Every action names a site
Nothing Heron does is site-agnostic.
Each site has its own HPI Facility ID
That’s the national identifier for the physical practice location. Heron carries it on every request, whether it’s reading a patient, checking a diary or writing a note.
Get it wrong and the request doesn’t half-work: it looks at the wrong database and comes back empty.
Heron picks the site before it does anything
For most groups, the number the patient rang decides it. Where a group runs one number across sites, Heron asks, or uses the patient’s usual clinic.
This happens before any search, so a patient at one site is never read from another site’s records by accident.
The site is written onto the appointment too
As well as being on the request, the location is recorded on the booking itself. So the appointment knows where it is, not just which database it lives in.
What this means for a group
Three practical things worth knowing.
Patients aren’t shared across sites automatically
If your group keeps separate databases per site, someone registered at one is new to the other. Heron will offer to create their record, exactly as reception would.
If you run a single shared database, they’re the same patient everywhere and Heron sees them once.
Providers are looked up per site
Heron asks for the providers at the site it’s working in. A GP who works Mondays at one clinic and Thursdays at another appears in both, with their own book at each.
Fees can differ per site
Heron reads the fee schedule for the site it’s in, so it quotes that site’s prices. A group that charges differently across locations doesn’t need Heron set up twice.
It can also read the whole group’s schedule where that’s more useful, for instance to tell a caller it’s cheaper at your other clinic.
One database or several
| Shared database One patient record across sites | Separate databases A record per site | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding a patient | Found once, wherever they ring | Found only at the site they’re registered at |
| Booking across sites | Straightforward | Needs a record at the second site first |
| Creating a patient | Once | Once per site they attend |
| Setup | One site to configure | Each site configured, with its own Facility ID |
| Most common in | Groups that merged onto one system | Groups that grew by acquiring practices |
Questions groups ask
- Can a patient book at any of our sites?
- Yes, as long as they have a record at that site. On a shared database that’s automatic.
- Do we need a separate setup per site?
- Each site needs its Facility ID registered with us. Beyond that, the rules are set once for the group, and can be overridden per site where they differ.
- Can rules differ per site?
- Yes. Opening hours, which providers are bookable, whether records need approving, and how fees are quoted can all be set per site.
- Can it tell a caller the other clinic has an earlier slot?
- Yes, if you want that. Some groups do; others would rather each site keeps its own callers.
- What if a patient is registered at two of our sites?
- On separate databases they’ll have two records, which is how Medtech already works. Heron uses the one for the site the call belongs to.