Admin, Author at Clinic Appointments

Card Payments – A Way Of Life

Contactless, online, over the counter; no matter how we use them it is clear that credit and debit cards have become part of our way of life. So much so that according to the UK Cards Association, in April 2016 the number of debit cards in circulation topped one hundred million for the first time.

Add in the fifty-nine million credit cards also in use in the UK and it is hardly surprising that we are seeing a rise in comments about the approach of a cashless society. This move has been hastened by the advent of contactless cards which in April 2016 alone accounted for 188 million transactions, equating to £1.58 billion.

With contactless cards being used for smaller transactions, that still represents only a fraction of the £53 billion which was spent on cards in April; although in terms of number of transactions, contactless payments accounted for 16% of the overall total. With record numbers of cards in issue and spending patterns moving firmly towards card payments, perhaps it is fitting that June 2016 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the inception of the credit card.

Major benefits of credit and debit cards as a means of payment include convenience, speed of payment and wide acceptance. But they are not the only method of payment to have undergone a revolution. The rise in online and ‘on your phone’ banking allied to payment portals such as PayPal has meant that even when cards are not used, online payments can still be made in a quick and efficient manner.

With all this convenience and speed, perhaps what is surprising is that the humble cheque is still clinging on as a method of payment. Why would a business issue an invoice, post it out, wait for the cheque to be returned by the customer and then wait for several days while it is banked and cleared when an online or debit card payment can be made in seconds? It just doesn’t make sense, particularly with the speed at which banks are closing branches, leaving businesses the choice of entrusting their banking to the post or driving what could be a substantial distance to the nearest bank branch.

Go back a decade or two and the claim could reasonably be made that, particularly when dealing with elderly customers, there was still a level of mistrust of card payments and therefore the cheque was seen as a familiar and secure alternative. That is far from the case today with cheque books, if they are in existence at all, languishing in a drawer and cards being mostly carried in pockets, purses and wallets.

This gives businesses a tremendous opportunity to cut down on administration and speed up the receipt of payments. For example, health practices such as physiotherapists and osteopaths by their very nature need to maximise patient contact time and minimise the time spent on unnecessary paperwork. Taking payments by card before the patient has left the practice at the end of their treatment not only saves time but also keep the cash flow current.

More importantly, health practices aren’t simply confined to collecting payments at time of the appointment. Taking credit or debit card details at the time of booking not only brings payment surety, should patients fail to turn up their appointment a ‘no-show fee’ can be taken in accordance with publicised terms and conditions. Interestingly, the simple act of taking payment details up front helps to concentrate the appointment in the patient’s mind, and therefore reduces the risk of missed appointments.

We may not all be fans of technology but it is hard to ignore the technological breakthroughs which bring convenience and certainty in areas such as card payments. As the Head of Policy at the UK Cards Association, Richard Koch, commented “Since they were first launched in the UK in June 1987, debit cards have become a prime feature in the nation’s wallets.”

Planning The Working Day

In our earlier article ‘Mobile data – changing lives’ we commented about the global sleep crisis and the way in which our sleeping patterns are changing in response to societal pressure. Now another study has raised some interesting insights into the effect which getting up early may have on our lives.

Commissioned by Hillarys Blinds, the survey examined whether work patterns and outcomes were different for those who got up before and after 7am. Interestingly, the research revealed that average salaries for the 37% of respondents who got up before 7am amounted to £36,500 whilst average salaries for those arising later came in at £21,300. Early risers were also likely to have had more jobs than those getting up later; eleven for early risers against five for late risers.

On the negative side, when asked what they did first thing in morning, those getting up before 7am are most likely to turn their attention first to work tasks. What is not clear from the study is whether this means that getting up early in order to work results in obtaining a higher salary, or whether higher salaries naturally come with the downside of a higher workload.

Either way, unless the early start also comes with an early finish, those putting in excess hours at the beginning of the day simply in order to stay ahead would do well to reappraise their working practices. For those in health practices who need to stay mentally sharp in order to best help their patients, cutting down on excess working hours is not only recommended but a necessity. And there are plenty of options available to those who want to work smarter rather than harder.

