Introduction
Looking for the best Cliniko alternatives?
Cliniko is an excellent practice management solution for Australian allied health professionals - Psychologists, Nurses, Therapists etc.
Firstly I want to give Cliniko credit.👏 When they first launched 15 years ago, they helped innovate the Australian private practice sector with basic but robust software.
Unfortunately, today it does have some severe shortcomings for many private practices.
Firstly they are expensive for small teams 💸. It doesn't seem fair that a small team pays $49/mo per user, but large companies pay $2/Mo. 😤
And here's another issue.
They don't have a client portal.
And here's another issue.
They don't have online payments.
And here's one more issue.
It is stupidly hard to use.
Every healthcare practitioner needs simple electronic health records to streamline their workflow.
Because of this, countless practitioners have been saying "Ciao!" to Cliniko, just like you!
This article will cover what Cliniko is and why you should make the swap. Then, we'll cover our top alternatives and help you make the right choice for your practice.
Why you need a Cliniko alternative
Cliniko provides healthcare practitioners like yourself with some handy features to help you and your team manage your day-to-day work life.
Some of its features are:
- Nurse scheduling software
- Billing and Invoicing
- EHR
- Note-taking
- Document Management
While those features sound promising, Cliniko has a few limitations:
What Mobile App?
As a healthcare practitioner in 20224, you'll know that being mobile isn't just handy; it's critical to your practice's functionality. How can you work during a lockdown, provide telehealth (or telemedicine) or deal with a patient crisis after hours within a practice management app? You can't! And that is a massive problem. ❌
Both you and your clients need to be able to access your practice management system. Whether it is from android, iPhone, or iPad, you need to access a user-friendly service for your patients.
Pricing
Naturally, for most healthcare practitioners, when looking at software solutions, pricing is a significant factor. Unfortunately, Cliniko pricing, while being simple, is costly. Who wants to pay $49 per month as a solo practitioner?
Patient Portal
As a healthcare practitioner, you'll know that having a client portal is an integral part of intake forms, online payments, messaging, and appointment reminders.
The bottom line is if you're seeking a practice management solution, don't go without it.
Top 5 Cliniko alternatives
Carepatron
Carepatron is the best practice management solution in the world today!
It was co-designed by practitioners, so you know it works how you work and does all of the crucial things for you.
Carepatron key features
Here are just a few reasons why Carepatron is a great Cliniko alternative:
1. Telehealth for no additional cost
Use our secure telehealth with your clients for no additional cost. I don't know about you, but we are sick of these ridiculous add-on charges for what is now just a core tool.
You can start using Carepatron's telehealth tool with your clients, team, or groups for free.
On top of that, our video calling's quality is the best in the market, hands down. No one is even close!
2. Workflow manager
Many practice management platforms have basic scheduling tools. But in 2022, that is not enough. Instead, we have a complete end-to-end workflow tool, which utilizes cutting-edge technology to automate and optimize what we do and how we do them.
Thousands of private practices use this app to provide their clients with more digitally enabled experiences.
Here are some of Carepatron's powerful workflow tools:
Client appointments: Enjoy the best client appointment software in the world.
- Tasks: Share and manage tasks.
- Reminder: Set reminders, so you never miss those crucial moments again.
- Auto reminders: A built-in reminder service removes the risk of DNA and stress from your shoulders. You can send as many reminders as you want, with none of those limits or add-on costs.
- Team meeting: Organize all of your sessions in one place. Whether it's with your team or professional network, bring it all together in one place.
3. Client relationships
Manage Client relationships directly within their profile. This means you will have a simple way to link your clients with their key support people. Whether it's their parents, partner, or other health providers, you will place your team and clients at the center of the healthcare ecosystem.
4. Voice to text transcription
Most of us speak faster than we can type. So why not type with your voice?
We have built the world's most powerful voice-to-text capability within our private practice system. Moreover, we have created something pretty special by combining the most advanced machine learning capability with natural language processing.
Go ahead, sign up for free with Carepatron. 🎉
Carepatron Pros
Automated billing and payments
Carepatron allows you to conduct invoicing and payments within their platform to automate the billing journey for both yourself and your clients. Carepatron also means you can throw your credit card terminal away and bring all of your payments into a digital workspace. Meaning you don't have to have that awkward moment when you have to ask your client for their debit card at the end of a perfect session.
Inbuilt Scheduling Software
The automatic reminder service allows you to stay up to date with a client in real-time. Ensuring they always turn up for an appointment on time and cancellations and no-shows a thing of the past, improving revenue and client wellness.
