Solutions

Dr. Shen Family Practice Physician

It was two years ago when Dr. Angela Shen, a family physician with an established practise in Richmond B.C., decided to make the move to a paperless practice.

The upgrade would warrant more than just a change in software. For practitioners like Dr. Shen, privacy is priority one. And since this is a medical office shared with three other physicians, the office needed a system that could manage the growing case load, and provide the necessary firewall and back-up systems to keep patient files secure.

Securing patient files and improving call response with a single, easy-to-manage solution

For a busy family practise with more than one doctor, traditional phone lines were not keeping pace with demand. They needed a system that could provide up-to-the-minute voicemail and email conversions – the kind of system that would ensure that their patients were kept informed of office hours and updates on physician availability, including notification of holiday periods, changes to office hours, instructions for emergencies, and other referrals.

Ultimately, the practise needed a solution that was more flexible, and easier to use. They wanted built-in self-management features that would give them the ability to remain accessible and responsive to their growing case load, while balancing the demands of their own busy lives. The new system would also have to integrate with their existing MAC environment.

Dr. Shen chose the Sutus Business Central for its ability to provide the level of security needed for patient files, while delivering all the voice, data and networking features she wanted -- all from a single device. The ability of the business central to integrate with their existing MAC environment without additional costs made it a practical, cost-effective option. For Dr. Shen, this blend of security and ease-of-use was a perfect fit for the medical office. “I love the fact that my office is a closed system and it’s not wireless” said Dr. Shen. “I think the Sutus box has been really good for that.”

Significant cost savings for a small office environment

Referring to the newest features added at no extra charge to the Sutus device, she commented “Now the patients will hear

The Business Central came complete with Polycom phones that gave Dr. Shen, her colleagues, and their support staff access to Voice Over IP (VOIP) -- a move that amounted to a significant cost savings of $2-300/month. Time saved on handling patient calls, scheduling appointments, arranging tests and managing referrals via the new and fully integrated email and voicemail features also meant more time for the patients themselves.

The upgrade has contributed to the continuum of care by carving out more time for reviewing patient files, making referrals, receiving, and communicating test results to patients. The Business Central’s ability to integrate Apple TV with LCD TV in the waiting room has also allowed them to store and present kids movies and programs, creating a better overall patient experience.

The technology has helped make Dr. Shen’s family practice even more responsive to its patients. “Now I have control over what messages are received by which patients” said Dr. Shen. Referring to the newest features added at no extra charge to the Sutus device, she commented “Now the patients will hear different messages depending on the time of day they call because the greeting changes automatically. So they’ll know when the office is closed. That’s really important for many of my elderly patients.”

New features recently added to the business central, at no extra charge, allow Dr. Shen to manage her practise from a distance with greater ease. “I can now access the administrative tools from my home. I change the number of rings and which phone it goes to. I can also have all my voicemail sent directly to my email. And I can add other doctors without adding another expense. It’s very easy to use and very flexible.”