Hoorcentrum Aerts used to have their clinical workflows outlined on paper and trained to all audiologists. This manual system worked for the most part, but had some flaws. For instance, they couldn’t centralize and simplify scheduling, or instantly access secure patient records from any office across their network. Likewise, when using paper systems, they didn’t have a way to update processes and instantly communicate these changes to all staff, nor to track performance.

As part of a commercial excellence initiative – and their commitment to providing extraordinary customer experiences – Hoorcentrum Aerts upgraded to Auditdata’s Measure hardware and software solution, Primus in 2019. Since then, they’ve used Primus to streamline their organization’s processes and protocols. One huge asset is the Primus clinical workflow function, which outlines exactly what audiologists need to do, and in what order. 

This standard of care helps ensuring clinical excellence across the enterprise, onboarding new staff and helping them convert more leads into paying customers.

What differentiates Hoorcentrum Aerts from other hearing centers is their focus on setting up clinical workflows and constantly improving service delivery in the clinics. They have implemented a workflow where everybody works the same way and completes tasks in a specific order. Each audiologist must input information into the user-friendly Primus system, indicating that they’ve completed a particular task, and if they have not completed one of the workflow steps, a written explanation is required to continue.

By following this process, they’ll provide excellent care throughout the customer journey, from asking the right questions in the initial consultation to knowing what kind of hearing aids will meet each client’s specific needs.

The Hoorcentrum Aerts team has found Primus to be a valuable measurement software system. It helps the business overall by providing transparency throughout the clinics, maximizing compliance, and proving that the proper tests are conducted. Managers and clinic owners can instantly track data from each audiologist, each clinic, and across the enterprise, ensuring that important metrics are met and a benchmark of best practices outlined.

In addition to helping the business and the audiologists, this set of standards benefits their customers, who can feel comfortable that no matter which of the Hoorcentrum Aerts clinics they enter, they’ll have the proper tests, receive the best solutions, and experience consistently high-quality customer service. 

The organization’s audiologists, managers, and employees all like working with Primus, understand its benefits, and enjoy having the workflows optimized in this way. 

“We told our staff, especially the ones that were working here when our workflows were on paper, why we made the transition to Primus and what we hoped to accomplish with the new system. All our employees see it as helpful and not something that they ‘have to do’ or a system that works against them. They know it makes things go faster and more efficiently, and they can fully engage with each client and not worry about the order of the tasks to complete,” Lore explained.

Hoorcentrum Aerts uses Primus to collect and analyze data, which they utilize in a variety of ways.

Standards of care

First, they can view the data segmented by the audiologist, per clinic, and across the business to track metrics and ensure standards of care. They can easily spot any deviation from the workflow and determine why an audiologist didn’t follow the predetermined processes. They can also gauge personal and clinic performance, using this data to drive business decisions.

Operations

Additionally, the staff can use the data for operations, for example, to determine the purpose of each client’s visit. They can also examine the data to determine whether patients have major hearing loss that would be helped by hearing aids and/or accessories. 

Marketing

Their marketing team uses information collected through Primus to spotlight the hearing aids that audiologists are recommending and fitting in the clinics.  This helps ensure that they’re promoting top performing/top selling solutions in their campaigns. Moreover, the results they have from the REMs are shared with ENTs who then know how good a treatment their patients get.

Reimbursements

Since insurance in Belgium requires specific data for hearing aid reimbursements, Hoorcentrum Aerts uses Primus to show ENT doctors and insurance companies that they’re doing the proper tests and ensuring compliance.

Health insurance varies by country, of course, and in Belgium, there's no public reimbursement, it's only private insurance.

In Belgium, the reimbursement pr