In This Guide
- What IT support do Melbourne medical practices need?
- What does medical IT support cover?
- IT around your clinical software and patient data
- How do I book IT support for a medical practice?
- How to get the most from the one-hour minimum
- Making the most of a visit to a working practice
- Ongoing managed IT for practices
- What an office customer says
- Medical IT support FAQ
- Book IT help for your practice
- Frequently Asked Questions
When a reception PC stalls with patients at the desk, or a printer in a consulting room drops off the network, the practice manager needs one number to call and clear hourly rates up front. Geeks I.T. Melbourne provides onsite and remote IT support to medical practices across Melbourne. Book online or call 03 7057 2770.
What IT support do Melbourne medical practices need?
The problems we are usually called about at a practice are reception PCs, printers, email, backups, passwords and MFA, and consulting-room Wi-Fi. Geeks I.T. Melbourne covers these onsite and remotely across Melbourne and its suburbs. Rates are $205/hour onsite and $125/hour remote, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee.
Tell us which desk or room is affected and what is going wrong, and we will say whether it can be handled remotely or needs a visit.
What does medical IT support cover?
These are the day-to-day problems that stop a front desk or a consulting room from working. Each one links to its own page.
- Reception PCs and remote help (remote, or onsite when a visit is needed): slow or frozen computers, software problems, and fixes made from our end while your staff stay at the desk. Antivirus installation is covered in our antivirus guide. If your practice uses Macs, we offer Mac support, setup and troubleshooting.
- Printers (onsite): setting up and reconnecting the printers used for reception, scripts and admin, and tracking down why a printer keeps dropping off the PCs that use it.
- Email (remote or onsite): setting up staff mailboxes on desktops and phones, and sorting out sign-in, sync and sending problems.
- Backups (remote or onsite): setting up backups and transferring data when a PC is replaced, so practice files are not left on one machine.
- Passwords and MFA (remote or onsite): setting up password managers and multi-factor sign-in for staff accounts, so each person has their own login rather than a shared one.
- Consulting-room Wi-Fi (onsite): checking coverage room by room, fixing weak spots and setting up the router and access points so rooms at the back of the practice stay connected.
IT around your clinical software and patient data
We keep the PCs, network, backups and staff accounts that clinical software such as MedicalDirector or Best Practice runs on in working order. Questions about your clinical software itself are best put to its vendor. We look after the computers, network and accounts around it.
Practices handle sensitive health information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme administered by the OAIC. Individual staff logins, MFA and tested backups support those obligations. To see how your practice's accounts and devices are set up, start with our digital security check.
For general practices, the RACGP's information security guidance sits alongside the RACGP Standards for general practices that practices are accredited against. It covers topics such as who can access practice systems and whether data can be recovered after a failure. Individual staff logins and MFA address the first, and tested backups address the second, and these are the parts we set up on your PCs and accounts. We do not certify practices or audit compliance, so accreditation questions stay with your assessor.
How should a new medical practice in Melbourne set up its IT?
Set up a new or relocating medical practice's IT before opening day: plan cabling and Wi-Fi to reach every consulting room, place reception and consulting-room computers, connect label printers to every machine that needs them, have your clinical software vendor install its software, and set up remote access. Geeks I.T. Melbourne does the computer, network and printer setup onsite.
A sensible setup checklist covers:
- Reception, consulting room and back-office computers, and where each one needs to connect.
- A network and Wi-Fi layout that reaches every room, including the ones furthest from the router.
- Shared and label printers that stay connected to every computer that needs them.
- Computers ready for your clinical and booking software, which your software vendor will usually install and configure, tested on each machine before opening day.
- Remote access, so problems can be handled without waiting for a visit.
A verbatim Google review of our business IT support, from Chrissy: "We have had ongoing issues with our printer remaining connected to all our office laptops... Prakash located the issue and secured the connection."
We attend practices across Melbourne onsite and support them remotely afterwards. Call 03 7057 2770 to talk through your layout and timeline.
How do you protect patient data in a medical practice?
Patient records are among the most sensitive data a small business holds, so the basics matter more in a practice than in most offices. When we look at a clinic's IT, these are the questions we start with:
- Is there a current backup of the practice's data, and has anyone checked that it can actually be restored?
