The Challenge
Wellness Care (name changed) operated six physiotherapy clinics across the Midlands. What had started as a single practice had grown through a combination of organic expansion and acquisitions.
The problem: each site ran differently. Appointment booking, patient records, billing, staff scheduling-every location had developed their own processes and chosen their own tools. The result was operational chaos.
Clinic managers spent hours on admin that should have been automated. The head office had no visibility into site performance. Compliance was a constant worry-with six different ways of doing things, it was impossible to ensure consistent standards.
The founders wanted to consolidate, but previous attempts had failed. Staff were protective of their ways of working, and nobody had time to lead a proper transformation.
Our Approach
We began with a comprehensive Operations Audit, spending time at each site to understand local practices and concerns. This wasn't about finding fault-it was about finding patterns.
We discovered that beneath the surface differences, the core workflows were similar. The variations were mostly historical accidents-each site had solved problems independently, arriving at different but equally valid solutions.
We also found that staff weren't resistant to change; they were resistant to being told what to do without being consulted. Previous top-down mandates had failed because they ignored local expertise.
Our approach was deliberately collaborative. We formed a working group with representatives from each site, empowering them to help design the new standard processes.
What We Built
Unified Practice Management We selected and implemented a single practice management system across all sites, migrating from five different platforms. The key was customising it to incorporate the best practices we'd identified at each location.
Standard Operating Procedures We documented consistent processes for the 20 most critical workflows-from patient intake to billing to complaint handling. But we built in flexibility where local variation genuinely made sense.
Central Operations Dashboard A real-time view of key metrics across all sites, giving leadership visibility without requiring manual reporting from clinic managers.
Automated Administrative Workflows We automated appointment reminders, feedback collection, and routine communications-tasks that had been consuming hours of staff time at each location.
The Results
Six months after implementation:
- Administrative overhead reduced by 35%
- Patient complaints related to administrative issues dropped by 60%
- Staff satisfaction with operational processes increased significantly
- Head office gained real-time visibility across all sites
Perhaps most importantly, the collaborative approach meant that staff owned the new systems. The working group continued meeting monthly to refine and improve processes, creating a culture of continuous improvement that hadn't existed before.
Client Perspective
“We'd tried to standardise before and failed. Systemantic's approach-actually listening to our teams and involving them in the design-made all the difference. The systems work because our people helped build them.”
**Dr. Michael Okonkwo**, Managing Director, Wellness Care