They set out to fix their forms ahead of the 1 July 2027 AoB deadline, and found a solution built for specialist practices
Dr Cameron Norsworthy is an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in knee surgery, consulting at OrthoSport Victoria in Melbourne. Laura Alber is one of three PAs who work alongside him.
Laura knew there had to be a better way. When the Medicare Assignment of Benefit (AoB) rules changed, she went looking for a way to avoid printing the form for every bulk billed patient. A busy orthopaedic practice runs on paperwork: she counts around six forms for a single surgical patient, including two at intake, an AoB for each bulk billed follow-up and a surgery consent.
From double handling to forms that go straight into Gentu
The practice handles more than 300 forms a month. Before Coflow, the manual downloading, uploading and data entry took Laura’s team up to five minutes per form. “It’s just something I feel like in this day and age we don’t need to be doing,” she says. Staff got caught up searching for forms or troubleshooting, taking time away from the work that can’t be automated, like looking after the patients in the rooms.
Knowing which forms had come back meant opening each patient’s file to check, then leaving a note for her colleagues so nothing slipped through the cracks.
Why other options didn't fit
The AoB was only part of it. The rest of the paperwork needed to come off the desk too. Laura and her practice manager both looked, but the options they found were designed for GPs and built around patients booking themselves in online. That doesn’t work in many surgical practices, where staff schedule appointments after referrals are triaged.
Two-way integration with Gentu was the main ask, and that was also hard to find.
The practice was already using Coviu for telehealth, so when Laura heard about Coflow, she thought, “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for and I haven’t been able to find it.” Today, she says it’s “the first one I’ve come across that caters specifically for specialists”.
Better patient experience, less chasing for the team
The first change she noticed was the patient registration form. Instead of a PDF to manually download, upload and type up, completed forms and patient details now go straight into Gentu. With bookings up to four months ahead, the form goes out when the appointment is made and is due two days before, with a reminder if it’s incomplete. Laura says Coflow saves about an hour a day.
As soon as I could see the efficiency of the process, the data automatically transcribing over and PDF forms uploading straight into Gentu, I could tell this was going to help our practice immensely. This, along with having an electronic option for AoBs, has been game-changing for us as admin staff but also improves the patient experience.
Laura Alber
PA to Dr Cameron Norsworthy
Patients noticed a change too. Anything that needed a signature used to arrive as a PDF that couldn’t be edited, so those without the right software printed it, signed it and sent back a photo. Now they sign on their phone. The time saving and the better experience feed each other, because a form that’s easy to complete is one no one has to chase. Laura estimates that this has resulted in around eight less emails and five less phone calls a day from patients needing help with forms.
“I couldn’t go back to printing and scanning forms again and manually transcribing data,” she says.
An AoB with every post-op review
Dr Norsworthy bulk bills his post-operative reviews, and each one needs its own signed AoB. Without Coflow, that would mean printing a form, getting the patient to sign it and scanning it back into Gentu. Now the AoB goes out automatically with every post-op booking, the patient signs it on their phone, and the signed copy is saved to their record. It’s the form the team uses most, and 100% of AoBs are now done through Coflow. Every agreement stays on file, which supports the practice’s compliance. “If we ever need to show Medicare those, they’re just there,” Laura says.
Consistency across the team
Training was straightforward. Everyone picked it up quickly, so all three PAs work the same way. For Laura, seeing the patient’s view is a highlight. When a patient calls because they’re stuck on a form, the team can see exactly what’s on their screen and talk them through it.
What's next
Laura is now setting up informed financial consents (IFCs) for surgery in Coflow. Each one is prepared for the patient’s procedure and sent individually, and reminders chase any that haven’t been signed. Chasing them used to take several follow-up emails.
Her team are also working on a better way to catch expired or missing referrals, with Coflow checking Gentu and sending patients a reminder with a form to upload their GP referral from the same user-friendly link.
Less chasing. More care.
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