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Medical practice management services for
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Information for Patients
This section is for patients of the medical specialists who use Zento’s services.
Q: Who is Zento and why have I received an invoice or email from you?
A: You have likely received a communication with our name on it because your medical specialist uses our services. Zento provides practice administration and billing support on behalf of your doctor. We work “behind the scenes” to manage their administrative tasks so they can focus on providing you with the best possible care.
Q: How do I pay an invoice or ask a question about my account?
A: The fastest and most direct way to resolve your enquiry is to contact your doctor’s practice directly.
- The email you received from us contains their specific phone number and a secure link for payments.
- If you cannot find this email, you can call our support team on 08 6333 2888 during business hours.
- Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected]. Please be sure to include your full name and the name of the doctor you saw so we can assist you promptly.
Q: Where can I find my pre-operative patient questionnaire?
A: The email you received from your doctor’s practice contains a unique and secure link to your personal questionnaire form. If you have misplaced this email, please contact your doctor’s rooms directly using the phone number provided, or call our team on 08 6333 2888 for assistance.
Q: Should I use the "Sign Up" or "Get Quote" forms on this website for my enquiry?
A: No, please do not use these forms. They are designed specifically for medical specialists who are interested in learning about Zento’s services. Using these forms for patient enquiries will result in a delay in our response to you. For all patient-related matters, please use the contact methods listed above.
General: The Zento Difference
Q: What services does Zento provide?
A: Zento is a complete practice administration solution for medical specialists in private practice here in Australia. We manage all the essential back-office tasks—from practice setup, medical billing and patient communications to full admin support—so you can focus entirely on your clinical work. We become your practice’s operational backbone, running quietly and efficiently in the background. Explore our Full Practice Management Services.
Q: What specialties do you support?
A: We provide practice management, admin and billing solutions for Surgeons, Physicians, Anaesthetists, and Surgical Assistants in private practice in Australia. We also provide billing services to ICU groups.
Q: How long has Zento been in business?
A: Zento was founded in 2009 by Ben Dudley to support his wife, an anaesthetist overwhelmed by admin when she entered private practice.
For over a decade, we have grown largely through word-of-mouth recommendations by our doctors and now support anaesthetists, surgeons, physicians, intensivists and surgical assistants across Australia. You can watch Ben tell our story in this video.
Q: How is Zento different from practice management software or hiring in-house staff?
A: Zento provides the best of both worlds, addressing the weaknesses of each alternative:
- vs. Software Alone: Practice management software is a tool; Zento is a complete solution. We use the latest tools (like Gentu and our own Zentobox), but our experienced team does the actual work for you—handling patient calls, chasing unpaid accounts, and managing day-to-day workflows.
- vs. In-House Staff: We eliminate the “key-person dependency risk” and high overheads of hiring a medical secretary. Our integrated team model ensures continuous service (no sick days or holidays affecting your practice). We also handle all employer responsibilities, including payroll, HR, compliance, and planned leave cover, removing that entire burden from you.
Q: How do I contact my support team?
A: Your Operations Manager is your primary point of contact for all practice-wide decisions and strategy. For day-to-day tasks, you and your patients can communicate with our dedicated phone and admin teams during business hours. This structure ensures you always have a direct line for high-level needs while routine tasks are handled efficiently by the appropriate team member.
Q: What organisations and platforms do you partner with?
A: We are deeply integrated into the Australian medical ecosystem. Our partnerships and established relationships provide direct, tangible benefits to our doctors at every stage of their private practice journey.
Technology & Software Partners
- Magentus (Gentu): As a Certified Adviser, we offer our doctors expert support and exclusive discounts on Gentu licences. Learn more at magentus.com.
- i-scribe: Our doctors enjoy special rates for this powerful AI medical scribing tool developed by Australian doctors. Learn more at i-scribe.com.au.
