next-of-kin, medications, allergies and test results.

You can also use medical practice management software to verify the status of a patient’s medical benefits, confirming whether it is still intact and estimating co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses, and/or prior authorisations.

Most medical practice management software includes a calendar tool that allows front-office staff to schedule patients by healthcare provider and date, making it quick and easy to review patient information prior to a visit.

Practice billing

Good medical practice management software will allow you to process payments and record billing history all on one platform with built-in electronic submission (EDI) capabilities. Front-office staff can capture patient payments upfront when a patient arrives for an appointment, and back-office staff can code claims for reimbursement and submit them to payers (such as medical aid schemes), managing those that are denied or rejected. The ability to handle credit control is an important consideration.

Reports

Heathcare providers and other medical professionals need patient data to be effective at their jobs. Medical practice management software allows you to generate important reports on your patients for other healthcare personnel. This can improve patient care and ensure your practice gives patients, doctors and other providers accurate, useful information.

Similarly, medical practice management software should be able to generate financial reports that help you track the profitability of your practice as a business. These reports include information like accounts receivable (A/R), the days claims spend in A/R, and total billing versus expected reimbursements.

Medinol Practice Management Software