Let’s start with client appointments. Admittedly you are unlikely to be returning client calls at seven in the morning but are you stuck doing early paperwork because so much of your free time during the day is taken up with appointment calls? Simply by offering an online booking service or switching calls to a virtual assistant service can mean that your diary is taken care of whilst you take care of your patients.

And what about patient notes; do you really have to spend all that time in filing notes from the previous day and in searching out patient details for today’s set of appointments? By moving to an electronic filing system your patient notes are there at the touch of a button; adding precious time to your day and clearing paperwork out of your office at the same time.

Of course, with cash flow being the lifeblood of any business you could be getting up early in order to raise and send out invoices for the previous day’s appointments. Or, you could adopt an electronic card payment system which takes payment details at the time of booking and automatically collects payment once the appointment is over. The other advantage of this service is that it enables you to take a fee even in the event of no-shows, making your time more productive. And if you want to cut down further on no-shows then sending out appointment reminders by SMS text linked to your booking service is a good way of helping to ensure that patients either attend or cancel in good time, thereby enabling you to rebook the appointment slot.

Even if you are a natural early riser there are much better ways to be spending the early hours of the morning, other than work. Get some exercise, listen to or play some music, take photographs of the dawn…; in other words spend your time getting yourself mentally and physically fit for the day. You will benefit, your patients will benefit and in the long run your business will benefit too.

Clinic Appointments Chosen As COPA16 Finalist!

As you probably already know, we are attending the COPA Practice Growth show later this month (June 15/16). #COPA16

We were already looking forward to being there, but now we’re extra-enthusiastic as we have been nominated as a finalist for the COPA Business Service of the Year!

COPA 16 Finalist

COPA is free to attend (just register online here), so why not come down and meet us? You can find us on stand 724, so if you have any questions about diary management, call answering or any of our other services please do visit so we can answer them for you.

The COPA show also features 80 seminars, workshops, live demos, assorted experts and live debates and more, so it’s well worth your time coming down to discover new ways to grow your business.

Hopefully see you there later this month!

Mobile Data – Changing Lives

If you are ever in any doubt about the way in which the internet has the power to transform lives, then just take a look at the way in which apps are being used to provide big data approaches to solving health problems. Two such have hit the headlines in recent weeks, both collecting global data to aid in research.

The first, mobile game Sea Hero Quest, has been developed by dementia researchers in a bid to unlock the secrets of the early stages of dementia. The ability to navigate 3-D environments is often one of the first to be affected by dementia. The Sea Hero Quest game is designed not only to provide a useful benchmark but also to help to understand the way in which spatial awareness varies between people; thereby providing the groundwork for the development of a quick and easy early warning test for dementia.

Researchers say that the largest spatial navigation study to date comprised fewer than 600 volunteers and that the time taken in testing has in the past hampered the gathering of quantities of meaningful data. Dr Hugo Spires from UCL, one of the lead researchers in the project, told the BBC that “In my research team, I could only test about 200 people a year, and that’s working hard. But last night I tested 200 people in one minute with this game.”

The second app to hit the headlines was released in 2014. Originally designed as a way of helping people to overcome jetlag, the app also allowed users to update details of their sleeping patterns. This has enabled researchers to draw up a global picture of sleeping habits across gender, age and country.

With disrupted sleep having been identified as a contributor to a range of illnesses including type II diabetes and heart problems, understanding the interaction between our body clocks and sleep patterns is an important tool for researchers. For example, analysis of the data has already shown that those who spent the most time in natural sunlight tend to go to bed earlier.

Although it will be some time before a complete analysis of the data has been undertaken Cambridge University’s Dr Akhilesh Reddy said that app studies into sleep are “finding interesting correlations across the world we’ve never been able to do by putting people in sleep lab.” This is particularly important in view of the ‘global sleep crisis’ which is affecting all those who are pushing their body clocks to one side in response to societal pressure.

Helping ourselves

One of the beauties of collecting data via apps and mobile games is that it is tapping into activities which people are already undertaking. If we take a five minute break to play a game, then why not make it Sea Hero Quest; if we are looking for ways to overcome jetlag, then why not choose a research app rather than an internet search? While researchers are gathering and interpreting data, we can take well-being into our own hands by using online interactions to reduce the pressure on our own lives.

