Becoming a paperless practice: save the planet and your workload!

Save admin time and reduce your private practice's carbon footprint by transitioning to a paperless system

In the UK, we each use an estimated 4.5 trees worth of paper in a year, per person. Now multiply that by 67.2 million! The average office worker prints up to 10,000 sheets of paper in the workplace each year, and around 75% of all paper in the UK eventually ends up in waste, rather than recycling. 

That’s a lot of paper and a lot of trees.

We all know that the health of our planet is suffering. Deforestation rates are at an unprecedented high, and this is causing severe harm to our planet’s ecosystem which is resulting in increased freak weather, higher risk of extinction for key species, and accelerating global warming. 

Furthermore, it is estimated that deforestation for paper production contributes to nearly a fifth of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Although not the biggest cause of pollution or energy consumption, even making small changes in your lifestyle could make a big difference in saving the earth!

Becoming a paperless practice is a very achievable step you can take to start supporting the planet. Not only will it help reduce your carbon footprint and the impact of your private healthcare practice on the environment, but it could also save you a lot of time and money by helping to streamline admin tasks with digital processes. 

Semble's paperless features

Semble is a fully digital, cloud-based software meaning that all processes are done online - so no paper! Tasks that are traditionally done manually in a private practice, such as medical questionnaires, doctor’s notes, prescriptions, and more, can all be done via Semble’s digital software. 

With digital processes, a huge amount of admin work is mitigated as many of these functions are automated and administrative staff no longer need to spend time uploading and processing documents. The software does it for you.

Online forms and pre-consultation questionnaires

Semble provides an online booking software that enables you to automatically send pre-consultation medical questionnaires to patients at the time of booking. Once completed, medical forms are automatically uploaded to the patient’s database, cutting out the paperwork and reducing admin time by collating and storing all patient data online.

Furthermore, sending patients pre-consultation forms at the time of booking means that patients arrive at the clinic ready for their appointment and clinicians have all the necessary information ahead of time. 

Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Semble acts as an Electronic Medical Records software (EMR) for healthcare practices. As a cloud-based software, all patient and practice data is stored online in Semble’s secure servers. Not only is this much more secure than other outdated storage methods, such as hard drives or files, but it also takes the paper out of the equation! 

Patient Communications

All patient communications can be done online with Semble, from sending appointment reminders to notifying patients of test results. 

Semble uses an integrated SMS and email communications software for patient communications, such as appointment confirmations and reminders. Patients receive immediate booking confirmation and can be reminded at customised times of their upcoming appointments, and no trees will be harmed in the process. 

For test results and other patient care updates, Semble enables easy sharing of patient information via a secure link that can be sent in an email. Reduce delay for patients in receiving test results, share patient data securely, and save on your paper usage at the same time.

Online payments and invoicing services

Printing invoices, sending bills, processing payments and receipts, and managing your healthcare practice’s accounts use a LOT of paper. But it doesn’t have to. Adopting a digital practice management software that has an integrated clinical billing system cuts out the paper completely, and generally makes the whole payments process more streamlined and easier to manage.

Semble’s online payments and invoicing services allow invoices to be sent to patients electronically via email. Payments can be taken online at the time of booking or following the appointment, reducing the need for paper in the practice. Similarly, all invoices, payments, and outstanding balances can be managed electronically with Semble’s integrated accounting software. Monitor your practice’s expenses and income and balance the books without paper and with greater ease.

E-prescriptions

How many times have patients lost their prescription paperwork? And let’s not forget the admin costs of sending prescriptions back and forth to the clinician for signatures. 

Semble’s e-prescription services make ordering and providing patient medication much easier for all, including the patient. Prescriptions can be sent directly to Semble’s integrated pharmacy dispensers by the clinician electronically. Signed there and then, the pharmacy can send medication directly to patients’ homes without the need for the patient to take their paperwork to the chemist. 

No more paper, less delay in receiving medication, and greater ease for patients in accessing medication should their personal circumstances make it difficult to collect prescriptions in person.

If you’re also passionate about the environment like we are at Semble, we challenge you to see how much you can cut down on your paper usage in your practice. Assess your current paper usage and make a game plan for where you can reduce it. 

Why not also set up your own #savethetrees campaign at the same time? Check out some of these charities that let you plant or sponsor trees:

• National Trust - Plant a sapling, tree, or donate to support conservation work.
• National Forest Organisation - Grow or plant a tree, sponsor a plantation, or donate.

You could pledge to plant a tree for every sheet of paper you save? Or perhaps donate the amount of money you save not buying paper to a tree foundation? 

Let us know how you get on with your paperless practice efforts by tagging us on social media @Semble!