For most physicians, choosing practice software looks at first like simple shopping: watch a demo, ask the price, decide. But this program will hold your patients' records, your daily agenda, your payments and, often, the clinical history that builds up over years. A wrong choice shows itself not in the first month but in the third year: being unable to move your data elsewhere, being unable to keep up with regulatory change, or not having screens that fit your specialty. This guide explains the twelve questions to ask before the features on the showcase.
Before you start: write down your needs
Prepare one page before entering a vendor demo. Are you a single physician, or do you plan a second physician or an assistant? What is your specialty, and which forms, measurements or diagrams do you need in the examination (an odontogram in dentistry, an audiogram in audiology, right-left eye fields in ophthalmology)? Do you have devices? Will you send patients online booking and reminders? Do you want to decide who sees which data? This page keeps you evaluating by your own needs rather than by showcase features.
12 questions
1. Is the data mine, and can I leave?
The first and most important question. When the contract ends, will I be able to take my data in a usable form within a reasonable time? Are my files (images, documents) included? Is there an extra fee? A software product whose data is not held hostage makes all its other flaws tolerable; one that holds data hostage makes all its good features worthless.
2. Does it really fit my specialty?
"Suitable for all specialties" often means a generic examination screen. To see forms, measurements and diagrams specific to your specialty (such as a dental chart, visual acuity, hearing test or diet plan), ask for a sample scenario from your own patient in the demo. Specialty depth is the most decisive and least questioned criterion in program selection. The list of supported specialties is on the specialties page.
3. Where is patient data, and who can access it?
Ask the country where data is held, where backups are kept, and which subprocessors can touch health data. Learn under what condition the provider's support team can access a patient record. We covered this topic in detail in our KVKK guide.
4. Are the privacy notice, explicit consent and consent separate?
Be careful if the program shows the patient a single "I accept" box. The privacy notice, explicit consent and clinical consent each require a separate text, version and record.
5. Can a signed record be changed?
A signed and locked examination record must not be edited silently; corrections should be made with a reasoned and traceable additional record. This protects both you and the patient.
6. How are my devices connected?
Connecting devices such as ECG, audiometer, ultrasound or laboratory analyzer to the software should not be brushed off with the word "integrated." To count as integrated, the manufacturer, model, protocol and version must be verified; for other devices a manual import path must be stated clearly. The device connections page describes HekimBis's approach.
7. Who updates when regulation changes?
National data submission, privacy notices and registration processes change over time. Ask who tracks regulation for the provider, how quickly a change reaches you and whether an extra fee is needed. For the e-Nabız (national health record system) and KTS/MBYS side, see our KTS/MBYS guide.
8. What is the status of e-Prescription and official submissions?
Clarify the vendor's "yes" with the question "at which layer and in what state?" Ask in writing what is in scope today and what is left to a later version. Our e-Prescription guide points the way.
9. What happens when I grow?
You are a single physician today; in two years a second physician or branch may come. Can you grow in the same account, or is a move to a new product and data migration needed? Seeing that a plan upgrade does not move data reduces the cost of growth. The growth path is explained on the single-physician practice solution page.
10. Is the pricing model transparent?
Ask in writing what is included in the monthly fee, which capacity is an add-on, the usage-based items and the commitment period. The cost of "free" programs generally shows up elsewhere: backup, support, regulatory compliance, data migration. You can look at the price structure on the pricing page.
11. Is the trial close to real conditions?
Demo videos are convincing, but a trial that runs with your team in your scenario gives more accurate information. Ask about the length of the trial, which features are open, and whether real patient data may be entered. Not entering real patient data during trial is also the right stance under KVKK.
12. Who provides support, and during what hours?
However good the program is, you will have questions in the first months. Learn the support channel, working hours and response time. Know in advance whom you will reach in a crisis.
