Then and Now: A Look at Medical Administration Services
Synapse is a relatively new service provider. Let’s take a look at what existed to take the burden of administration out of the hands of clinicians before we arrived. In this article, we’re having a brief look at the history of healthcare administration in Australia and around the world.
The Early Days
At the beginning of the 20th century, the early days of hospital provision, it was clinicians themselves who dealt with paperwork and other administrative tasks. This system quickly became unmanageable. Early healthcare administrators were usually nurses who had taken on additional responsibilities but this practice detracted from time spent with patients. Due to this problem, external individuals were recruited to manage the day-to-day running of medical practices.
Healthcare Administration Education
As the number of hospitals across the world grew, it became clear that structured training was necessary to prepare non-medically-trained workers to carry out administrative duties in healthcare environments. In 1934, the first modern day ‘health systems management’ course was established at the University of Chicago.
Formal study in medical administration in Australia is increasing a prerequisite for successful employment in non-clinical roles. This can be anything from a vocational qualification for medical administration to a doctorate in healthcare management and economics, preparing students to run the hospitals of the future.
Insurance, Medibank and Medicare
As medical provision systems and health insurance developed in the 1960s and 70s, the role of a hospital administrator evolved. These professionals went from scheduling appointments and procedures, controlling records, organising tests and providing communication between medical staff and patients to dealing with insurance and financial issues.
The first version of Australia’s current Universal Healthcare system was put in place in 1985, creating with it a new cottage industry of individuals versed in the workings of the new scheme.
Online Operations
During the late 1990s, with many Australians connecting to the internet at home and work, medical administration was able to move partially online. Computers had already been used to store data but now online resources were developed to aid with administrative tasks and insurance claims.
At the start of the 21st century, healthcare delivery began to embrace web tools and technology to improve patient care through more efficient operations and data management. Carefully-designed and expertly-developed online applications and information systems help administrators and managers to ensure productivity and safety in the delivery of health care and services.
Synapse is Born
In 2010, Margaret Foux, a qualified lawyer and nurse, founded Synapse to revolutionise the medical billing process and free doctors from administrative duties.
Synapse aimed to help medical practitioners and health service managers to streamline their operational processes, saving time and resources which could be better spent on patient care. Synapse became the first Australian provider of medical administration and billing services to achieve international registration to ISO 9001 for delivering a consistent and high-quality management system.
In 2012, Synapse released Australia’s first medical billing app, Synapps, to make the billing system even more user-friendly, improving efficiency for administrative staff once again.
Streamline Your Operations with Synapse
To find out more about how the Synapse service can help your medical practice, call us now on 1300 510 114 or complete an online enquiry form.