Switching
Eight questions to ask before switching practice software
ooptify team · Published 24 June 2026
Changing your practice-management system affects every person in the practice. These eight questions help you evaluate options on what actually matters.
1. What is the total monthly cost, including add-ons?#
Not the subscription price — the total. Booking tools, SMS charges, hosting, integrations and support contracts all count. Ask each vendor for a complete list of what's included and what costs extra.
2. Can I try the real product?#
Screenshots and guided demos show what a vendor wants you to see. A working sandbox shows the product as your team will experience it. If a vendor requires a sales call before you can touch the software, ask why.
3. How does my data get in — and out?#
Ask about migration from your current system: what transfers, what doesn't, and who does the work. Ask equally about export: if you leave, can you take your data with you?
4. What happens when something breaks?#
Is support included, or a paid contract? What are the hours? Where is the team based? A cheap system with expensive support isn't cheap.
5. How do claims and reconciliation work?#
If Medicare and health-fund claiming happens in a separate system from your invoices, someone reconciles the two by hand every day. Ask whether claiming is integrated into the billing workflow and whether end-of-day reconciliation is built in — and ask the same about your accounting: if your bookkeeper re-keys sales every month, that's a real cost in hours and errors.
6. Is patient data actually encrypted?#
Don't assume it is. Some older desktop systems store patient records in plain database files on the practice PC — anyone with access to the machine can open them and read clinical records directly, no password required. Ask each vendor, in writing: is patient data encrypted in transit and at rest? If the answer is vague, treat that as the answer. You hold sensitive health information, and you carry the consequences of a breach. (For the record: with ooptify, the answer is yes — encrypted in transit and at rest.)
7. Who hosts it, and who handles backups?#
Cloud-hosted platforms include this. Server-based systems leave hosting, updates and backups to you — which means either paying someone or carrying the risk.
8. Will it still fit in three years?#
If you add a practitioner or a location, what changes? Ask for pricing at your projected size, not just today's.
When you're ready to put numbers against question one, the savings calculator totals your current stack in a couple of minutes. And for question two — the ooptify sandbox is open to anyone, no call required.