The first thing you’ll notice is that the site presents us in a completely new light. Our new image and branding are a decisive break with the past and reflect our ambition to help the private healthcare sector find a better way to work.       

But the changes are much more than cosmetic. They mark a shift in the way we engage with and support you all. We’ve got many features which we’re sure will make the experience better for everyone, including:

• A clear design so you can quickly navigate to the right page

We’ve re-organised the site so you can find information at your fingertips. In just a couple of clicks, easily discover relevant solutions to help your business thrive.

• Better help and support

We’ve put all the information you need in one place so it’s quick and easy to get the most from our products and services. With multi-channel support on the way, we’re giving you even more options for getting in touch.

• Jargon-free content

We’ve gone back to basics. All the information on the site is clear and easy to read.

We’re very proud of the new website but we’re not resting on our laurels. We’ll be adding more features and content to support you and to reflect the improvements we’re making as part of our Transformation Programme. Watch this space.  

We also want to ensure this is a valuable resource for you. So even if you only visit www.healthcode.co.uk to log in, we hope you’ll spend some time exploring. Let us know what you think by emailing marketing@healthcode.co.uk.

The post A new era for Healthcode appeared first on Healthcode.

By the time of our twentieth birthday in 2020, we were known for a range of innovative products and services – like The PPR (The Private Practice Register), ePractice, secure file sharing and shortfall collections – that could streamline admin processes, seamlessly connect organisations and provide access to accurate data for informed decision-making.

We’ve always believed that our online technology has the potential to transform the private healthcare sector. However, we also know that Healthcode itself has to change in order to achieve this ambition.

Following a strategic review of the business, we’ve embarked on an ambitious Transformation Programme to ensure that modern business systems and processes are in place to operate efficiently on a bigger scale and be more accessible to our customers.

The bold programme covers five areas of our business:

• Clearing systems – We’re ensuring our core services are secure, reliable and easily accessible from multiple user interfaces.
• Customer operations – We’re both expanding our service capacity as well as giving you more control over your Healthcode account and multi-channel support so you can contact us in the way and time that suits you best.
• Technical infrastructure – We’ve migrated to a gold standard IT infrastructure which is better able to support our technology in terms of reliability, scalability and security; and we’re changing our approach to product development so we can be faster, more responsive and customer-focused.
• Information governance – We’ve adopted a security-by-design approach to everything we do to ensure we maintain the highest data security standards.
• Central functions – We’re strengthening our teams across the business, ensuring they have the skills, resources and leadership to take Healthcode to the next level.

As a customer, we hope you’ve noticed some of the ‘early wins’ we’ve already introduced, such as the expansion of our Customer Service team, the new password reset facility and the Healthcode Academy which provides free 1-2-1 online training to help you get the most from ePractice and The PPR.

We’re also working on a number of other projects, including a more user-friendly way to log in and access your Healthcode products and services from one place and a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to make it easier for you to contact us.

Healthcode has always occupied a unique place at the heart of the sector and our mission is to see it prosper. The scope of this Transformation Programme reflects our commitment to supporting your business and working together to shape the future of private healthcare.

If you have any questions about the Transformation Programme, contact Nicola Kingsmill, Transformation Programme Director.

The post How we’re transforming Healthcode appeared first on Healthcode.

Healthcode’s reply: Our Secure Messaging service enables you to send sensitive health and financial information to contacts in our Global Directory of over 2,500 contacts. Using the same encryption to online banking standards, you can be confident that you are meeting your data protection obligations.

Secure Messaging is available to ePractice Lite and Pro users and in our Financial Management Solution for VEDA users. You can set up your own personal list of contacts from those available, manage your message settings and download document templates for making standard requests from insurers and hospitals.

Quick guide to sending a secure message

• Access the Secure Messaging system via the Messaging tab.
• Click the Compose Message tab.
• Start typing the name in the ‘To’ field to show suggested matches and select recipient from this list.
• You can also search for a contact on the Global Directory by clicking the ‘To’ button to display the select recipient window and enter their name in the search for field. Select one or more recipients from the list of possible recipients, including name, job title, department and organisation.
• Type your message – you have a maximum 2,000 characters – and add up to three attachments of up to 1MB. You can increase this limit by contacting Customer Services on custserv@healthcode.co.uk.
• Click send.
• Use the Manage Settings button to set up automatic notifications to the email address of your choice when you receive a new Secure Message.
• You can use the Insurer Quick Reference for an instant view of Insurer mailboxes.

