Semble Pay eliminates manual payment risks and modernises GP clinic

At a glance

Outcome

Solution

Challenge

Significant reduction in aged debt. 

Significant time saved per appointment. 

Payments made on time. 

Increased patient satisfaction.

Payment links sent directly to the patient.

A straightforward payment process for the patient, removing barriers to payment.

Payments viewable in real time, reducing the risk of time-consuming errors.

Disjointed, long-winded payment process with the hospital.

Risk of patients walking out without paying.

Payment discrepancies taking weeks for resolution.

Manually checking payments from hospital wasting valuable time.

Dr Delphine Sekri runs in a GP at Spire St John & St Elizabeth Hospital. Since June 2024, Delphine has been using Semble Pay to streamline her hospital payment processes.

The challenge: Long-winded hospital payment processes prone to errors 

In a busy hospital setting, managing patient payments can be a time-consuming and frustrating process. Before implementing Semble Pay, GP Delphine Sekri relied on a more traditional payment system.

“I work in a hospital, so I would give patients a new invoice at the end of the consultation to pay via bank transfer, or walk them to the front desk to take a card payment. Most patients pay the hospital, and at the end of the month the hospital would pay me back in a batch payment.”

This way of doing things was disruptive to Delphine’s working day, where she’d have to track patient payments manually – in more ways than one.

“Before, I was always trying to make sure patients paid on site because they might not pay at all. Now with Semble Pay, I just send a link straight to the patient. It’s so much quicker, and easier for the patient.”

Delphine Sekri GP, St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

"The whole process was annoying," said Delphine. “I’d have to physically go to reception, because sometimes patients walk out without paying. And then I’d need proof of payment from reception that I keep that until I've seen that the hospital has refunded me.”

The previous system was not only tedious, but also prone to errors. Any discrepancies had to be followed up with the hospital, often taking weeks for resolution.

“There’s always mistakes – I have to go through the list of all the hospital payments on a regular basis to make sure it’s correct. If there’s a mistake, I waste a lot of time, because then there’s a process: the hospital need to send it to the right person, and it can take a month just to get a consultation back. It’s a really manual process, so it’s long and frustrating.”

The solution: Quick & easy payment links that modernise GP service

With Semble Pay, Delphine is able to modernise the entire payment process, introducing greater convenience and reliability for both herself and her patients.

Now, Delphine can send a payment link directly to patients, allowing them to pay at their convenience without the need for an additional trip to the front desk.

“Before, I was always trying to make sure patients paid on site because sometimes they might not pay at all. Now with Semble Pay, I just send a link straight to the patient. It’s so much quicker, and it’s easier for the patient - before it would delay the payment because they’d have to enter all the bank details into their account. But now it can be done straight away via the link.”

“The payment process is important for patient satisfaction. It was quite old fashioned to ask them to do a bank transfer – now they can pay via the payment link I don’t look like I’m stuck in the 80s! It’s super easy and makes me look good.”

Ciara McGrath GP, St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

This ease of payment means Delphine doesn’t waste time during her working day ensuring patients have paid via reception, and can easily perform refunds if necessary too.

“Now I can do payments as part of the appointment, so it definitely saves me a few minutes per consultation. And the process of refunds is the complete opposite to what it is now – I would have to enter their bank details into my account and do it in a very manual way, so now that’s much easier.”

By removing manual payment processes, Delphine no longer needs to keep track of physical proof of payment, or follow up on payment discrepancies with the hospital. With Semble Pay she’s able to view payments in real-time, which eliminates the need to wait for payments and minimises errors.

“The payment process is important for patient satisfaction. It was quite old fashioned to ask them to do a bank transfer – now they can pay via the payment link I don’t look like I’m stuck in the 80s! It’s super easy and makes me look good.

“Plus, it just makes the admin much better. I think that the way you function; if you have a different payment system, a different booking system, people look at you in a more positive way. It’s changed my image for the better.”