15 Nov 2017  •  Blog, NHS  •  3min read By  • Kenny Barr

Switching plan provider gave me the support I need for my practice’s future

We decided to leave our existing plan provider as we were no longer confident in their long-term future. I already knew of Practice Plan’s professional standing and I have known Jayne, one of their Regional Support Managers, from her many years in the industry, so they were my first port of call.

Within a month of deciding to make the switch we had sent out a letter to all our patients, explaining the change, and what it meant for them. Of course, any time you introduce change it has the potential to upset some people and as a practice owner and principal I was concerned to a degree about how some patients might react.

Seamless conversion

But that fear was unfounded. Within three months 95% of our patients had joined the new plan – and the vast majority of those were within the first few weeks. The fact that we were able to carry out the conversion so quickly and seamlessly also meant there was no issue with cash flow in the business during the switch between providers.

Being able to offer like-for-like plans also really helped to minimise the change and smooth the transition. We have been able to offer the same two plans we had with the previous provider and keep the options and price the same for patients so there was no difference to the service they receive from us.

Support

However, the service we receive, as a practice, from our plan provider has changed significantly. The main difference being support – we actually get some now!

With any query we have or any question we know we can speak to real people, whether that’s Jayne or another member of the Practice Plan team, who want to help and are able to. Our previous provider literally just administered the plan and nothing else.

The guidance Jayne gave us when it came to changing over, thanks to her experience of multiple conversions and her years in the profession, was truly invaluable. She is a great sounding board and I greatly respect her knowledge and experience. Jayne is now my go-to girl when it comes to advice.

The future

Going forward I know that as we continue to partner with Practice Plan we will have access to lots of continuing professional development in the form of seminars and workshops, which we simply didn’t get before, and which can only help the business to grow.

Practice Plan really looked after me, my business and my patients during the conversion and I know they would do the same for any other practice. It has been a great result all round.

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