Discover More

To find out more about the Secure Messaging features in ePractice or VEDA contact our Business Development team.

The post Have you tried… using Secure Messaging? appeared first on Healthcode.

With a record number of patients now on the waiting list for NHS hospital treatment, it is probable that people who might not have previously contemplated going private will think again. Laing Buisson’s recent report into the UK Self-Pay market found evidence of heightened interest in private treatment across the country.

At the same time, the private sector cannot simply expect patients to come to them. As Laing Buisson put it: “practitioners need a compelling and attractive reason for patients to choose them and – more importantly – speak positively about their experience to friends and family.

Technology has a key role to play here, offer a high-quality level of service that will impress new patients and attract word of mouth recommendations. Here are five ways that Healthcode’s technology can help you exceed patients’ expectations:

1. Efficient appointment booking

Using the appointment functionality within ePractice, you can provide a professional and responsive service when someone calls to make an appointment.

Receptionists can instantly see which practitioners are active on a specific day across all treatment sites, as well as available slots. This means they can reserve a suitable appointment there and then, rather than having to check and call the patient back. If nothing is available at the patient’s preferred time, they can be added to a waiting list and there will be an automatic alert if the slot becomes free. Once an appointment is made, the system can generate confirmation letters, emails or texts with all the information that patients need. And when a patient presents for their appointment, their status on the system can be updated to ‘arrived’ so the practitioner is aware.

2. Choice and convenience

Other people would rather use an online booking site to research private health services and book an appointment. But until recently, central appointment booking has not been possible because there was no way to synchronise the mass of data – providers, services, practitioners and appointment slots – and the many different booking systems.

Healthcode’s online appointment booking solution, ICE, is the hidden engine room which powers the appointment booking process by enabling diverse service providers to connect and exchange information in real time. Practitioners and other providers will be able to publish their services and synchronise availability with multiple booking websites.

ICE will make private healthcare more accessible, increasing its appeal. For the first time, it will be possible to use a single booking application to search multiple healthcare organisations, using different criteria and filters to find the service that meets patients’ needs and then make an appointment at a convenient time and location.

3. Reassurance about private medical insurance

While self-pay market is growing, the majority of patients will still have private medical cover although not all will have their membership details to hand when they contact your practice.

Healthcode’s insurer membership look-up feature enables you to put patients’ minds at rest that they have valid insurance cover by matching their details against participating insurers’ databases. This simple and secure online check eliminates the need for multiple telephone calls and also ensures your practice has the correct details on its own system from the outset.

4. Ensuring continuity of care

Whether you are ordering diagnostic services, arranging for a patient to be admitted for surgery or discussing their case in a multi-disciplinary team meeting, it is essential that you provide relevant information in a timely and secure way.

Regular email is inherently insecure and should never be used to send identifiable patient information. By contrast, Healthcode’s secure messaging and file sharing services (healthDrive) are encrypted, enabling you to share sensitive information with individuals or specifically created contact groups on our global directory of practitioners, private hospitals and PMIs, without compromising patient privacy. This enables you to co-ordinate patient treatment effectively and ensure continuity of care when patients transfer to other healthcare settings.

5. Efficient invoicing

The rise in self-funded healthcare means practices need to consider how best to collect payment from patients, while patients themselves expect to be invoiced promptly and have a stress-free way to pay.

In partnership with the patientzone online payment platform, Healthcode offer a secure online patient electronic invoicing and payment service for you to charge for self-funded care and PMI shortfalls. Once signed-up with the patientzone service, you can create patient invoices in ePractice and send them through to patientzone. Patientzone then notifies patients by email or text that they have received an invoice which they can access and pay securely online. Within thirty minutes, their payment is automatically reconciled (in ePractice plans with payment recording) and you also receive notification of payment by email or text.

This online patient invoicing solution meets your data protection obligations and is more efficient than sending a paper invoice in the post. It is a more cost-effective way to implement online payment as there’s no need to arrange merchant accounts or pay credit card processing fees. Most importantly from a patient perspective, the process is seamless, secure and convenient and they have the reassurance of payment confirmation so they can focus on their recovery.

Want to know more?

Find out how our ePractice technology can help improve patient experience by contacting our Business Development team.

If you’ve already got ePractice but don’t know it’s full potential sign up for our free ePractice training modules with the Healthcode Academy’s team of Service Delivery Associates. They’ll guide you using your own data to make the training as relevant as possible.

The post How technology can help you exceed patients’ expectations appeared first on Healthcode.