How to Make Systems and Technology Work for You with Emily Harris

We spoke with Emily Harris, Naturopath and founder of Indigo Wellbeing, a Naturopathic clinic in the United Kingdom focused on supporting people with chronic eczema and those going through Topical Steroid Withdrawal.

Emily is also a mentor with the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners supporting students and graduates with setting up their clinical practice and running small group mentoring sessions.

Let’s jump into our chat with Emily!

In your practice today, you specialize in eczema and topical steroid withdrawal but you started out more general. How has niching down helped streamline your workflow and scale your practice?

The beauty of Naturopathic Medicine is that we treat people rather than conditions so this naturally attracts a clientele with a huge diversity of health conditions. I’ve been a Naturopath for over 15 years and only in recent years has my niche become more focused. I resisted niching for a long time but Meredith Hill’s quote always reminds me that “When you speak to everyone, you speak to no-one”.

By seeing clients with similar health challenges, I can streamline my workflow, protocol templates can be detailed and focussed, and I can utilize my library of snippets, note templates, dietary and lifestyle recommendations. Once these foundations are in place, then scaling your practice is much less overwhelming as you have the groundwork of an efficiently run clinical practice that is optimized for both the client and the practitioner.

How important has having the right systems and technology been to the success of your practice?

Absolutely vital. When l started out, I used multiple different platforms from online booking systems, clinical note-taking software to document storage, and paper-based filing systems. I knew it wasn’t working; it felt disorganized and inefficient but I didn’t feel I could justify the cost of a practice management system being a start-up business.

My advice to any new graduate now would be to start as you plan to go on. Invest in a practice management system from the outset to support the growth of your business from the start allowing you to grow effortlessly. Getting your systems in place early, whilst you have time but not necessarily the clients, allows you to set up the foundations and processes of your business that will pay dividends in both time and money in the long run.

Have you found that optimizing your use of technology has impacted your clients’ experience and outcomes?

Yes, in a very positive way. From visiting my website to booking the first consultation, the client experience is seamless. Practice Better allows me to integrate my booking system into my website, clients can see my availability at a glance, book a consultation and make a payment. My intake forms and onboarding information is automated once their booking is complete. Clients can feel confident they’ve prepared for our session.

Doctor as Teacher is a founding principle of Naturopathic Medicine and I love to write a comprehensive protocol ensuring the client is informed and empowered. The Practice Better platform allows the client to engage and take responsibility for their health; food and lifestyle journals make the experience interactive in real-time offering accountability between appointments and the in-built messaging keeps my communication with clients in one place, so I’m not having to reply to emails, social media DMs, and phone calls.

Being a cloud-based platform, clients have the information they need at hand, quite literally in their pocket with the Better app and I can run my business from anywhere. It is so empowering!

Having tried 11 different software before landing on Practice Better, you likely became very clear on what you needed in a practice management system! What are some of your favorite PB features that allow you to run your practice in a way that works for you?

Finding a practice management system that ticked all the boxes became quite a mission! My favorite feature of Practice Better has to be protocols. I love that my treatment plan and recommendations are in one place and clients’ have all the information they need to follow their plan.

From a workflow perspective, without a doubt my favorite feature is Snippets! Spending time writing and curating your snippets is a game-changer for use across notes, protocols, and programmes. It optimizes my workflow not having to repeat myself, just {{ and go!

What words of advice would you give to other practitioners who haven’t optimized their ideal workflow yet?

It can be overwhelming to learn a new platform but investing time exploring the features of the software saves hours in the long run. Take time to set up your practice, think carefully about the way you work, the needs of your clients, and identify where you are inefficient with your time or repeating tasks.

Whether you are a visual learner or prefer written text, Practice Better has YouTube videos and how-to guides. The magic wand of the help center within the platform means you can quickly find a step-by-step guide to answer most questions.

Automate, automate, automate! From booking confirmations to sending forms to clients, taking payments, recurring tasks, and even running programmes, automate as much of your business as possible, you won’t look back.

Do you have anything coming up that you’d like to share with the PB community? Where can our community go to learn more about you?

Yes absolutely! I am launching an online programme for the holistic management of Eczema. For further information about me and to better understand how I have integrated PB with my business, please check out my website below.

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Emily!

You can learn more about Emily by visiting her website or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for nutritionists, dietitians, and wellness professionals. Streamline your practice and begin your 14-day free trial today.