Hospital & College Relationships
- Major Private Hospitals: With over a decade of operation, we have established connections within major hospital groups like St John Of God Healthcare, Ramsay Health, Healthscope, and Epworth, as well as smaller independent private hospitals. We make direct introductions for our doctors, streamlining credentialing and helping to build their referral networks.
- ANZCA (Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists): As a trusted educational partner, our resources are featured on ANZCA’s official Private Practice Hub, helping fellows start their private practice journey with the tools and information they need.
Your Extended Professional Network
- A Network of Trusted Experts: For service requirements outside our core scope—such as medical indemnity insurance, practice financing, wealth management, or practice marketing—we connect you with our network of trusted industry partners, ensuring you always have access to the right expertise without the sales pitch. We get no kickbacks from this, only happy clients! Our new partnership page will be launching soon.
Q: What is MedBiz?
A: MedBiz is our annual thought leadership conference tailored for medical specialists in private practice. It’s an important forum for education and networking, featuring experts in finance, law, marketing, and technology. It demonstrates our commitment to helping our doctors succeed beyond just their day-to-day admin. Learn more about MedBiz.
Pricing & Onboarding
Q: What is Zento's pricing model?
A: Our pricing is flexible and transparent. It consists of a percentage of your monthly collected income, plus a small, fixed weekly fee for your core technology and admin platform. This structure ensures our goals are perfectly aligned with yours: we only succeed when you get paid. See more and request our fee calculator on our Pricing Page.
Q: How do I get started, and what does the onboarding process involve?
A: We make the transition quick and easy, whether you are starting a new practice or switching from another provider.
To get the process started, you can complete our online sign-up form, or contact our friendly team to discuss your situation. Our sales team will answer any questions you have and explain our services in detail before we prepare a detailed service agreement and agree on a start date.
From there, your dedicated Operations Manager (Becky or Steph) takes over. They manage the entire setup, from data collection to coordinating directly with your previous service or group, ensuring a clean, seamless handoff with minimum disruption to your practice.
Q: How do you provide comprehensive support at a competitive price?
A: Through our unique “blended team” model, which we’ve refined over many years. We combine our expert Australian-based management with our dedicated, in-house team in the Philippines. This isn’t a third-party call centre; it’s our own trained staff, fully integrated into our systems. This strategic structure allows us to provide comprehensive, quality support at a value that purely onshore teams cannot match. Learn more about Our Team.
Q: Can Zento help with credentialing and provider numbers?
A: We can guide you through the process of hospital credentialing. While doctors must complete their own credentialing applications, we assist by providing guidance on where to start and leveraging our network of hospital contacts.
With delegate access to your PRODA or HPOS portal, our team can assist you with Medicare provider number management and set up new provider numbers on your behalf.
Learn more about how we can help you set up your practice here.
Technology & Software
Q: What practice management software do you use?
A: We use the latest cloud-based technology, ensuring you always have control:
For Anaesthetists, ICU Groups & Surgical Assistants: We use our proprietary Zentobox platform and mobile app, purpose-built to handle the entire process of billing, IFCs, and patient questionnaires and surveys. Anaesthetists can try out the free Patient Survey Module on Zentobox. Learn more here.
For Surgeons & Physicians: We are experts on the industry’s leading cloud-based platforms, Gentu and Xestro. We work within your existing system or help you set up a new one, ensuring you always own your data and licence. Read about our Services for Surgeons and Physicians.
Q: If I'm a surgeon or physician, do I still own my Gentu/Xestro licence with Zento?
A: Yes, absolutely. The licence is yours. We work as expert users on your behalf. This is a core part of our philosophy: we provide the service and support, but you always maintain ownership and control of your core practice assets.
Q: If I don't have a practice phone or domain, can you set that up?
A: Yes. If you are starting from scratch, we can establish your core communications infrastructure, including a practice domain, phone number, e-fax, and email handling. There will be no need for external IT support when we handle your practice’s communications infrastructure.
