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Summary:A roundtable of experts from leading practice management software companies highlights how AI, automation, and advanced analytics are transforming hearing care clinics by streamlining workflows, enhancing patient communication, and improving business outcomes. Key Takeaways: AI-driven features—such as speech-to-document tools, automated chart noting, and interactive texting—are reducing administrative burdens and improving patient engagement. Cloud-based platforms with integrated analytics and digital clinic tools provide clinics with real-time insights, seamless communication, and more efficient operations. Future developments will focus on deeper AI integration, predictive analytics, and workflow automation to help clinicians spend less time on admin tasks and more time on patient care. Experts from several software manufacturers share how the latest features are helping hearing clinic staff do more in less time. In an increasingly fast-paced, digital world, clinicians and patients are looking for more ways to utilize technology to simplify everyday tasks. And hearing care is no different. With this in mind, The Hearing Review asked experts from several manufacturers of practice management software to share their perspective on the evolution of this product segment and how new capabilities are helping meet the changing needs of hearing clinics. Participating in this roundtable are Eric Copeland, managing director, Auditdata Canada; Henrik Nielsen, president, Blueprint Solutions; Brian Urban, AuD, president, CounselEar LLC; and Kelsey Wells, vice president, Sycle. The Hearing Review: What is the most important trend in practice management software for hearing care right now? Eric Copeland (Auditdata): One of the most significant trends in practice management software for hearing care is the growing demand for intelligent automation tools that reduce administrative burden and free up clinicians to focus more fully on patient care. Whether it’s streamlining appointment scheduling, automating clinical documentation, or managing referral workflows, practices are looking for systems that can handle repetitive tasks behind the scenes. Eric Copeland, managing director, Auditdata Canada Henrik Nielsen (Blueprint): The most significant trend in practice management software for hearing care today is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automate and assist with daily clinic tasks. By leveraging AI, clinics can enhance the patient experience while simultaneously freeing up staff for more impactful work. We have introduced intelligence-driven tools such as AI-assisted chart noting with voice dictation, language translation, and chart note summarization. Additionally, Blueprint-AI can generate text replies to patient inquiries, saving valuable staff time. Henrik Nielsen, president, Blueprint Solutions Brian Urban (CounselEar): The most important trend currently is the introduction of AI for enhancing clinical documentation, business metrics, and patient management. Brian Urban, AuD, president, CounselEar LLC Kelsey Wells (Sycle): There is an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the use of data to grow a practice and increase patient retention. To help take advantage of the latest technology, Sycle is beginning a limited rollout of a completely new analytics experience, designed to help practices monitor key business metrics through modern and fresh dashboards and visuals. Kelsey Wells, vice president, Sycle What are the newest or most helpful features available, and how do they help HCPs and staff? Copeland: The most exciting new feature we’re launching in Auditdata Manage is our AI-powered speech-to-document tool. This innovation allows clinicians to record a patient session, and then automatically generates structured journal note summaries and key documents, such as an individual management plan, based on the conversation. The goal is simple: reduce the time clinicians spend on documentation so they can devote more attention to listening, assessing, and caring for their patients. For business owners, this means improved consistency in clinical records, better compliance, and more efficient workflows across the team. It’s a powerful way to remove friction from the clinical process while raising the overall standard of care. These features directly reduce the administrative burden that clinicians and staff face every day. For example, our AI-powered speech-to-document tool eliminates the need to take notes during or after an appointment. Instead, the clinician can stay fully engaged with the patient, knowing that accurate and structured notes will be generated automatically. Beyond time savings, this also improves consistency and documentation quality across the clinic. A good example is how this tool supports the creation of individual management plans. Rather than starting from scratch or relying on templated text, clinicians receive a personalized, draft-ready document based on the actual patient conversation, which saves time while improving accuracy and patient-specific detail. Nielsen: In response to the changes in patient communication preferences, we've introduced interactive texting (SMS) in Blueprint OMS, managed in a dedicated messaging center. Clinics can text patients from their landline to communicate on a number that patients trust and recognize. This new feature comes equipped with Blueprint AI Assist and pre-defined messages and responses. Blueprint OMS also offers text-to-pay, as well as online appointment reminders