Background
SANA Physiotherapy, led by Shanan Nelson, is a growing physiotherapy practice on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Founded by Shanan, the clinic serves a broad range of patients, with a particular focus on achieving optimal patient outcomes through personalised, evidence-based care. Shanan's passion for helping people and his commitment to efficiency have driven both his clinical and business practices.
Challenges
As a busy practice owner and clinician, Shanan's main goal is to provide high-quality care while managing a growing business. However, balancing clinical responsibilities with administrative duties became overwhelming. Despite his efforts to streamline processes, inefficiencies in documentation and patient communication remained significant barriers.
Time-consuming documentation
Shanan's daily routine involved seeing 12-14 patients, then spending hours writing patient notes and letters after hours. Despite his best efforts to manage time, the need to finalise documentation outside of clinical hours drained his energy and compromised his work-life balance.
Inefficient letter writing
"Before, letters would often get lost in the shuffle, taking over a week to send out, and delaying the communication with GPs."
Prior to using Heidi, Shanan’s team faced significant delays in creating and sending letters to GPs, which sometimes resulted in missed or overdue communications. This inefficiency impacted relationships with referral partners.
Maintaining patient engagement
"I was committed to providing a high level of service, but I struggled to demonstrate the time and effort I put into each patient's treatment plan. I wanted my patients to feel like they were truly heard and valued, not just another number in the system."
Shanan was committed to offering a high level of service, but he found it difficult to find the time and effort needed to deliver all of the aspects he considered excellent care between consultations. He wanted a way to ensure patients felt the personal attention they were receiving, beyond just the clinical treatment.
After trying several solutions to address these challenges, Shanan found that the AI note-taking tools he had experimented with were either slow to improve or unable to meet his business’s specific needs.
Solution
Shanan discovered Heidi after attending a conference where he learned about the potential for AI-driven documentation. Intrigued by Heidi's promise to streamline administrative tasks, Shanan began a trial to see if it could integrate into his busy practice.
"The thing I really liked was how much input we had from the team at Heidi. The way it fit into our business was a game-changer."
Heidi’s AI-powered documentation system seamlessly integrated into Shanan's workflow. Heidi helped automate the note-taking process, generate patient summaries, and send GP letters almost instantly, saving Shanan hours each week and reducing physical strain caused by repetitive typing.
Key features Shanan loves:
- Template-based note-taking: Start notes from a predefined template that fits the practice’s needs
- "Ask Heidi" for patient-specific details: Retrieve relevant patient information to improve rapport
- Real-time letter generation: Create and send letters and patient summaries without delays
Impact
The integration of Heidi into SANA Physiotherapy’s workflow has had a profound impact on both Shanan’s personal well-being and his practice’s efficiency. The AI-powered documentation system has enabled Shanan to spend more time focusing on his patients and his business, rather than getting bogged down in administrative work.
"I’m saving at least 4 to 5 hours a week... and that’s just on three clinical days. The level of detail I’m getting from Heidi would have taken me an additional 6-7 hours to do manually."
Key outcomes:
- Time savings: Reduced documentation time by 4-5 hours per week, allowing more time for patient care and business development
- Increased efficiency: Patient notes and GP letters are completed in minutes instead of hours or days
- Better patient engagement: Personalisation in patient summaries has improved rapport and trust, with clients feeling heard and valued
- Improved health: The reduced strain from typing has lessened Shanan's risk of injury (previously suffering from tennis elbow as a result of admin load)
Time-consuming documentation - a thing of the past
"Now, I can send patient summaries within minutes after a consult. I used to have to go home and work late into the night to finish them."
Strengthening referral relationships
"Within minutes after an initial consult, the GP letter, patient summary, and follow-up details are sent. This not only improves the efficiency of our workflow, but it's also made a big difference in strengthening our relationships with GPs."
The swift and accurate documentation has allowed Shanan to maintain a higher standard of professionalism, ensuring that referral partners always receive timely updates. This has resulted in faster patient referrals, and in some cases, new referrals coming in.
World-class patient engagement
"Patients love the personal touch in the summaries, and I can easily remind them of small details like a pet or a family member’s job change, which strengthens the connection."
Unexpected benefit
“I didn't expect to be able to ask Heidi for help with specific patient details. It’s a game-changer for me, especially during busy days when I'm seeing lots of patients."
What’s next
With Heidi streamlining his administrative workload, Shanan is now able to focus on growing his practice and improving the patient experience. The time saved has been reinvested into refining treatment plans and exploring new business opportunities.
Shanan is excited about the future of AI in physiotherapy and the potential to expand the role of AI in diagnostics and treatment. He sees Heidi as part of the next phase of innovation that will allow allied health professionals to focus more on patient care and less on administrative burdens.