If you have an existing setup, we work with you to integrate seamlessly so our team can manage it on your behalf.
Security & Data Privacy
Q: How do you ensure the security and privacy of my practice and patient data?
A: Data security is fundamental to our service. Our multi-layered approach includes:
- Australian Servers: All data is hosted in highly secure, onshore data centres compliant with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
- Technical Safeguards: We use network firewalls, end-to-end encryption, intrusion detection, and regular independent cybersecurity audits.
- Privacy Compliance: We manage all information according to the Australian Privacy Principles and assume full responsibility for the actions of our entire team, both local and overseas.
- Insurance: We are backed by a cyber risk insurance policy for your complete peace of mind.
In this video, Ben Dudley explains the practical steps we take to ensure that your data remains secure with Zento.
More FAQs
Q: How is Zento different from self-serve billing apps like Anaemate and Meditrust?
A: We provide a complete, "hands-off" service, not just a DIY tool. While apps like Anaemate and Meditrust offer automation, you are still responsible for handling patient phone calls, managing complex billing issues, and chasing difficult claims. Zento’s "Human-Tech Hybrid" model gives you the best of both worlds:
Tech Efficiency: The Zentobox app for fast, simple sticker capture.
Human Expertise: A dedicated team that manages everything else—every patient interaction, every health fund follow-up, and every Medicare payment resolution. Our service for anaesthetists includes CPD tools and practice growth support, which are outside the scope of a simple billing app.
Practice Growth Opportunities: We actively help build your practice through our proprietary Zentobox List Advertisement System, connecting you with surgeons who need anaesthetists for their lists and other Zento anaesthetists who need ad-hoc cover. This is a strategic growth service far beyond the scope of a simple billing app.
In this video, Ben Dudley explains our innovative approach, which allows busy anaesthetists to maintain an overall positive experience for all their patients.
Q: How is Zento different from joining a traditional anaesthetic group?
A: Zento is designed to give you the best of both worlds: the resources of a group with the freedom of an independent practitioner. We provide the key benefits of a traditional group while allowing you to avoid the common downsides.
What you GAIN (The Group Benefits):
Access to Work: We provide access to quality theatre lists to help you build or expand your practice.
Leave Cover Support: Our network can help arrange cover for your lists when you take holiday or sick leave, ensuring your surgeons are looked after.
Comprehensive Support: You get full access to our experienced billing, administrative, and secretarial teams without having to manage them yourself.
Networking: We host regular events, giving you the opportunity to connect with surgeons and peers in a collaborative, social setting.
What you AVOID (The Group Downsides):
Loss of Autonomy: With Zento, you maintain 100% control. You decide which surgeons you work with, what hours you work, and how your practice is run.
Financial Disincentives: Our fees are tied to your collected income. You don't pay for services you don't use, and there are no excessive fixed fees or complex buy-ins.
Group Politics: You get the benefits of a supportive network without the friction, power plays, or mandatory committee meetings or on-call rosters that can come with a traditional group structure.
In short, we handle the administration so you can enjoy the clinical and financial freedom of being your own boss. You can read a more detailed comparison in our blog post: Should you join a traditional group or stay independent?
Q: How does the Zentobox app streamline my work?
A: The app is designed to eliminate paperwork at the source. You can photograph patient stickers, record item numbers and times, and submit a list in seconds. Our smart OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology and intelligent item number suggestions reduce errors, and the data is sent instantly to our team for processing. It turns hours of weekly admin into minutes.
Q: Do you manage pre-op questionnaires and post-op surveys?
A: Yes. The Zentobox platform automates this. We send customised pre-anaesthesia health questionnaires to patients and manage post-op satisfaction surveys. The anonymised survey data is automatically collated for you, simplifying your ANZCA CPD practice evaluation activity.
Q: How do you achieve a 99.7% fee collection rate?
