Patients Before Profit: Ellen Health’s Successful Practice

Ellen Health is a doctor-owned General Practice providing a diverse range of medical and Allied Health services to the Fremantle community. With a focus on providing exceptional care, Ellen Health puts their patients before profits, helping them achieve optimal health, rather than simply addressing illness.  

As an award winning practice that consistently achieves AGPAL accreditation and shining reviews from its patients, here at HealthEngine we wanted to uncover exactly what it is that makes them a star in in their patient’s eyes.

Starting as a small practice close to 18 years ago, Ellen Health has now evolved into a 7 day, extended-hours service that’s much more than just a General Practice.

Welcoming presence

It begins with providing a sense of welcome. Inside their doors it’s easy to feel at ease thanks to the relaxed atmosphere they’ve created for their patients. The bright colours, friendly branding, children’s play area and polished wooden floors all work together to produce a warm and inviting feeling that’s instantly felt when you enter.

Yet it’s much more than just the look and feel of Ellen Health that makes it a top choice for patients. We spoke to Ellen Health Director, Dr Helen Moonen, and Practice Manager, Amber Kane, to get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes to create such a successful practice.

Team culture

Ellen Health focuses on providing the optimal patient journey. Helen and Amber put the ongoing success of the practice down to its people. They place a lot of emphasis on making sure that everyone who joins their handpicked team is a good fit for the practice’s values.

“We want to be giving exceptional care from every aspect, so we’re very fussy with who we bring on board,” says Amber.

“We’re all very big on listening to what our patients have to say, rectifying any issues straightaway, and sharing and celebrating the successes and positive feedback with all our staff.”

It’s this positive morale and open forum for discussion that enable all the staff at Ellen Health to participate in continuously improving the care and services they provide for patients.

Embracing innovation

Amber and Helen feel the practice’s ability to embrace innovation has also helped keep them ahead of the game. “We’re very much a practice where if anything new comes out, we like to be the first to know about it. We jump on board and get involved,” explains Amber.

It’s this search for innovation that saw Ellen Health become one of the first practices to sign up with HealthEngine in 2014. Helen explains when they initially turned on their Online Booking System, they were cautiously optimistic. The team wondered whether it would really work in driving bookings.

“Oh, but what little we knew!” laughs Helen now. Currently, each month over 1,000 of their patient bookings come through Ellen Health’s Online Booking System, and that number is growing consistently.

Allowing patients to book appointments quickly and easily via their website, Facebook page, and on the HealthEngine app 24/7, the Online Booking System has become an important part of their patient journey. That added layer of convenience was the first step in helping their practice evolve. “We wanted to become a one-stop-shop for patients,” says Amber, and from our perspective it’s easy to see that they’ve realised that ambition.

The HealthEngine team is enjoying watching Ellen Health grow, and we look forward to continuing to work further with this innovative practice in the future.