and telehealth invitations via SMS. These SMS features enable practices to manage patient conversations using a familiar text message interface within Blueprint OMS. The interactive texting feature enables faster and more effective communication with patients by providing a fully embedded solution, rather than separating services across different platforms. To improve practice operations, you can conveniently assign conversations to staff members or book future appointments directly from your text conversations. It provides a more convenient and efficient way for your staff to communicate with patients, improving both workflow and the patient experience. Interactive texting provides greater flexibility, accessibility, and an alternative to phone calls. By providing a single, trusted number for both voice and text, patients have an easy and convenient solution for communicating with the clinic. Blueprint OMS user Diana Vercellino, chief operating officer at Gold Country Hearing & Balance, shares her experience with interactive texting: “We’ve been really impressed with how easy the new texting feature is to use. What’s stood out the most is how effective it’s been with patients who haven’t answered phone calls or have full voicemail boxes. By sending a quick text, we’ve had patients call back almost immediately. It’s been a game-changer for staying connected and improving communication.” Our broad range of texting, marketing automation, and relationship management solutions, along with AI capabilities, improves staff efficiency, lowers costs, and allows for greater focus on patient care. Urban: We are in the process of launching CounselEar AI Assist. Initially the focus is on clinical documentation, but the features will expand to business metrics and patient management in the very near future. In addition, CounselEAR offers helpful features such as a start-to-finish claims workflow (including importing adjustments and payments), fully integrated online scheduling, and set-and-forget marketing automation. CounselEar is continually growing to meet patients where they are (online scheduling, two-way texting, patient counseling summary, online questionnaires, telehealth, patient portal, etc.) and to simplify clinic workflows (automated appointment messaging, virtual superbill, claims wizard, fax center, QuickBooks and Xero integrations, interactive dashboard, business metrics tracking, direct ordering, CounselEar AI Assist, etc.). Wells: Sycle recently announced its new Digital Clinic features, which help clinics focus on patients—not paper. Electronic signatures, easily searchable digital files, one-click document sharing, and more give practices faster, simpler ways of working. It’s a better experience for patients—and saves the clinics huge amounts of time. The new Sycle Analytics provides a real-time pulse on clinic performance without old school spreadsheets and static reports. It includes an intuitive interface that makes it easy to find and use information. The financial dashboards, operational reports, and data visualizations (graphs and charts) are embedded directly into Sycle. Sycle’s Digital Clinic reduces the time clinics are spending today managing paper, tracking down people to sign documents, and locating information. Staff can locate and share documents with a single click. Digital signatures, which can be collected from anywhere, only require one step vs. the four steps needed for manual signing (document download, print, sign, and scan). This impact was shared by a client: “Rather than waiting for our patients to come to our office, which can delay processes by days, we are now able to reach these patients instantly and have them sign these documents virtually. It makes it painless for our patients and ultimately increases the speed and likelihood of documents being signed on time.” Dashboards in the new Sycle Analytics offer even more help by making it easy to track revenue, return rates, and daily trends, helping clinical teams spot wins, improvement opportunities, and new needs. With centralized information, the need to run different reports to compare data goes away. Another example is that practices can add new providers or locations and instantly filter reports by them—no extra setup is needed. https://hearingreview.com/practice-building/practice-management/how-to-optimize-your-practice-management-software HR: Are there software trends or features that have fallen by the wayside as technology has advanced that show how much this space has changed in recent years? Copeland: Yes, definitely. A few years ago, the focus in practice management software was simply converting paper-based processes into digital formats. That included things like electronic scheduling, scanned documents, and basic patient recordkeeping. These early systems were important, but they often functioned more like digital filing cabinets. They stored information but didn’t actively help clinicians or staff work more efficiently. That passive approach is no longer enough. Today’s systems are expected to be intelligent and integrated, actively supporting clinical workflows, automating routine tasks, and contributing to better patient and business outcomes. Static templates and disconnected modules are being replaced with adaptive, AI-powered tools that align with how clinics actually operate. Another example of a fading trend is reliance on locally installed software with limited remote access. As the industry moves toward cloud-based solutions, clinics now expect real-time collaboration, secure data management, and the