Decision table
To make scoring easier, use the table below. Give each criterion a score of 0-2 (0: no answer or insufficient, 1: partial, 2: written and clear).
| Criterion | Weight | Your note |
|---|---|---|
| Data ownership and exit | High | |
| Specialty depth | High | |
| Data location and access | High | |
| Record integrity and signature | Medium | |
| Device connection | High if you have devices | |
| Regulatory tracking | High | |
| Growth path | Medium | |
| Price transparency | Medium | |
| Trial and support | Medium |
The aim of the table is not to produce a definitive ranking but to show which vendor is weak on which criterion. Eliminating a vendor who scores zero on a high-weight criterion is often right, whatever the total.
A 30-minute test in the demo
Instead of watching the vendor's demo passively, prepare a test with your own scenario. The sequence below takes about thirty minutes and shows how the program really works:
- New patient record (3 minutes). Register a patient; try to register the same person a second time and see whether the system gives a duplicate warning.
- Appointment (3 minutes). Book an appointment, try to book a conflicting one, then move the appointment to another time.
- Arrival and examination (8 minutes). Put the patient on the waiting list with an arrival record and open the examination. Fill in a form specific to your specialty. Sign the record, then try to change it.
- Prescription draft and document (4 minutes). Prepare a prescription draft, and attach a document or photo.
- Payment (4 minutes). Take a split payment, apply a discount, then make a refund and look at the cash record.
- Permission (4 minutes). Sign in with the reception role; check whether it sees the examination note.
- Export (4 minutes). Ask to export one patient's data; ask about the format and scope.
During the test, note the vendor's answers of "I'll show that later" or "that feature is on the roadmap." A few exceptions are normal; but if half of the main flow is on the roadmap, it may be too early to decide.
Single physician or small team: how needs differ
For a physician working alone, the most valuable features are speed: fast records, a fast agenda, fast payment and mobile access. Role management and multi-branch features are secondary. But when a second physician or assistant is added, roles and permissions suddenly become the first priority: an assistant should not see everything, and a second physician should not see the first physician's patients (unless there is a care relationship). So even if you are a single physician today, ask whether the program has role infrastructure. Adding it later is much harder than counting it in from the start.
In small teams, the reception flow also matters: arrival records, the waiting list, cash and reminders are the daily tools of the assistant, not the physician. That is why you should watch the demo together with your assistant.
What to look for in the contract
After you like the program, read the contract carefully. Look especially at:
- Commitment and cancellation: Is there a minimum term, what is the cost of early cancellation, and under what condition does automatic renewal stop?
- Data and exit: Return of data at the end of the contract, its format and timing, and the deletion schedule.
- Service scope: Which features are included in the plan and which are extra.
- Liability: The notification time and the parties' responsibilities in case of a data breach.
- Price changes: Advance notice for a price increase and the right to exit.
- Subprocessors: The list of those touching health data and notice of changes.
If any of these is unclear, settle it in writing before signing. At HekimBis, the legal texts (subscription agreement, data processing agreement, privacy and notice texts) are published on the site for anyone to read; reading the subscription agreement before buying is recommended.
Purchase reflexes to avoid
Looking only at price. A low price can mean low support or missing regulatory tracking. Evaluate price by total cost of ownership: backup, updates, support, migration and potential exit cost.
Being persuaded by feature counts. A program with a hundred features is no use to you if it does the five features you will use daily badly. Play your own day as a scenario: appointment, arrival, examination, prescription draft, payment, follow-up reminder.
Trusting "it has everything." Which feature is ready today and which is on the roadmap must be separated. Do not decide based on a roadmap feature.
A single person deciding. The views of your reception staff, assistant and accountant matter, as the people who will use the program daily. Watch the demo with them.
Plan your migration up front
After selection, the job that takes the most time is moving the old data. Data from paper or Excel often needs cleaning. Ask whether the steps of a trial import, an error report and reconciliation exist; the data migration feature describes this approach. Keeping the old system read-only during the move lets you check possible differences later.
Conclusion
A good practice program is not only one that makes today's work easier, but one that does not hold you when you need to leave, stays current when regulation changes, speaks your specialty's language and keeps your data safe. Staying away from a vendor who cannot give written answers to these twelve questions, however impressive, is often the right decision. For a wider comparison framework see the patient tracking software comparison page, and for vendor evaluation questions read the software vendors for doctors guide.