Do we really have to sit down at the end of a busy day and plough through all those phone messages from people wanting appointments? Is it really necessary for us to spend precious free time working on the accounts, sending out invoices from today’s patients and hoping that cheques arrive in time to bank them before the bills role in? And why do we have to spend hours preparing for tomorrow’s list, searching through the filing cabinets for patient data which we then have to file all over again the following night?

In fact is it any wonder that there is a global sleep crisis when work-life balance means that work pushes back way beyond the end of the normal working day? The good news is that online answers are available. We can offer online booking, we can transfer calls to a virtual assistant service, we can take payments electronically and we can electronically file patient records; all of which will free up ‘me time’ and help us to prepare for a decent night’s sleep.

The information which is being collected through mobile apps and games will help researchers in time to develop new understandings and new approaches and new treatments. We can all play our part by helping in research but we can also play our part by using the internet and technology solutions to look after ourselves.

Clinic Appointments On The Road In 2016

With the clinics we service spread throughout the UK, most of our customer contact is via phone or email. But this year we are getting out and about attending several exhibitions to meet with both existing and prospective clients.

Aesthetic Medicine Live 2016

In February Heather, Rachel and Nicola were at the Aesthetic Medicine Live show at Olympia London meeting practitioners working in this niche market. A busy and successful weekend for us on the stand.

Aesthetic Medicine Live 2016 - 2 — Rachel and Nicola

COPA Practice Growth 2016

On 15th and 16th June we’ll be attending COPA Practice Growth 2016 at ExCeL in London.

If you’re a chiropractor, osteopath or physio, you may already know about this event and be planning to visit. If you are attending, please do come and find us to say hello (we’re on stand 724). You can click on the banner below to request free tickets to the show if you haven’t already booked them.

We will be on hand to give prospective clients live demonstrations of our diary management systems and explain how our call answering/virtual receptionist service operates. We can also show existing clinic practitioners our full range of patient records, online booking and secure card processing services that you may be thinking about adding to your clinic. There are several new and improved features that you may not yet be fully aware of.

We’ll be pleased to answer any questions you may have and offer advice on how you can best integrate our services into your business to help you develop your practice.

Later in 2016

We will be attending at least one other show during 2016, and more in 2017, giving us plenty of opportunities to meet you – full details will appear here once confirmed.

Occupational Health – Planning The Future

“Good work is good for health, good for business and good for national prosperity.”

This by-line from a report by the Council for Work and Health perfectly sums up why occupational health needs to become an integrated part of health provision in the UK. The report was drawn up in response to demographic changes allied with the need for employers to improve productivity and efficiency levels. With that in mind, the report’s authors aimed not only to create a vision for occupational health practice but also to identify the level of healthcare training required to deliver the vision into practice.

The Council for Work and Health aims to provide a coordinated voice for all of the professionals who work in the occupational health field. Formed in 2008 its projects include the provision of advice and guidance for employers as well as training for occupational health practitioners and allied health professionals.

This latest report entitled ‘Planning the future: Implications for occupational health; delivery and training’ came up with six key recommendations which were aimed at ensuring that occupational health not only meets the needs of the working population but also provides an early intervention mechanism. These recommendations are:

to integrate occupational health into mainstream healthcare provision in order to provide a greater level of holistic patient care
the creation of government incentives to encourage investment in healthy workplaces, perhaps by removing the tax liability for occupational health and well-being interventions
to boost the visibility of occupational health within the workplace by providing employers with access to relevant professional help and by promoting the return on investment in occupational health
to develop competency frameworks within a multiagency approach in order to boost the skill levels of those working within the operational health field
to develop models both to facilitate workplace health planning and to predict the match between requirement and supply
to attract and train professionals to meet expected needs

In recent years businesses have moved away from seeing their employees as necessary costs, nowadays recognising their people as the most valuable asset which a business can have. In tandem with this, occupational health is increasingly being seen as a valuable aid to employee well-being.

