Best Practice vs Medical Director: Which Clinical Software Is Right for Your Perth Practice?

# Best Practice vs Medical Director: Which Clinical Software Is Right for Your Perth Practice?

If you're opening a new medical practice, taking over an existing one, or simply wondering whether it's time to switch platforms — this is the question that comes up constantly: Best Practice or Medical Director?

Both are deeply embedded in Australian general practice. Both handle clinical records, Medicare claiming, pathology results, and prescribing. Both have been around for decades. And both have passionate defenders who will tell you theirs is the only sensible choice.

After 20 years supporting both platforms across more than 100 Perth medical practices, SkyComm has a genuinely vendor-neutral perspective. We don't sell software licences. We don't get commissions. We support whatever platform your practice runs — and we've assisted practices through migrations in both directions, working alongside the software vendors to ensure a smooth transition.

Here's an honest, practical comparison to help you make the right decision for your clinic.

The Quick Comparison

Where Best Practice Wins

1. User Interface and Ease of Use

This is the most common reason practices choose Best Practice. The interface is cleaner, more intuitive, and staff generally become productive faster. Reception teams, in particular, tend to prefer BP VIP.net over PracSoft for appointment management and billing workflows.

What this means in practice: Less training time when onboarding new reception staff — which matters in an industry with high front-desk turnover.

2. Market Dominance and Community

With roughly 60% market share among Australian GPs, Best Practice has a larger user community. This means:

• More locums and incoming GPs will already know the system
• More third-party integrations are tested against BP first
• Online forums and peer support resources are more extensive
• Training courses and materials are more widely available

3. Australian Ownership

Best Practice Software remains Australian-owned and developed. For practices that value local ownership and direct vendor relationships, this matters. Support queries go to an Australian team who understand the Medicare and PBS landscape natively.

4. Appointment Book Flexibility

BP Premier's appointment book is generally considered more flexible and easier to customise than Medical Director's. Multi-practitioner scheduling, recurring appointment types, and colour-coded categories work well out of the box.

Where Medical Director Wins

1. Clinical Depth and Flexibility

Medical Director's clinical module (MD3) has historically offered more granular clinical customisation. For practices that need detailed clinical templates, complex care plans, or specific specialist workflows, MD3 can be more accommodating.

Specialists in particular — dermatologists, psychiatrists, paediatricians — sometimes prefer Medical Director's clinical note structure over Best Practice.

2. Helix: The Cloud Path

Medical Director's Helix platform represents something Best Practice doesn't yet offer: a genuine cloud-based clinical system. While Helix is still maturing and adoption has been gradual, it provides:

• Browser-based access from any device
• No local server requirement
• Automatic updates
• Built-in telehealth features

For practices considering a move away from on-premise servers, Helix is worth evaluating — though we'd recommend carefully checking that all your required integrations (pathology feeds, secure messaging, Medicare claiming) work reliably on Helix before committing.

3. Billing Integration

PracSoft has been around for decades and handles complex billing scenarios well — DVA, WorkCover, third-party billing, and specialist fee schedules. Some billing-heavy practices (particularly specialists with complex item number combinations) find PracSoft handles edge cases that BP VIP.net struggles with.

4. Letter Template Engine

Medical Director's letter template system is powerful once configured. Merge fields pull directly from clinical records, and templates can be highly customised. Some practices with complex referral letter requirements prefer this over BP's RTF-based system.

The IT Perspective: What Your Support Team Sees

As the IT team that maintains both platforms daily, here's what matters from a technical standpoint:

Database Performance

Both platforms run on SQL Server, and both suffer from the same fundamental issue: databases grow large over years of clinical use, and performance degrades without regular maintenance.

• Best Practice databases tend to be slightly easier to maintain. Index rebuilding and statistics updates follow standard SQL Server patterns.
• Medical Director (MD3) databases can develop specific performance issues related to their schema design, particularly around clinical notes and document storage. These are fixable but require MD-specific knowledge.

Bottom line: Both need regular database maintenance. If your clinical software is running slowly, it's almost certainly a database issue — not the software itself.

Backup and Recovery

Both platforms support standard SQL Server backup strategies. The critical factor isn't which software you run — it's whether your backups are:

• Running successfully every day
• Stored offsite (not just on the same server)
• Actually tested with regular restore verification

We've recovered practices from ransomware, server failures, and accidental deletions on both platforms. The recovery process is similar for both.

Security Considerations

Both platforms support:

• Individual user accounts with role-based access
• Audit logging of clinical record access
• Integration with endpoint protection and network security

Neither platform has a significant security advantage over the other. Your practice's security posture depends far more on your IT infrastructure — firewalls, endpoint protection, patch management, and staff training — than on which clinical software you choose.

Integration and Interoperability

Both platforms integrate with the same ecosystem:

• Pathology: Clinical Labs, Clinipath, Western Diagnostic Pathology (HL7 feeds)
• Secure messaging: HealthLink, Medical-Objects, Argus
• Medicare: Online claiming, ECLIPSE, PRODA
• My Health Record: Full upload and view capabilities
• Electronic prescribing: Both support Active Script List (ASL)

In Perth, we haven't encountered a pathology provider or messaging service that works with one platform but not the other.

