Psychoaesthetics Limited
Case Study
Psychoaesthetics Limited offer patients pain-free cosmetic surgery.
Exchequer Dynamics provided them with a hosted virtual working environment, and customised the medical practice management solution OpenEMR with our SQL expertise to electronically keep track of patient health records.
Psychoaesthetics Limited
After years of working in the NHS, Mr Ardeshir Vahidi wanted to explore the possibility of moving into private healthcare. He approached Exchequer Dynamics in October 2022 to discuss the setup of a brand new clinical practice in Harley Street.
Our Involvement
While the medical sector was a completely new endeavour for Exchequer Dynamics, we took the view that our knowledge of business processes, software and systems could be applied for the customer to use technology to build a company from the ground up.
The facilities that we readily had on hand for their rapid setup included:
- A Tier 3 Data Centre space at Node4 for virtual infrastructure that adheres to data centre compliance standards
- Microsoft Remote Desktops for secure hosting of a bespoke Cloud-based working environment
- Cybersecurity solutions to meet requirements for security & patient confidentiality
- Cluster of Sophos UTM firewalls that follow compliance standards
- Bitdefender Gravityzone endpoint protection
We were able to provide a virtual office within days at a very low entry cost for a secure, hosted and managed environment without any huge capital outlay. This process is repeatable and it’s exciting how this method can be applied to other customers within a small timeframe. One of the reasons that the quick turnaround was required is due to potential investment from third parties interested in the company. While they were of the view that Psychoaesthetics wouldn’t be able to gain any patients for 6 months, they wanted to see patients registered and actively coming into the practice before willing to invest. As Exchequer Dynamics has the infrastructure in place in terms of Data Centre space, hardware and access to low cost licencing, we were able to swiftly create the virtual workspace.
This environment is securely locked down for Psychoaesthetics as we don’t believe in sharing other providers’ Cloud systems, such as Microsoft. While security is a primary concern, large organisations’ support system comprises of many users worldwide – support representatives don’t necessarily know their customers’ history as there isn’t any continuity of support. We can provide a much more tailored level of support at cost effective rates. Our customers therefore have a reference point of who to contact to resolve any issues quickly and in an informed manner. If a customer calls or emails us for support, they will gain a response within 4 hours, although our response time is on average less than an hour. Going forwards, specialised businesses will be increasingly looking for this approach of a bespoke Cloud and level of service as opposed to current generic mass Cloud services.
OpenEMR
While we had suitable resources for Psychoaesthetics’s virtual working environment, the first challenge we faced was to discern the appropriate technology available for a medical records platform. A lot of the readily accessible options are at inflated prices within the medical sector, consequently unfeasible for the startup of a new company.
The customisation was achieved with the plethora of helpful online resources and forums. The members of staff at Psychoaesthetics were also able to use their experience in the sector to advise on features that needed to be included for the forms. Exchequer Dynamics’s SQL expertise was applied with our developers altering the forms for specific types of clients:
- forms for pre-op questionnaires for patients
- forms that utilise formulae to automatically calculate the probability of patients’ risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- forms for the Fitzrovia Hospital to collate all pre-op information for surgeries taking place onsite
- PDF reports generated & sent via secure encrypted mail service
EMR Features
Document management system with all information captured in one central location, such as:
- Pre & post op photos
- Signatures
- Appointments
- Patient medical history
- Referral letters
- Uploaded scans
- GDPR Compliance
- HIPAA & Data Protection Act Compliance
- Two factor authentication
- Customisable forms with the use of SQL
- Reporting
- Open Source
- Easy interface
- Tablet accessible
- Used by small & large organisations
Recruitment
With the Remote work environment and EMR in place, Psychoaesthetics was formed with the recruitment of a nurse to manage pre-op patients and assessments on a day-to-day basis with Mr Vahidi. An experienced practice manager was also gained who set about promoting the business, using his expertise to run the practice. In addition with a surgeon, the Psychoaesthetics team provided a lot of guidance of the expectations and requirements to assist Exchequer Dynamics as we had no prior experience with the setup of an organisation in the medical sector.
Exchequer Dynamics hosted Psychoaesthetics’s website, and social media accounts were created to start a campaign to reach out to patients in need of their help and services. Within the space of a three month window between 25th October 2022 and 25th January 2023, Psychoaesthetics started operating from the Fitzrovia Hospital in London. This location used to be St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy for the private healthcare of the Anglican clergy. It was later fully refurbished and reopened in September 2022 shortly prior to the setup of the company with brand new operating theatres and the most modern hospital facilities available in London. Psychoaesthetics’s view is if they are going to offer private practice, they should offer it at the best possible facility. With their first two patients booked into operating theatre in January 2023, the practice is growing at an unexpected rate with 50 listed patients for surgery over the next few months.
Psychoaesthetics managed to achieve the rapid gain of patients through effective social media and video conferencing via Zoom and Microsoft Teams to engage their audience and patients. This made it more cost effective for patients to interact with their consultants before spending money on costly Harley Street consultations. This process was and still is a very important step as it’s crucial for patients to be comfortable with their consultants ahead of embarking on this journey tied with potentially hefty medical costs.
Challenges That Were Overcome
- Costs: resources and services in the UK’s medical sector is grossly inflated with a 75% increase. Outside of OpenEMR which is open source, Exchequer Dynamics creatively applied business processes to the medical sector as opposed to outsourcing to medical consultants and experts.
- There are huge challenges in setting up this business but EMR effectively meets all compliance, a key factor that is an absolute necessity.
- While a similar process can be applied to other businesses outside of the medical sector, knowing who your target market is and how to reach them is key.
Summary of Services Provided for Psychoaesthetics
- Web hosting
- EMR platform hosting
- EMR SQL form configuration
- Cost effective bespoke managed Virtual Cloud work environment
- Remote support services
- Layers of Security for added protection:
- Cluster of Sophos UTM firewalls which offer unified security across email, applications, web filtering for inbound & outbound mail
- Infrastructure of hosted environment sits behind the firewall
- Users connect to secure desktop intranet through SSL VPN connections so the desktop isn’t physically on the public internet
- Bitdefender Gravityzone endpoints for complete protection against all types of malware, ransomware, phishing, zero-day attacks, viruses, spyware & many other threats that can compromise the security of doctor & patient data.