Background

GP2U | PSYCH2U is a leading online telehealth provider specialising in delivering mental health services across Australia. Their commitment to providing seamless access to psychological and psychiatric care is paramount. To further enhance their service, they recognised the need to streamline their referral booking process, improve patient information management, and elevate the overall patient experience. To address these challenges, GP2U | Psych2U collaborated with James Anthony Consulting (JAC), a specialist healthcare software development firm, to automate and modernise their systems.

Key Improvements

Key areas of improvement identified at GP2U | PSYCH2U:

1. Inefficient Booking Process: The existing system required significant manual input, leading to inefficiencies and increased administrative workload. The manual processes were time-consuming and prone to errors.

2. Legacy Systems: The bespoke Perl-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system lacked off-the-shelf integration capabilities, making it difficult to handle modern healthcare data standards and protocols.

3. Patient Data Management: The manual data entry process increased the risk of errors and did not allow for easy extraction or utilisation of patient information to streamline booking and matching processes.

4. Billing Complexity: Managing different billing types, such as bulk billing, in-person, and online appointments, was cumbersome and often required manual intervention.

Solutions Implemented

James Anthony Consulting implemented a comprehensive solution that transformed GP2U | PSYCH2U’s operations:

1. Website Upgrade to WordPress: JAC upgraded the GP2U | Psych2U website to a WordPress platform, enhancing user experience and providing a robust foundation for integrating new functionalities. This upgrade allowed for seamless content management and future scalability.

2. Custom Enquiry Form Integration: A custom enquiry form was developed and integrated into the website to accommodate various partnership requirements and services. This enhanced the efficiency of collecting and managing inquiries by providing a direct communication channel for potential patients.

3. EMR System Enhancement: The existing Perl-based EMR system was upgraded to support secure message delivery (SMD) referrals from HealthLink and Medical Objects. This enhancement ensured compliance with healthcare data standards and improved data exchange with other healthcare providers.

4. AI-Powered Data Extraction: After evaluating several AI solutions, JAC implemented Azure-based optical character recognition (OCR) and natural language processing (NLP) tools. These tools automated the extraction of key patient demographic, identification, and clinical referral information, reducing manual data entry and ensuring data accuracy.

5. Automated Patient Matching: The system was designed to automatically match patients with the most appropriate psychologist or psychiatrist based on pre-supplied business rules. This process utilised the extracted data to ensure optimal clinician-patient alignment.

6. Calendar Integration and Booking Automation: Patients could now select available appointment slots directly from the matched clinician’s calendar. The system also determined the relevant billing type, whether bulk billing, in-person, online, or other options, further streamlining the booking process.

7. Secure Payment Processing with Tyro Checkout: The system incorporated Tyro Checkout to collect optional deposits and retain tokenised billing information for post-appointment invoicing and charging. This secure payment processing integration simplified financial transactions and reduced administrative burdens.

Results

The collaboration between James Anthony Consulting and GP2U | Psych2U delivered remarkable results:

1. Reduced Administrative Time: Patient onboarding and billing processes were streamlined, reducing administrative time by more than half. This significant efficiency gain allowed staff to focus on more critical tasks, enhancing overall productivity.

2. Elimination of Double Data Entry: The automated system eliminated redundant data entry tasks, ensuring data consistency and accuracy across all platforms. This improvement reduced the risk of errors and improved the integrity of patient information.

3. Improved Clinician-Patient Matching: The AI-powered matching process ensured that patients were connected with the most suitable clinicians, enhancing patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes. The system’s ability to automate the matchmaking process, while maintaining data privacy, was a significant achievement.

4. Enhanced Patient Experience: Patients now benefit from a more streamlined booking process, enabling them to make appointments via a booking link on their own terms without the admin team needing to follow up with multiple phone calls.

5. Secure and Compliant System: By upgrading the EMR system to support SMD referrals and utilising secure payment processing, the solution adhered to healthcare data standards and ensured compliance with industry regulations.

Conclusion

The partnership between James Anthony Consulting and GP2U | PSYCH2U exemplifies best practices in online patient flow and healthcare automation. This case study stands as a model for other clinics seeking to enhance patient efficiency and streamline their operations without extensive software customisation capabilities.

By consulting with clinicians, operational leadership, tech leadership, and operational staff, as well as forming effective working partnerships with GP2U | PSYCH2U project management, JAC ensured that the solution met the needs of all stakeholders, delivering a tailored and effective system. The successful implementation of this project highlights JAC’s expertise in healthcare technology and its ability to transform complex challenges into streamlined, patient-centric solutions.

Contact James Anthony Consulting

For clinics looking to improve patient efficiency and streamline their operations, James Anthony Consulting offers unparalleled expertise in healthcare technology solutions. Contact us to discover how we can tailor our services to meet your clinic’s specific needs and enhance your patient booking process. Ensure your patients can verify their information accurately and book appointments quickly and readily without unnecessary hurdles.