Migration: What Actually Happens When You Switch

We've assisted practices through migrations in both directions — Best Practice to Medical Director and Medical Director to Best Practice — working alongside the software vendor who handles the actual data migration. Here's what you should know:

What Migrates Well

• Patient demographics (name, DOB, address, Medicare number)
• Appointment history
• Billing records
• Basic clinical notes
• Pathology results (as documents)
• Scanned documents and attachments

What Gets Messy

• Complex clinical notes: Structured clinical data doesn't always map cleanly between platforms. Free-text notes transfer as text blocks, but structured fields (conditions lists, medication histories, allergy records) need careful mapping.
• Custom templates: Letter templates and clinical templates don't transfer. They need to be rebuilt on the new platform.
• Macros and shortcuts: Any customised workflows, macros, or keyboard shortcuts need to be recreated.

The Migration Process

1. Audit — We analyse your current database size, document volumes, custom templates, and integrations

2. Vendor coordination — We work with the software vendor (Best Practice or MedicalDirector) who handles the actual data migration process

3. Infrastructure preparation — We set up the new server environment, networking, and integrations ready for the migrated data

4. Go-live — Typically over a weekend. Friday backup → vendor migration → Monday morning on the new system

5. Post-migration support — We verify integrations (pathology feeds, Medicare claiming, secure messaging), troubleshoot any issues, and keep the old system accessible (read-only) for reference

Average migration timeline: 4–6 weeks from decision to go-live.

Our role: We coordinate the entire process — infrastructure, vendor liaison, integrations, and training — while the software vendor handles the clinical data migration itself.

Expect a productivity adjustment period of 2–3 weeks as staff adapt to the new platform — this is normal and temporary.

So Which Should You Choose?

Choose Best Practice If:

• You're opening a new practice and want the path of least resistance
• Staff turnover is a concern — new hires are more likely to already know BP
• You value a clean, intuitive interface that requires minimal training
• You want the largest user community and peer support network
• Australian ownership matters to you

Choose Medical Director If:

• You're a specialist practice with complex clinical documentation needs
• You want a cloud migration path (Helix) in the near future
• Your billing workflows are complex (specialist item numbers, DVA, WorkCover)
• Your GPs are already experienced with Medical Director and don't want to retrain
• You need granular clinical template customisation

Stay on What You Have If:

• Your current system works well and your staff are productive
• You have no specific pain point that the other platform would solve
• Migration cost and disruption outweigh any potential benefits

Honest advice: The best clinical software is the one your team knows how to use efficiently. A well-configured Medical Director installation with trained staff will outperform a poorly set up Best Practice system every time — and vice versa.

The Hidden Third Option: Genie Solutions

While this article focuses on the two dominant platforms, Genie Solutions (now Magentus) holds significant market share in specialist practices and some GP clinics. If you're in a specialist discipline, Genie is worth evaluating alongside BP and MD.

What About Zedmed, Communicare, and Others?

A handful of other clinical platforms exist in the Australian market:

• Zedmed — smaller market share, some loyal practices
• Communicare — community health and Aboriginal health focus
• Clinic to Cloud — newer cloud-native platform

These serve specific niches well but don't have the broad GP market penetration of Best Practice or Medical Director.

How SkyComm Can Help

Whether you're choosing a platform for a new practice, considering a migration, or just want to get more out of your current system — SkyComm supports both Best Practice and Medical Director across Perth.

What we offer:

• Vendor-neutral advice — we recommend what's right for your practice, not what's easiest for us
• Migration coordination — infrastructure setup, vendor liaison, and post-migration integration support
• Ongoing support — daily troubleshooting, database maintenance, and system optimisation
• Integration — pathology feeds, secure messaging, Medicare claiming, and third-party systems

Ready to Discuss Your Options?

📞 Call 1800 957 977

✉️ Email admin@skycomm.com.au

🌐 Book a Free IT Assessment →

We'll walk through your practice's specific needs and give you a straight recommendation — no sales pitch, no vendor bias.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Best Practice better than Medical Director?

Neither platform is objectively better. Best Practice has a larger market share and is generally easier to learn, while Medical Director offers deeper clinical customisation and a cloud migration path via Helix. The right choice depends on your practice's specific needs, staff experience, and workflow requirements.

Can I migrate my patient data between platforms?

Yes. Patient demographics, appointment history, billing records, and clinical documents can be migrated. Complex clinical notes and custom templates require more careful handling. The software vendor handles the clinical data migration, while your IT provider (like SkyComm) manages the infrastructure, integrations, and post-migration support.

How long does a clinical software migration take?

Typically 4–6 weeks from decision to go-live. The actual data migration usually happens over a weekend to minimise disruption to clinical operations.

Should I wait for Medical Director Helix before deciding?

If cloud-based access is important to your practice, Helix is worth watching. However, we'd recommend ensuring all your required integrations (Perth pathology providers, secure messaging, Medicare) are fully supported on Helix before committing. Talk to us for the latest compatibility status.

Which platform do most Perth GPs use?

Best Practice holds the majority market share among Perth GP practices, consistent with the national trend. Medical Director has a strong presence particularly in practices established before 2010 and in some specialist disciplines.

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This comparison reflects SkyComm's 20+ years of experience supporting both Best Practice and Medical Director across Perth medical practices. We don't sell software licences and have no vendor partnerships — our recommendations are based entirely on what works best for each practice.