The same name, typed four times
A new patient books online. The receptionist types them into the practice management system. The audiologist creates them in Noah before the test. When the patient buys aids, the sale is keyed into the till or the practice system, then an invoice is created in Xero or Sage, then a finance application goes to the finance provider with the same details again.
Each step takes a minute or two. Across a week, it is hours of typing, and every retype is a chance for a misspelt name, a wrong date of birth or a missing postcode.
Why hearing clinics end up with so many copies
Hearing practices use specialised software. Noah holds the audiometric data and launches the manufacturer fitting software, and it does that job well. Around it sits a practice management system, a diary, an accounts package, sometimes a separate booking tool and a finance provider's portal. Each was chosen for a reason. Few were chosen with the others in mind.
- Noah and the practice management system are not linked, or linked only partly.
- Online bookings arrive as emails that are retyped into the diary.
- Sales are recorded in one place and invoiced in another.
- Finance applications need details already held elsewhere.
- Reports combine data by exporting spreadsheets and pasting them together.
What the retyping costs
Staff time, most obviously. But also errors: two records for the same patient, a date of birth that does not match between systems, a sale invoiced twice or not at all. Mismatched records make recall, reporting and repairs harder, because the systems disagree about who a patient is.
| Information | Created in | Retyped into |
|---|---|---|
| Patient details | Booking or practice system | Noah, accounts, finance portal |
| Appointment | Online booking email | Diary |
| Device and serial numbers | Noah or fitting | Practice system, repairs log |
| Sale | Practice system or till | Accounts package |
| Payment | Card terminal or finance provider | Accounts package |
How we connect your systems
- We map every piece of information: where it is first created, where it is copied to, who does the copying and how often.
- For each system, we check the integrations it supports. Many practice systems for hearing care offer a Noah integration, and accounts packages such as Xero and QuickBooks have well-documented APIs.
- We turn on or build the links that remove the most typing first: online bookings straight into the diary, new patients created once, sales pushed to accounts as invoices.
- Where a system has no integration, we use its exports and imports on a schedule, or a small form that fills several systems from one entry.
- A check screen shows anything that could not be matched automatically, such as a patient who might be a duplicate, for a person to resolve.
- We document the links so your team knows what flows where, and what to do if one stops.
We do not replace Noah or ask you to change clinical workflows. The aim is to stop typing what another system already knows.
A week with less typing
Receptionists enter a new patient once. Online bookings appear in the diary without being retyped. Sales become invoices in your accounts package. Records agree with each other, so recall lists, repair histories and reports are more reliable. When something does not match, it shows up on a screen rather than as a surprise months later.
Are you retyping too much?
- The same patient details are typed into three or more systems.
- Online booking notifications arrive by email and are keyed into the diary.
- Sales are invoiced by hand in your accounts package.
- You have found duplicate or mismatched patient records.
- Monthly reports involve pasting spreadsheets together.