flexibility to work from multiple locations or offer teleaudiology services. These shifts show how much the space has evolved. Practice management software is no longer just about going digital, it’s about delivering smarter, more connected ways to run a modern hearing care clinic. Nielsen: In the past, practice management solutions were primarily local server-based systems rather than cloud-based. These systems were usually not integrated with other software, such as Noah, QuickBooks, or EMRs. They offered no automated options for recalls, marketing, or reminders. Systems relied heavily on paper and phone calls for patient communication. Urban: Features such as virtual superbills, integrated faxing, remote and scheduled payments, automated patient communications, direct ordering, as well as online document creation and storage have dramatically reduced the volume of paper that is utilized and stored by clinics. In particular, integrated faxing eliminates the need for a fax machine and online scheduling plus automated patient communications significantly reduces inbound/outbound calls while enhancing the patient experience and reducing no shows / late arrivals. Wells: Technology caused a huge shift in how information is viewed and shared as well as basic operations. One example is the replacement of antiquated paper reports and Excel spreadsheets with easy-to-read visual dashboards that quickly provide information. Instead of counting on word of mouth, the power of being online and working with partners offers big boosts to presence and growth. Technology has even accelerated the speed of payment with options like text to pay, email to pay, and other options. HR: What features do you think we can expect to see in practice management software in the future, and how could they change how HCPs approach their jobs? Copeland: Looking to the future, practice management software will become increasingly intelligent, integrated, and user-friendly, fundamentally changing how hearing care professionals deliver care and manage their clinics. One key advancement is the continued integration with diagnostic tools. For example, our Auditdata Measure audiometer has been redesigned to be compact, portable, and cable-minimized, making it easier to use in any clinical setting without clutter. This seamless hardware-software integration means clinicians can access testing data and patient records in one streamlined system, enhancing workflow efficiency and clinical decision-making. We also expect to see more advanced workflow engines embedded within software, like the one already in Auditdata Manage. These engines guide clinicians and staff through clinically compliant, best-practice processes, reducing variability and ensuring regulatory compliance. This will help standardize care delivery, improve patient outcomes, and reduce administrative errors. Additionally, natural language processing and AI-powered features, such as real-time, voice-enabled documentation, will further reduce clinicians’ administrative burden, allowing them to focus more fully on patient interaction. Predictive analytics will play a bigger role too, helping clinics anticipate patient needs, identify risks, and personalize care plans proactively. Finally, business intelligence tools will become even more sophisticated, providing real-time insights to clinic owners and managers to optimize staffing, inventory, and patient engagement strategies. Together, these features will transform practice management software from a record-keeping tool into a powerful partner that supports both clinical excellence and business growth, enabling hearing care professionals to deliver higher quality care more efficiently than ever before. Nielsen: With the ongoing shortage of hearing healthcare professionals, we need to support patient-centric approaches with systems that manage and integrate key tasks, such as documentation, patient engagement, billing, and analytics. AI and automation are key to less admin work and more patient-facing time. Urban: I would expect to see more attention given to 1) reducing staff workload related to patient management, documentation, and claims via AI and other tools, 2) analyzing business metrics related to TPAs and managed care, and 3) supporting mobile practices. Collectively, these advancements would reduce the time required for routine tasks, provide actionable data for making decisions related to TPAs and managed care, as well as enhance the patient experience. Wells: Artificial intelligence is a game-changer. The use in practice management is still evolving, but there are ways that clinics can take advantage of it today. One example is using it to track the competition, asking an AI tool how many competitors are within a 5-mile radius of a practice. AI will even provide how those clinics market themselves and what services they offer, which helps practices craft future services and marketing plans. A team member could feed in 3 reasons to get your 6-month fitting check-in and ask AI to create a post for Facebook or Instagram. By letting AI perform time-intensive tasks, healthcare care providers free up time to focus on patients and grow their practices. An abbreviated version of this article titled Roundtable: Practice Management Software Improvements appears in the July/August 2025 issue of The Hearing Review. Original citation for this article: Hearing Review Staff. Roundtable: Practice Management Software Improvements. Hearing Review. 2025;32(4):20-21. Featured image: Dreamstime

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