A doctor's journey: Combining care with technology

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Background

Dr. Gihan de Mel is a Melbourne-based General Practitioner with over a decade of experience, whose passion for general practice was sparked by the hands-on, community-focused care he provided during his training at a regional hospital in Ballarat, Victoria. He now provides compassionate care across urban and suburban Melbourne practices and a residential nursing home, emphasizing genuine care, understanding, and patient support. He is also a valued member of Heidi’s Medical Knowledge team, contributing his clinical insights to help shape and refine the product for the wider community.

Challenges

Dr. Gihan works across multiple locations, each demanding attention to a high patient volume and detailed administrative tasks. The scale of his practice, spanning urban clinics and aged care, highlighted significant pressures in maintaining patient relationships while managing documentation efficiently.

Administrative overload

"The problem is, we are spending too much time looking at a keyboard or a computer."

Navigating extensive documentation meant sacrificing vital time better spent on patient care.

Patient rapport at risk

"You can be an expert and you can be the best person in that particular field, but if you can't relate to the patient and build that rapport, patients just don't come back."

Administrative distractions impacted Dr. Gihan's ability to foster meaningful patient interactions.

So many patients, so little time

"We have to see a lot of volume, lots of patients, as there are still people lining up, not being able to see doctors for proper care."

The pressure of a high patient volume meant that every administrative delay could reduce overall care quality.

For years, Dr. Gihan tried to streamline administrative tasks through various tools and workflows, with limited success. This changed dramatically upon integrating Heidi into his workflow.

Solution

Dr. Gihan discovered Heidi early on and integrated it seamlessly into his daily workflow across all of his practice settings. 

"I see a huge difference in how I practice and how it has improved patient care."

Dr. Gihan’s top three favourite features:

• Summary statements: Heidi automatically distills lengthy consultations into concise summaries.
• Dictation at nurses' station: Easy note creation post-consult, facilitating effective patient handovers.
• Prompt-based referrals: Instantly formulates comprehensive referral letters from patient notes.

Impact

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Key outcomes:

• Significant reduction in documentation time
• Improved patient rapport through increased direct interaction
• Greater efficiency, allowing timely finishes and improved work-life balance

Restored patient interaction

"We can have much better eye contact."

Heidi allows Dr. Gihan to connect genuinely with his patients, enhancing the consultation experience. By freeing up his attention from typing and note-taking, he’s able to be more present and focused during the consult, which patients immediately respond to.

Efficient documentation workflow

"You can write a prompt at the bottom and say, 'Hey, can you please write a referral to the physiotherapist about this patient,' and it will actually rephrase the entire conversation or consult and formulate a referral for you."

Documentation tasks are streamlined, enhancing overall practice productivity. With Heidi handling the note-taking, referrals, and summaries, Dr. Gihan can shift his energy toward clinical thinking and collaboration with colleagues, rather than chasing admin.

Reduced patient wait times

"Any help we can get makes a huge difference to that patient waiting."

By streamlining tasks like note-taking and referrals, Heidi enables Dr. Gihan to see patients more efficiently, reducing bottlenecks and helping ensure that fewer people are left waiting for care.

Unexpected benefit - Inspiring younger patients

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As someone who enjoys technology, Dr. Gihan's office reflects his interest in modern tools.

"It's wonderful to show them how technology can help us take better care of people."

What’s next

With Heidi integral to his daily practice, Dr. Gihan now dedicates more time and focus to patient care, continuing to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare across his diverse practice settings.

"The true reality is that we are able to finish work relatively on time and go home to see our families."

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