Whilst some businesses may employ dedicated occupational health teams, the opportunity exists for health practitioners such as physiotherapists and osteopaths to have more flexible arrangements with business. This may include the provision of general advice, being called in on an as needed basis or providing ongoing support to members of the team who have particular health needs.

Other health professionals such as counsellors may also be called on an as required basis. For example, those drawing up business continuity, or risk management, plans are increasingly taking account of the effects of disasters on their employees’ mental well-being. Providing access to counselling can make a measurable difference in helping employees to return to ‘work as usual’ following an event.

We live in a time in which NHS resources are stretched. In business too, low productivity levels are causing concern leading to a constant demand to do more with the resources which we have. In addition, the rise in retirement age is increasingly going to require businesses to work with their employees in order to help people to continue to carry out their duties as they move towards later retirement. All these factors and more place an increasing focus on the role of occupational health professionals. As Professor John Harrison said “It could be argued that there has never been a more important time for occupational health as a key contributor to the health and wellbeing of working age people.”

Fit For Later Life?

If you were to believe even half the headlines, preparing for later life is a full time occupation. On reading ‘the story behind the news’ the recent headline linking regular tooth-brushing with a reduction in dementia may not be as promising as first appears; but given that good dental hygiene has already been linked with heart health that is definitely one practice on the preparation list.

You can take your pick on tea, coffee and red wine with enough surveys around to prove that your drink of choice is everything from beneficial to detrimental to later life health. And when it comes to eating, the list of super foods is ever-changing with grapes now having been added to the list thanks to a recent study apparently showing that they are rich in antioxidants and therefore good for eyesight.

However, whilst the jury is out on some practices there are others which are less ambiguous. Smoking, obesity, lack of exercise; all are widely viewed as detrimental to having a healthy later life. But what about stress and inadequate sleep patterns; over a period of time these too can have a detrimental effect on long-term health.

Sadly, whilst life expectancy is ever-increasing many of us are not able to enjoy later life thanks to ill-health. In fact, according to Public health England, 15 million of us are living with a long-term health condition and 40% of all deaths in England are ascribed to preventable conditions such as the effects of obesity or smoking. In a bid to address this, Public Health England has launched a campaign which aims to encourage people to take control of their health; thereby incurring significant benefits not only now but also in later life.

According to Public Health England, living healthily in middle age can double someone’s chances of being healthy when they reached 70. Their campaign “One You” not only aims to provide a wealth of generalised advice; it also enables people to prepare a more personalised health plan, starting with a One You Quiz.

A quick trawl across the campaign website gives the overwhelming impression that improving health and well-being is less of a full-time campaign and more the adoption of a series of small steps which cumulatively can make a measurable difference. The idea of ditching sugary snacks in favour of a fruit bun may not be a drastic diet step, but the ‘10 surprising 100 calorie’ snacks on a linked page are very tempting. Similarly, those who feel the need to take up exercise but don’t know where to start may find the ‘couch to 5K’ app is a good place to start.

Of course, there are some conditions which may require professional intervention. The best planned health and fitness routine can go out the window when injury occurs. This is when an early intervention by health professionals such as physiotherapists or osteopaths can make all the difference. Nothing is more disheartening than an enforced pause to a fitness program and therefore the quicker that some mobility at least is gained, the less tempting it will be to let the program collapse entirely or to gorge on sugary snacks while waiting for the body to heal.

Having said that, it has to be acknowledged that many health professionals’ diaries are already over full. The demands of providing cost-effective treatment ongoing basis for an ageing population can take their toll. This is where health professionals can perhaps take a leaf out of the PHE book. Making drastic changes to health practice may not be cost-effective or feasible but taking a series of small steps can lead to a cumulative benefit. Practices such as offering an online appointment system, switching telephones to a virtual assistant service and taking payments by card can all help to save administration time.

In fact, anything which helps to cut down on administration time and increase patient treatment time not only benefits patients but also the health professionals themselves. This in turn can lead to a reduction in ongoing stress, something which Public Health England says could eventually take a toll on later life health. In fact, it’s a win-win situation. Perhaps we should all take a look at what small changes we can make in our daily business and personal lives in order to reduce stress and live healthier as we get fit for later life.