A: Through our process of automatically issuing IFCs and securing pre-authorisations, and then relentless human follow-up. The Zentobox app ensures data is accurate from the start. Then, our expert team manages the entire lifecycle of the account, proactively handling rejections and following up on every outstanding account. An app alone cannot do this. It’s the core benefit of our full-service model.
Q: What is the end-to-end process for managing my lists and billing?
A: Our entire process is streamlined by the Zentobox platform. It begins when we receive lists from surgeons' rooms, add them to the Zentobox app, and manage all pre-operative communications and IFCs. After your list you simply use the app to submit your stickers. From there, our team processes the final accounts accurately and promptly. Our robust system ensures timely billing, regardless of complexity. And you have access to view it all in your app.
Q: Do I approve accounts before they are submitted?
A: Yes. After we prepare the accounts based on your app submissions, you get a final review to quickly approve or amend them. This final check is crucial for compliance, as the doctor is ultimately accountable for all claims submitted. This link to the Services Australia website explains practitioner claiming responsibilities in more detail.
Q: Does Zento support GP Anaesthetists?
A: Yes. A significant portion of our clients are GP anaesthetists, many working in rural and remote areas. We have a deep understanding of the specific billing requirements and administrative challenges for this group and can provide tailored support.
Q: How does Zento's white labeled service work, and will my patients notice?
A: Our service is discreet by design, and your patients will not notice. We operate as a seamless, white-labelled extension of your practice. All patient communications—calls, emails, and letters—are handled under your name and brand. Patients feel they are interacting with your own dedicated staff, which ensures a professional, personal experience that builds your practice's reputation. See how we support your practice's growth.
Q: I'm worried about losing control by outsourcing. How does your model work?
A: Our model is built on partnership, not replacement. You retain full clinical and strategic control. We handle the operations according to your instructions and preferences. By taking the administrative burden off your plate and ensuring you own your core systems (like Gentu), we actually give you more control to focus on medicine. Our transparent structure, with specialized teams and a dedicated Operations Manager, ensures you always know how your practice is being managed. Watch this video to learn more about what surgeons and physicians can expect when joining Zento, from personalised support to proven, streamlined setup processes.
Q: Can Zento manage my referral triage and appointment scheduling?
A: Yes, this is handled by our dedicated administrative specialists. Your new patient referrals are managed by our Referrals Team, who ensure every referral is processed accurately and efficiently. From there, our Outpatient Admin Team coordinates with the patient to book appointments and manage your clinic schedule according to your specific protocols. This approach ensures accuracy and a smooth patient journey from the very first contact.
Q: Will Zento follow my specific practice policies?
A: Absolutely. During onboarding, we work with you to understand your exact preferences for booking, patient communication, and confidentiality. We then build a customized workflow that our team follows.
Q: Can Zento handle complex billing for surgical procedures?
A: This is a core function of our Billing Team. Led by a dedicated Billing Coordinator, our team manages all billing complexities, including multiple practitioners, shared fee arrangements, and claims across Medicare, DVA, Work Cover, and all private health funds.
Q: How does Zento handle billing for surgical assistants?
A: We make it really simple. After a list, you use the Zentobox app to photograph the operative report. Our team takes it from there—interpreting the report, processing the claim with the correct item numbers, and managing the entire payment process. If preferred, we can issue invoices to your surgeons so they can submit the claim on your behalf and pay your invoice.
It’s the easiest way to manage surgical assistant billing.
Q: How does the service adapt if my work pattern changes?
A: Our model is perfectly suited for variable work. Because you're not paying a fixed salary for a staff member, our service scales with you. Whether you have a full-time load, work ad-hoc, or take on locum assignments with new surgeons, our team adapts to manage your billing efficiently.
Q: Can Zento manage my bookings and track operations?
A: Yes. Surgeons' rooms can send lists directly to us. We manage these in the Zentobox system, which you can use to see your upcoming assignments on your app. This centralises your workflow and ensures both you and our billing team have a clear record of all procedures.
