As I sat down to host today’s webinar on Maximising Income in GP Practices Using Ardens Manager, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much has changed since I last worked directly in a practice. Four years ago, I stepped away from managing a busy general practice, and today, seeing the tools now available to help practices streamline their workflows and maximise their income, I was truly struck by how far we’ve come.
During the webinar, I shared my thoughts about these changes and how they contrasted with my own experiences as a Practice Manager. One comment I made really stuck with me:
“My mind is truly blown. Having had a break from this kind of work (QoF performance management) for the last four years, I’m amazed at how much has advanced in that time.”
For years, like so many in primary care, I wrestled with the challenges of extracting meaningful insights from static clinical system searches. I vividly remember the frustration of updating a search only to lose all the work we’d done—an endless cycle that seemed to hinder progress rather than support it. And yet today, tools like Ardens Manager have transformed this once-laborious process.
With features that track progress in real time, allow for task delegation, and even identify the financial value of missed work, the system has reimagined how practices can plan, prioritise, and execute their work. Reflecting on this, I said:
“The ability to create notes at the indicator level and then drill down to individual patient records directly from the dashboard—that’s where we used to struggle. It was impossible to track who was responsible for what, let alone see any real-time progress.”
Another point that really resonated with me was how Ardens Manager integrates patient-level data directly into the workflow. This is an enormous leap forward from when we used to hand out printed spreadsheets to doctors or clinical teams, hoping they’d find time to follow up on individual patients. I commented:
“In the past, we were handing out spreadsheets and printed lists to doctors, with no way of knowing how they were progressing. Now, you can allocate an indicator to a clinician, and they can track their own progress while you monitor from a management level. That’s a game changer.”
While these advancements are undoubtedly exciting, they also highlight how much the role of Practice Manager has evolved. The tools now available empower teams to work smarter, not harder, yet they also require careful training and integration to ensure they’re used to their full potential. This led me to reflect on how the support of third-party tools and training can make all the difference:
“This requires a bit of training and support for the clinical team. But it’s worth it, as these tools allow us to finally manage work effectively at both the indicator and patient levels, all while maintaining proper clinical records.”
Looking back on my time in general practice, I actively attempted, in vain, to source such intuitive, data-driven solutions. The experience of hosting this webinar served as a reminder of how important it is to embrace change, even when it feels overwhelming. Whether it’s integrating a tool like Ardens Manager or tackling the ever-evolving landscape of primary care, the willingness to adapt and innovate is what keeps practices resilient.
So, as I wrapped up the webinar, I felt a deep sense of appreciation—not just for how far primary care technology has come, but also for the resilience of the people who make it all work. This session served as a reminder that we shouldn’t shy away from conversations about money in primary care.
As I shared during the webinar, “If we cannot sustain our businesses, then we won’t be here to deliver care for our patients.” Financial resilience is the foundation of great patient care, and it’s a conversation we need to normalise across the sector.
To review a recording of the session join us in the Enhanced Primary Care Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/254788070091440/
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