Key results
Eterniumcare has helped Dr Chantel Thornton to:
- Have mobile access to patient files and results from anywhere
- Undertake direct communication with patients quickly and securely
- Streamline administrative tasks and improve patient experience
Dr Chantel Thornton is a specialist breast cancer surgeon. As well as being a breast surgeon, Dr Thornton also offers treatment for benign breast conditions, breast reconstruction, sentinel node biopsy, familial breast cancer and risk reduction surgery, and is passionate about the delivery of multi-disciplinary breast care.
Having been one of Eterniumcare’s early adopters while working with a different clinic, when it came time for Dr Thornton to open her own practice in 2017 specialising in women’s health in Melbourne, she says it was a ‘no brainer’ to once again implement Eterniumcare to streamline her practice administration.
“I was one of the early users of Eterniumcare. So when I found my previous practice was growing significantly, and then when I needed to set up my own practice towards the end of 2017, using Eterniumcare became the obvious choice,” she says.
“The administration side of my practice is very heavy. Breast surgery is very consultancy-based, and you have to see a lot of patients to operate, and our conversion rate is very low. So it's very hard on the administration team.”
The Challenge
Dr Thornton admits, like many doctors, she doesn’t like change. But in her previous practice, it was clear they needed a more user-friendly, scalable and time-saving solution.
“Before implementing Eterniumcare, I became aware we needed a practice management system which was more user friendly, and would require less interaction from me and the administration staff. We were seeing 35 patients a day, operating in the evening, it's very admin heavy,” she explains.
“We had a couple of people from Eterniumcare come and speak to us, and we had a med student come in and help with the initial onboarding. Once I saw the benefits of Eterniumcare in action, particularly around time management for doctors, I never looked back.”
The Solution
Once Eterniumcare was implemented, the benefits of cloud-based software became clear. Dr Thornton realised how valuable it is having all her patient results, tasks and information in the palm of her hand at all times, via the Doctor App.
“Before implementation, if I was operating or at the hospital, I’d have to ring my PA to get results and patient information, or ask about jobs and tasks to be done, it was very time consuming and inefficient,” she explains.
“With Eterniumcare, all the information I need is available on my mobile device anywhere, anytime. From my perspective, to have a cloud-based practice management software I can access via my phone on the go is really my main priority.”
Once setting up her own practice, Dr Thornton continued to use Eterniumcare as her preferred clinical and practice management solution.
“Choosing Eterniumcare was really a ‘no brainer’ for me,” she adds. “I thought if I was going to be moving on, and branching out by myself I would absolutely continue with the same cloud-based clinical and practice management software because it is an amazing system.”
“It’s true to say Eterniumcare has changed my life. It has transformed my professional life and my personal life because I have a lot more time to focus on my patients. It allows me the freedom to access patient information anywhere, at any time, so I can provide excellent patient care.”
“I can also concentrate on enjoying as much of my free time as possible as well because I know that I always have easy and secure access to the information - I’ve always got the facts at hand.”
The Results
Dr Thornton says Eterniumcare is the future of medicine - not only because of the practice efficiencies gained but also because of the level of care patients now demand.
“In terms of patient turnover, it's allowed me to maximise the number of patients I see in a day because I'm not wasting time. I can do letters at midnight, or I can get up at five o'clock in the morning and I can do them. I don't have to be at my office, so it revolutionised the way I work,” Dr Thornton says.
“If I want to know what’s happening with a patient, I can go to their file, I can send them a secure SMS, or I can send a message to say: your blood results are good, I'll talk to you tomorrow.
“The communication model is so much better, and patients have an expectation now that doctors will also be able to provide the kind of patient-centred care and service they get elsewhere in their daily lives.”
Dr Thornton stresses that with a growing number of patients putting their lives in her hands, information and detail are critical to support the delivery of optimum care.
“It's about being across the patient's history at any time. And patients will seek out practitioners that are detailed in their approach, who can book appointments quickly, who can return results quickly. Now, it's all about the ‘best care available’ and the Eterniumcare health software system allows me to offer it,” she explains.
“There's no other health software system that can compete on the level of Eterniumcare. And let’s face it, this is the future of medicine. Not just for private practice, but for hospitals, for multiple other arenas, including allied health. It’s the future of medicine, and it's the future of patient care - and patients will absolutely demand this level of service of their doctors into the future.”