Zento Benefits
You get paid
You get booked
You're available
You free up time
Join our group of independent specialists and physicians
“Zento is an outstanding practice management and billing service that set up my private practice as a new consultant a few years ago and the whole process couldn’t be easier for me!
Their billing system is simple, quick and transparent and their fees are amongst the lowest. They also help my practice by sending out patient questionnaires, facilitating my CPD and organising social events, just to mention a few!
I highly recommend their services to anyone in the medical field seeking guidance and support in launching a successful private practice or looking to streamline their billing process to save time and money.”
Mahsa Mirkazemi
“I had expanded my private practice and was paying a secretary to do my billing, but was still dealing with the hassle of incorrect bills and phone calls from patients. I decided I needed to take myself out of the equation completely, and found out about Zento from colleagues. Since then it has been smooth sailing, with Zento taking care of all my admin, and quickly and easily dealing with any billing problems. As a result, very little of my time is spent on admin now.”
Brian Morrow, Anaesthetist
“I found billing a nightmare – so much so that it was stopping me from doing private work. I heard that Zento provided a solution, and it revolutionised everything. The setup process was very straightforward, and now, they do all my admin – sending off the bills, checking they’ve been paid, chasing unpaid bills. I’m very happy with the service, and I would definitely recommend them to another anaesthetist.”
Helen Daly, Anaesthetist
“Coming from Europe, I was unfamiliar with the process of billing patients when I set up my private practice in Australia. Zento knew what they were doing when I came on board, and made the preparation of the paperwork a smooth experience. Now, I can tell patients that fees will be dealt with by another party, leaving my relationship with them positive. So many things have been taken off my plate, and if I don’t have to spend time preparing invoices, I’m happy!”
Thomas Ledowski, Anaesthetist
“I avoided private work because I was uncomfortable with gaining informed financial consent and didn’t have the mechanism to be able to charge a gap. I didn’t want to have the ‘money’ conversation with my patients, but when the opportunity to work with a private surgeon arose, I had to figure out a solution. After speaking with Ben, I knew Zento was the right service to fix my problems. Now I spend less than 30 minutes a month on financial admin for my private work, and talking about money with my patients is seldom required.”
Perth-based Anaesthetist
“Since I joined Zento I have been able to focus on what I’m good at which is giving anaesthetics rather than billing, chasing up bad debts, providing quotes. I was terrible at it! Ben’s team has always been very helpful and professional. Service fees have decreased! I’m very happy.”
Leah , Anaesthetist
“Has made my anaesthetic billing a breeze. Quick, reliable, efficient and highly transparent. My only regret is that I didn’t change to Zento years ago.”
Steve, Anaesthetist
“When commencing private practice there was a large learning curve in terms of the various health funds and their differences in terms of billing and rebates. Zento took away all of the stress associated with this so I could focus purely on caring for my patients. In addition, they took responsibility for other key issues such as provider numbers and accreditation at the various hospitals I wanted to work at.”
Nolan McDonnell, Anaesthetist
“They are professional, efficient and take a huge administrative burden off.”
Perth-based anaesthetist
“Zento helps me concentrate on my core job: looking after patients.”
Perth-based anaesthetist
“Huge burden lifted from my shoulders. Zento takes all of the admin load.”
Perth-based anaesthetist
“Since using their service I am consistently impressed by the level of service and attention to detail offered by the Zento team.
Knowing that my administration, reception and PA services are taken care of allows me to focus on my patients, my clinical activities and building up my practice.”
Perth-based cardiologist
“As a new Fellow I had no experience in how a practice is run let alone set up and I wanted to start my own practice. The Zento group have taken my idea and made it a reality. They are available, and thorough. They take time to understand what you need and work with you to achieve those goals realistically and practically. I am especially impressed by how they work hard at facilitating my vision for my practice.”
Perth-based obstetrician and gynaecologist