How Do I Choose a Practice Management System?

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Many hearing care professionals have transitioned to an electronic practice management system, looking for a better way to run their growing practices - from scheduling and patient documentation to managing billing and collections. By choosing and implementing the right system, your practice can enjoy a high quality of documentation, happier employees who are able to streamline their workflow, and overall improved organizational efficiency.

Consider the following steps when choosing a practice management system: 

1. Establish what you need and want from a practice management system. We recommend working together with your team to create a specific list of needs and wants. Once you assess exactly what you'd like the system to accomplish, you can better evaluate the available options to determine which best meets your practice's needs.
    
2. Research available software solutions.  When researching software, review demos, speak with sales representatives, and call people already using the product to learn how it works for their practices.
    
3. Agree on goals and make a plan. When setting goals, consider how to integrate the system into your practice and a timeline for the transition. Realize that you may not be able to meet all your goals immediately. We recommend separating actions into stages and establishing both short- and long-term goals and objectives to ensure a smooth experience for your business.
    
4. Consider software integrations.  Some hearing care practice management systems integrate with software you may already use in your practice, such as QuickBooks or NOAH. Understand which integrations are available to help you and your staff to be as efficient as possible.
    
5. Set aside time for training. This step is crucial! Even the best practice management system won't help you reach your goals if you and your staff are not well-trained in how to use it.  Plan in-services for your staff to learn the system, and reach out to the software's training team to arrange training sessions for new staff members.

Choosing a practice management system is a decision that can have a significant impact on your practice. Having the right system in place is one of the most important things you can do to help free up your team to provide the highest quality patient care. 

Sycle is the leading hearing care practice management system with over 4,500 clinics and 12,000 users across the United States and Canada.  Click here to request a Sycle.net demo.  You may also learn more on the Sycle.net Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.

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