Avoiding Après Ski Physiotherapy

Christmas is well and truly over; but with summer still a far away promise it could be time to pack the bags and swap the damp coldness of the UK for the crisp clear coldness of a ski resort. We are now well and truly into the ski season with plenty of snow around to delight the skiing senses.

However, whilst most will return unscathed from their assaults on the mountain trails sadly some will return rather more bandaged up than when they left. There have been reports that overenthusiastic indulgence in après ski is partly to blame but French ski resort physiotherapists are pointing the finger in an entirely different direction.

According to a report on the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy website, skiers just aren’t getting fit enough before they hit the slopes. The report quotes Val D’Isere physiotherapist Louise Allison who highlighted the way in which differing ski conditions can cause a range of injuries. So, for example, hard-packed icy snow can lead to back injuries whilst deep snow is more likely to lead to knee ligament problems.

The essential message from the report though is that if people take the time before they go on holiday to really get themselves fit then their chances of injury are lessened. And we’re not talking here about the odd hour in the gym; people should be looking to carry out a combination of strength, endurance and overall fitness training in order to prepare themselves for the intense level of exercise at altitude which skiing requires.

It’s a lesson which doesn’t just apply to ski fitness. The more we look forward and plan to avoid problems, the fitter we can be in the long run. This applies in business as much as it does in our private lives. As we’ve been quoting from a physiotherapy website, let’s take a physiotherapy practice as an example.

In common with other types of health practice, there is a constant demand for physiotherapy time. However, there are certain times of year, such as in the winter when demand increases further. It’s not just the snow; slippery pavements and poor driving conditions can also lead to a whole variety of calls for physiotherapy help. But by planning and preparing, in effect increasing the fitness of the practice, it is possible to ensure that patient treatment times are maximised whilst admin is kept to a manageable minimum.

That doesn’t mean that procedures are skimped, rather the practice has become more efficient. Take the maintenance of patient records for example. Having large filing cabinets stuffed with patient notes may look impressive but it is hardly conducive to efficient working. It’s all too easy to miss file records, not to mention the fact that when a patient moves between treatment centres there is a delay while records are also transferred. Electronically filing patient records means that not only are they instantly accessible from any designated point (subject to secure access), the chances of misfiling are lessened.

Or how about payment management? When patients pay for their treatment it is all too easy to become bogged down in the appointment, issue invoice, chase invoice, receive check, pay into bank rigmarole. All this takes time, something which health practices rarely have in abundance. The solution is to take card payment details at the time of the booking and then confirm the payment as soon as the appointment has taken place. This is quick, simple and saves considerable administration time.

In a 24/7 always on world it is too tempting to simply react to the moment, to take each challenge as it arrives. Planning and preparation can make a measurable difference to the outcome whether we are off skiing or faced with treating the injuries of those who have been out on the slopes.

Reducing Missed Appointments

The recent junior doctors’ strike has highlighted the cost of cancelling or delaying treatment both to the NHS and to patients. Whilst emergency cover continued to be provided, the inevitable cancellation of some operations has added to waiting lists and left patients having to manage their conditions for an extended period of time.

Whilst these delays have been occasioned by strike action, on a day-to-day basis the NHS and other health providers are forced to delay or reschedule treatments simply because patients fail to turn up for booked appointments. These ‘space blockers’ not only cost health services in terms of wasted appointment times, they also prevent other patients being treated in their place.

The problem is so acute that many health providers have resorted to adopting systems such as SMS text reminders or telephone reminders in a bid to cut down on missed appointments. Even with these measures in place a department of health report published at the beginning of this year estimates that one in 10 hospital appointments (5.6million) are missed. At an average cost of £160 per missed appointment this equates to a significant amount of wastage, something the NHS can little afford.