They also support other workflows as clinic management software by:
- Enabling you to assign tasks to your team or clients—monitor their completion on treatment notes or
- Set reminders to make sure important things don't get missed
- Schedule in-person meetings or video calls
HIPAA compliant
Compliance is not the most exciting part, but when it comes to choosing a software management platform for private practices to store patient records, it's the most important. Carepatron is HIPAA certified, which is fantastic.
Some other incredible Carepatron pros
- Extensive free version available
- Intuitive, user-friendly interface
- AI-powered voice to text transcription
- Unlimited 24/7 support
- Note and clinical report software
- Client relationship capability
- User reviews give Carepatron an overall five-star rating!
- Ease of use, never need to be trained how to use again
Carepatron Pricing
Carepatron has a robust free plan for unlimited users with paid versions at just $12 per user/month.
Power Diary
Power Diary is a web-based practice management platform that provides a calendar management solution. It includes automated appointment notifications, billing and invoicing, SMS-based chat, and more.
Pros
- Solid interface, menus, and setup
- Patient-practitioner messaging capabilities via email and SMS
- Scheduling reminders via SMS or email
Cons
- No mobile app
- No healthcare-specific billing capability
- It's hard to learn and use 😞
- No ability to create healthcare plans
- Primarily focused on the calendar with a few add-on tools.
Pricing
The cost of Power Diary is very confusing. The more you use it, the more it'll cost.
- 2-3 calendars $8 per week
- 4-9 calendars $13 per week
- 10-20 calendars $21 per week
- 21+ calendars variable
Nookal
Nookal is a practice management software (EMR) designed for allied health clinics (including physical therapy) clinics to help practitioners and therapists boost their revenue. It enables automation of payments and bookings, reminder messages, staff scheduling, invoicing, and more.
Pros
- Intuitive interface
- Free 30 day trial
- Generation of automatic reminders
Cons
- Not great value for money 💰
- Non-HIPAA compliant
- Limited support
- Not great for mental health workflow
- Limited integration with external providers such as Mailchimp and Xero
Pricing
Nookal saas pricing starts at $55 per month, which is too much for small practices if you ask us. 👎
Simplepractice
Simplepractice is one of the best-known medical practice management platforms that boasts a broad range of tools to help streamline business management. Including online bookings, medical billing, and referrals. We don't think it lives up to the hype, here's why:
Customer Service
Customer reviews and social media reveal a sad story; they're hard to reach and lack the sense of urgency you'd hope to find in the CRM of any healthcare platform.
No Templates
Templates are a great way to save time and ensure you can create comprehensive but brief client notes. Why doesn't SimplePractice have them? We have no idea.🤯
Limited Progress Note Capabilities
Simple practice only offers limited progress notes and psychotherapy note functionality.
Pricing
Simplepractice has two plans, both on a monthly payment plan (listed below). The telehealth video functionality is $10 per month per practitioner.
- The essential plan is $39 monthly
- The professional plan is $59 per month
Halaxy
Last and, unfortunately probably least, is Halaxy. They have been around the Australian PMS sector for a while now with limited success. But for completeness, we wanted to share a brief summary.
Pros
- They do have a limited free version
- Include a bunch of the usual features
- Focus mainly on medium size healthcare organizations
Cons
- Read their privacy statement and T&C's carefully. Over the years, there has been a lot of conversation about how they own and potentially resell the client data stored on their platform. We won't rehash here, but I would strongly recommend you do your due diligence.
- PMS costs are tough to understand. Lots of hidden gotchas to avoid. 🤬
- Reminds me a bit of the Drchrono or Kareo complex interface
- The design is confusing and, at times, overly complex.
- No charting capability or API
- Doesn't support immersive patient care experience
Pricing
Some things are free, others cost. There are far too many hidden costs to list.
Conclusion
While Cliniko could help you with practice management, it's hardly the best solution out there.
Why settle for an older style product when you can use better practice management software, like Carepatron.
But how good are Cliniko's tools?
They're pretty decent.
But why settle for 'decent' when you can get 'awesome' for free?
Carepatron's features are 100% FREE and fun to use!
So sign up with Carepatron today and take your private practice to the next level!
Further Reading:
- Top 10 Alternatives To SimplePractice In 2022
- Best PowerDiary Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best Theranest Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best Counsol Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best TherapyNotes Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best Nookal Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best MyClientsPlus Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
- Best Halaxy Alternatives (Features and Pricing)
