Practice management software is a digital platform that handles the day-to-day business operations of a health or wellness clinic. It brings all of your administrative needs, like booking, scheduling, documentation and charting, billing, payments, and patient communication together into one connected system.

Many practitioners say balancing patient care with running a business is one of the hardest parts of their job, which is why finding the most efficient way to run their practice matters so much.

That search usually leads them to practice management software. This post is for people looking for a system to help them run their clinic, and who need a simple answer to the question: What is practice management software?

In this post you’ll find:

   What is practice management software and how is it different from an EMR or EHR?
   What does practice management software do?
   Who is it for?
   Additional resources

How is practice management software different from an EMR or EHR?

Practice management software often has an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) built into it, which manages the clinical side of care, treatment history, diagnosis, documentation, and charting. This is different from an EHR (Electronic Health Record), which is more often used by larger hospital systems to share records across providers and organizations.

Many software options act as both a practice management software and EMR. It helps practitioners run both the business and the clinical side, so your administrative and clinical work can live in the same place.

What does practice management software do?

Underneath the label, practice management software is doing several jobs for your clinic.

Scheduling and booking

Patients book their own appointments, see real-time availability, and get automated reminders, instead of playing phone tag with your front desk.

“Before I had online booking, people would email me and they would want an appointment and I would say, I have Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon,” says Roxanne Francis, a psychotherapist. “Then they wouldn’t get back to me until the following week.”

By eliminating this back and forth, patients get easy access to the care they need and practitioners save time.

Documentation and Charting

Your notes, treatment history, and forms live in one place instead of a filing cabinet or a folder on someone’s laptop.

Some software options will also include an AI Scribe to support documentation. Emma Jack is a physiotherapist who has taken advantage of this new tech. “What [an AI Scribe] ultimately does is help me make sure my documentation is on point and we’re not missing anything when I go at the end of my day to finish my notes,” she explains.

Billing and payments

Invoicing, payment collection, and insurance claims happen within the same platform, so you’re not having to re-enter the same information twice.

Before having Jane, a practice management software, Roni Glassman would take payments for her physical therapy business on a portable card terminal. “And half the time it wouldn’t work and I’d be like, ‘sorry, can I look at your card?’ And like, manually put the number in. And it was just so awkward,” she says.

Patient communication

Reminders, intake forms, and follow-ups go out automatically, so you’re not making a phone call for each one. Roni’s also seen the benefit of practice management software when it comes to patient experience. “I’ve gotten multiple comments. Like, ‘oh, I loved being able to get online and book,’ or ‘I love this about the email that I got.’ They’re fans too.”

When reminders are sent automatically, patients are less likely to no show, and practitioners have one less task to complete at the end of their day.

Reporting

Once everything lives in one place, you can actually see how your practice is doing: which days are full, where no-shows are creeping up, what’s actually paying the bills.

“As a business owner, with a group practice that’s growing, I am seeing my personal caseload is getting smaller and my vision has to be higher,” says Roxanne. “How many people are coming in? How did last year go? Which clinicians are not seeing many clients and why is that? How can I support them in seeing more clients?”

Reporting helps answer questions like Roxanne’s, so practitioners can make informed decisions about their business growth.

Who is it for?

A wide range of allied health and wellness disciplines use practice management software: physical therapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, mental health and counselling, occupational therapy, acupuncture, and more.

The core jobs are the same no matter your discipline, but the details may differ. For example, a mental health practice needs different intake workflows than a chiropractic clinic, and billing looks different depending on insurance versus cash pay. But the right practice management software will be able to work for your practice’s individual needs.

Here are a few questions to ask when assessing a practice management software.

Compliance

• Does this software fit the compliance needs of my regulatory body or college?

Payments

• Am I able to take payment, and if so, am I also able to bill insurance if that applies to me?

Documentation

• Am I able to take notes effectively with this software, in the way I need to ensure regulatory compliance and great treatment outcomes for my patients?

Pricing & Contracts

• Will this software support my business as it scales?

• Am I locked into a contract?

• Do plans include the features I actually use?

Support

• When something goes awry, how do I access support?

• Does support come at an additional cost?

Consolidation

• Does this software offer the core functions I need in one place?

• Is it both a practice management software and an EMR?

Flexibility

• Does this platform support my plans to grow my clinic?

Want to know more?

This page is meant to give you the basics. If you want more depth on any of this, here’s where to go next:

• Transitioning to New Practice Management Software: What to Expect in Your First 2 Weeks with Jane

• What’s New: Jane’s Latest Practice Management Software Features

Want to see it in action?

Jane is a practice management platform for health and wellness clinics, used by over 245,000 practitioners worldwide. Jane helps practitioners schedule appointments, chart treatments, bill insurers, and get paid in one secure and connected place.

“Jane is my admin superpower. It lets me just focus on being a therapist.” — Elana Sures

If you’d like to see how Jane could work for your practice, book a demo with our team and we’d be happy to show you around.