In an effort to reduce missed appointments still further, the Department of Health has carried out a research trial looking at the wording used when reminders are sent out. The trial, which was conducted in conjunction with Barts NHS Trust, compared various forms of text message. All started with a reminder of the appointment time and date with subsequent variations including:

To cancel or rearrange call xxx.
9 out of 10 people attend. Call xxx if you need to cancel or rearrange.
Not attending costs NHS £160 approx. Call xxx if you need to cancel or rearrange.
Not attending wastes money. Call xxx if you need to cancel or rearrange.
Please be fair to others and call xxx if you need to cancel or rearrange.
Please attend or call xxx cancel/rearrange or we will record as a missed apt.

Whilst all of the variations produced a slight reduction on the original SMS which merely asked people to call the number on their appointment letter to cancel or rearrange; the message which specified the cost of not attending was shown to reduce missed appointments to 8.2%, equivalent to a 23% reduction in no-shows. Whilst an 8.2% no-show rate is still not ideal, the reduction in missed appointments still represents a considerable saving to the NHS.

Although this experiment purely related to hospital appointments, it does demonstrate the way in which a careful choice of words can make a difference to the way in which SMS text messages are perceived and actioned. Health professionals may therefore wish to choose a form of wording which best suits their client base, perhaps by undertaking their own trial with a variety of phrases which they feel may resonate with their clients.

Of course, those health professionals who charge for appointments have another option which they can use to encourage clients to attend. Taking credit card details at the point of booking enables health professionals to charge a no-show fee in the event that the appointment is missed. Adding a comment about this no-show fee to an SMS appointment reminder may well encourage patients to either attend the appointment or telephone to rebook.

At the end of the day reducing missed appointments benefits everyone from patients to health professionals as well as the country as a whole. The more timely the treatment, the better the outcome; so it therefore pays for patients to be treated at the earliest opportunity to reduce the chance of the condition escalating thereby requiring additional treatments. If a simple change of words on the SMS text reminder can reduce no-shows by 23% then it is something which all health professionals would do well to consider.

Smarter Payments

Its end has been long predicted but we may now be seeing the final death throes for the cheque as a means of payment. It’s not going to go quietly, after all the first cheque was recorded in 1659 and by 1717 the Bank of England pioneered pre-printed check forms, but it seems as though the inevitable is happening and the cheque is giving way to the march of technology.

In fact, it may not just be the cheque which is on its way out. Cash too is under threat as contactless and card payments rise in popularity. So much so, that a report from UK cards Association comments that ‘consumer spending has undergone a revolution in the past decade.’

Highlights of the report include the fact that in the ten years to 2014 card spending has risen from £270 billion to £566 billion with supermarkets, pubs and restaurants being among the key gainers. Interestingly, 71% of card transactions are now made using debit cards, a rise on the 58% seen in 2004 and an indication of the way in which we are increasingly looking to contactless payments as an alternative to cash. Speaking about the results Richard Koch, Head of Policy at The UK Cards Association, said “Cards are accepted in more places than ever before and with innovations such as contactless cards and digital wallets, this trend is sure to continue.”

Whilst high-street stores may be leading the way, the increased acceptance of cards as a means of payment benefits businesses across the board. For example, health professionals are increasingly looking to card payments as a means of settling treatment charges. Thanks to initiatives such as digital wallets and mobile payments which are supported by the card system, even sole practitioners can collect payments from their customers by card. And by using other initiatives such as the Clinic Appointments secure card payment processing system, health professionals and their customers can take advantage of a secure payment system linked to an online booking service.

Moving to a direct card payment system brings multiple benefits for patients and healthcare professionals alike. For a start, paying by card is quick and simple for patients; moving them away from the treatment/invoice/payment cycle which can be time-consuming and lead to confusion over payments due.

For the health practice, not only are card payments quicker, they can also lead to a smoothing out cash flow. But the ability to take payments by card can also help to ensure that clients who book treatments actually turn up for them. Taking card details at the point of booking enables health practices to charge a ‘no-show’ fee in accordance with their advertised procedures. And if clients know they will be charged even if they don’t turn up, they are more likely to ensure that their appointment is kept.

In fact, card payments are such a win-win scenario that the only real surprise is that they have as yet to be universally adopted by those health professionals such as physiotherapists and chiropractors who charge directly for their services.

0800 0789333 info@clinicappointments.com

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Author: Admin