GP taking on practice admin streamlines workflows and grows business thanks to automation

At a glance

Outcome

Solution

Challenge

153% increase in patient growth over 2 years.

Increased patient satisfaction.

Significant time saved during appointments.

Online bookings leaving more free time to focus on clinical side of GP role.

Pre-consultation questionnaires save time, allow for better preparation and provide the safest possible patient process. 

Manual admin taking up crucial time that could be spent with patients. 

As a new business, needed something CQC compliant. 

New practice looking to ensure growth.

Dr Oliver Large is a GP and Founder of 222 Healthcare, a GP practice in High Wycombe. He has been using Semble since 2019.

The challenge: Growing a small GP practice while balancing clinical and administrative demands

Oliver and his wife run a small GP practice between them, where they manage the clinical work as well as the day-to-day running of a clinic.

As a result, they needed a practice management system that could make the administrative side of their jobs easy. Not only were they looking for something that could automate most of their interactions with patients – such as payments, appointment bookings and pre-consultation questionnaires – but could also help them grow their business over time.

“I just think Semble is a really great service that enables a small clinic to do anything that a big clinic can do. The system is incredibly versatile. So starting up a clinic from scratch, you can’t really ask for anything better.”

Oliver Large GP & Founder, 222 Healthcare

Before starting his own practice, Oliver was Medical Director of Livi and then Clinical Manager at Doctor Care Anywhere. In both these roles, he saw the standard of the clinical systems they were using and was keen to replicate this in his own practice.

“At the time I was recommended Semble by a friend, and when I looked into it, I found the bookings, telehealth, SMS and more weren’t far off what Livi and Doctor Care Anywhere were doing. Semble and its integrations could easily achieve a lot of what these big online companies were doing.”

The solution: Effortless online bookings and automated questionnaires keep consultations at the centre

In its infancy, 222 Healthcare was going through CQC registration, and needed a system that would help streamline documentation and record keeping, enhance patient safety and improve their operational efficiency.

“I weighed up two or three options, but Semble was very easy to use, simple to set up. At that stage, our priority was getting through CQC, and we had confidence that Semble would help us to do that amazingly.”

Online bookings

Now, online bookings have changed the way Oliver can organise his day. With 50% of patients booking online, he no longer spends hours taking bookings over the phone, which leaves him free to focus on the more clinical side of his role, and being present during patient consultations.

“We offer a range of services through our online bookings – vaccinations, blood tests, medical check-ups. We take payment upfront for these. People love the booking process; they tell us how easy it is and how much time it saves them. There aren’t many steps to it.”

“I don’t think we could have scaled our GP surgery without tools like Semble. Being able to present everything online to patients, even with threadbare customer service, is key to the patient experience.”

Oliver Large GP & Founder, 222 Healthcare

Since opening 222 Healthcare in late 2021 with Semble, Oliver has seen promising patient growth his practice; 91% in the year 2022-2023, and a further 62% in 2024 so far.

“I don’t think we could have scaled our GP surgery without tools like Semble. Being able to present everything online to patients, even with threadbare customer service, is key to the patient experience.”

Pre-consultation questionnaires

Pre-consultation questionnaires are sent to Oliver’s patients automatically upon booking online, which allows for better preparation. This means the consultations run more efficiently, and Oliver can be more present with the patient.

“We have an upfront view of their medical history. It speeds up our documentation process and saves us time in the consultation. Three minutes might sound small, but those three minutes the patient is waiting for us to read their history, medications, allergies, and trying to type and talk at the same time, is tedious. So if you have the information there, it means we can spend more time speaking directly to patients. I believe it is no coincidence that we get consistent feedback that our patients feel heard.”

The flexibility of questionnaires also means that Oliver can gather data that’s tailored to certain products. For example, the information he collects for a vaccination appointment might be different to what is required for GP consultations, so he can ensure that’s he’s providing the most personalised and safest service possible.

“If someone books in for the yellow fever vaccine, for example, and they have cancer, we can intervene earlier. Then all we have to do is check with the patient that it’s correct. It makes the documentation far safer and more robust – we know we’ve got all the information upfront.”

Alongside remote prescribing, invoicing and the patient portal, Semble has allowed Oliver to create and run a compliant and efficient service for his patients – no easy feat when all the clinical and admin work is completed between just two GPs.

“I’m just a lot quicker and more efficient using the tools Semble provides. As a small clinic, trying to do all this without a comprehensive system would be an absolute headache.

“I just think Semble is a really great service that enables a small clinic to do anything that a big clinic can do. The system is incredibly versatile. So starting up a clinic from scratch, you can’t really ask for anything better.”