Effortless virtual practice management with Zento
Virtual medical practice management
What to expect when you engage a virtual practice manager?
Virtual practice management is an online service offering a behind-the-scenes team to help you run your private practice. Without being there in person, your virtual practice manager takes care of many tasks like monitoring your phones and emails,applying for and managing your provider numbers, registering you with private health funds, booking patients for clinics and theatre, and helping with your marketing.
Ben Dudley
Zento Virtual Practice Management
Besides handling day-to-day tasks, Zento’s virtual practice management services can help cut costs and boost productivity.
Responsibilities of a virtual practice manager
Tasks related to setting up a medical practice
- Setting up practice management system
- Setting up phone, email and fax infrastructure
- Obtaining domains for doctors
- Registering doctors with health funds
- Obtaining provider numbers
- Supporting doctors with hospital credentialing
Tasks related to running a practice smoothly
- Monitoring phones and emails during business hours (not just during clinic hours) and taking action when required (ex. Responding to patient and referrer enquiries)
- Booking patients in for clinics and theatre
- Booking anaesthetists and surgical assistants when required
- Managing the practice calendar
- Supporting doctors with marketing and practice development activities, including digital marketing, branding, print collateral and GP/ referral base building
- Monitoring referrer activity and providing recommendations
- Handling patient payments (including out of pocket) and Medicare rebates
- Issuing informed financial consent forms, prepare quotes and other information required for patients.
- Sending patient post-op surveys.
- Collecting pre-payments/pre-authorisation from patients
- Billing to Medicare, DVA, and private health funds
- Following up outstanding billing and resolving claim issues
- Sending reminders for outstanding patient accounts
- Circulating information and updates relating to billing, health funds and other matters important to doctors
- Preparing letters for referrers and patients
- Providing secure and confidential management of patient’s medical records
- Recruitment, training, and supervision of administrative staff
- Organising rosters for administrative staff to ensure continuity of support for your practice
- Generating financial reports: monthly, quarterly and annual, which you can send to your accountant for BAS preparation
Benefits of outsourcing practice management
So, why engage a virtual practice manager? Let’s unpack some of the top benefits.
- Reduced costs in tech, facilities and staffing,
- Boosted efficiency thanks to online tools that give your team instant access to the information they need,
- Continuity of service: we are online even if you are not – this way we can consistently support your practice regardless of time and location.
- More hours in your day
Discover all the benefits of virtual practice management, including outsourced medical billing.
Virtual administration services
Who can benefit from virtual practice management?
Ben Dudley
Zento Virtual Practice Management
Why choose Zento for virtual practice management?
Here’s what our doctors highlight when they share their experience with Zento’s virtual practice management services:
- Continuous support: No matter how often you consult as a doctor, Zento is always in the background. A dedicated medical secretary supports your practice during business hours. This means patients, hospitals and other third parties can reach you even outside clinic hours.
- Autonomy: As a private medical practitioner, you stay independent while Zento supports and runs your practice. It’s a full service so you can focus on your patients and on building your practice without the constraints of group rules or policies. Zento stands behind you, making sure your practice remains front and centre.
- Flexible cost based on income: Zento does not charge on a fixed hourly or sessional basis, rather a percentage of your monthly income. Zento only gets paid when the practice is paid.
- No lock-in contracts: Zento doesn’t bind you with fixed-term contracts.
- Expertise: Zento’s sole focus is private medical practice management. This focus ensures expertise. If you require services outside scope, Zento can connect you with a trusted provider of that service.
- Adaptable solutions: Zento caters to your practice’s specific needs. It’s not an off-the-shelf product.
- Compliance and confidentiality: To be compliant with relevant laws as a private medical practitioner can be a worry and Zento takes care of this whilst maintaining strict privacy agreements with all partners, staff and doctors.
Getting started with a Zento virtual practice manager
Our team is here to help you. Get in touch today.
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