Why one clinic software does not fit every doctor: what “speciality-specific” really means

Speciality-specific clinic software arrives already set up for one kind of clinic. Five things change with the speciality: the services and price list, the medicines offered as you type, the way a dose is written, how repeat visits are booked, and what the patient's file shows first. You can check all five in a five-minute demo.

Software that says it works for “all specialities” often means it is equally generic for all of them: one screen, one price list you fill in yourself, one way to book. The five checks below tell the two kinds apart.

1. The services and the price list

A specific system arrives with your services and a starting price for each, and lets you change them. An ENT clinic bills for ear syringing, nasal endoscopy and audiometry. A gynaecologist bills for antenatal visits, scans and IUCD insertion. If you have to type all of these in yourself, you have been given a blank form.

2. The medicines offered as you type

The first names offered should be ones you write. A paediatrician writes syrups, drops and suspensions. A dermatologist writes creams, gels and shampoos. If a skin clinic types “ad” and is offered an adult antibiotic before adapalene gel, the list was written for someone else. Some clinics need no medicine list at all: a physiotherapy visit records the therapy given.

3. The way a dose is written

The software should know your directions. “Twice a day after food” covers a tablet. It does not cover “in the right ear”, “thin layer on the affected area”, “wash off after five minutes” or “by mouth with the dropper”. These phrases are how specialists write, and software that offers them saves typing on every prescription.

4. How repeat visits are booked

A course of visits should be one booking that then shows the patient's place in it, such as “Session 3 of 6”. This is the biggest difference between the two kinds of software. A physiotherapist books six sessions two days apart. A skin clinic books four laser sessions a month apart. A gynaecologist books antenatal visits through a pregnancy.

5. What you see first in the patient's file

The first thing on the screen should be the thing your speciality watches. A family doctor wants blood pressure over the last few visits. A paediatrician wants the child's weight. A diabetes clinic wants HbA1c. A physiotherapist wants to know how many sessions are done.

How to test a vendor's claim

1. Ask to see a new, empty account for your speciality, with nothing filled in by the vendor.
2. Open the price list. Are your services there?
3. Start a prescription and type two letters. Are the first suggestions ones you would write?
4. Book a patient who needs to come back five times. How many steps did it take?
5. Open a patient's file. What is the first thing shown?

What Curogrid does

Curogrid asks your speciality in clinic setup and sets all five of these up for you, for ten specialities. Each speciality page on this site lists exactly what you get: every service with its starting price, every medicine, test and procedure, and how a course is booked. You can read the whole list before you book a demo.