- Is antivirus and security software installed and up to date on every computer, including the reception machine?
- Does each staff member have their own login and multi-factor sign-in, and are old accounts removed when someone leaves?
- Are operating systems and software updated, rather than left on old versions?
- Who can connect remotely, and how is that access controlled?
Geeks I.T. Melbourne works through these checks onsite or remotely, alongside your clinical software vendor and your own compliance obligations rather than in place of them.
Clinical and booking software your practice may run
Australian practices commonly run clinical and practice management software such as Best Practice, MedicalDirector or Zedmed, and booking platforms such as HotDoc or HealthEngine. These are supported by their own vendors, who look after the application, its updates and its configuration.
Geeks I.T. Melbourne handles the computers, network, printers, backups and remote access those systems run on. We are not certified by, or partnered with, any of these vendors, and we do not claim specialist expertise in their software. If a problem crosses over between the application and your hardware or network, your vendor and we can each work on our own side of it.
How to choose a medical IT support provider
A clinic cannot afford long waits when a computer or printer stops working mid-session, so it pays to ask a few direct questions before you commit to an IT provider (our general guide to choosing IT support in Melbourne covers the basics).
- Will they work with our clinical software vendor when a problem crosses over? Some faults sit between the application and the computer, network or printer.
- Can they get a reception or consulting-room PC, or a label or script printer, back up quickly mid-session? Ask how they handle a fault that stops a clinic running.
- Can they review our backups and staff logins? Ask whether they will check that backups can be restored and that old accounts are removed.
- Are the rates clear up front? Ask what the hourly rate is, whether there is a call-out fee, and what the minimum booking is.
- Is there an ongoing option? Some practices want help as needed, others want a regular plan.
Our rates are $205/hour onsite and $125/hour remote, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee. Managed plans for ongoing support are listed on our business IT support page.
To talk through what your practice needs, call 03 7057 2770.
Do you install Best Practice, MedicalDirector or Zedmed?
No. Your clinical software vendor installs and configures its own software. Geeks I.T. Melbourne prepares and supports the computers, network, printers, backups and remote access it runs on, and works alongside your vendor when a fault crosses over.
How much does medical IT support cost in Melbourne?
Geeks I.T. Melbourne charges $205 per hour onsite and $125 per hour remote, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee. Managed plans for ongoing support are listed on our business IT support page.
Can you support our practice remotely?
Yes. Once remote access is set up, many computer, printer and software issues can be handled remotely at $125 per hour, and we attend practices across Melbourne onsite when a visit is needed.
How do I book IT support for a medical practice?
- Call 03 7057 2770 or use the booking page.
- Tell us what is failing and where: reception, a consulting room, the back office.
- We confirm whether remote help will do it or whether we need to come to the practice.
- For a remote job, we connect to the affected PC with your permission. For an onsite job, we attend the practice and work at the affected desk or room.
- You are charged at the hourly rate for the work done, subject to the one-hour minimum.
How to get the most from the one-hour minimum
Geeks I.T. Melbourne charges $205/hour onsite and $125/hour remote, with a one-hour minimum per booking and no call-out fee. Because the one-hour minimum applies to each booking, it helps to collect several small problems before you call. A practice manager can walk the building, note what is wrong at each desk and in each room, and give us the whole list in one booking.
Rather Have a Tech Sort It?
Our Melbourne team can help remotely or at your place, and we confirm the hourly rate before we start.
Book HelpMaking the most of a visit to a working practice
- Name a contact. Have someone on site who can let us into the right rooms and say which PCs are in use.
- Write down error messages. A photo of the screen from reception helps us before we arrive or connect.
- Say what changed. A new printer, a moved router or a staff change often explains the fault.
- Keep your own logins ready. Staff should sign in to their own accounts when we work on them, and we will not ask you to share passwords by email.
Ongoing managed IT for practices
If you want regular support rather than booking jobs as they come up, see our business IT support page for the managed plans as listed there. If you also work with a dental surgery, see our IT support for dental practices page, or read about our IT support across Melbourne more broadly.
What an office customer says
One office customer left this review of a printer problem we fixed: Chrissy wrote, "Prakash located the issue and secured the connection. He was very helpful, polite and professional." It is a business office review, not a medical practice review, but the printer problem is a common one at reception desks too.
Medical IT support FAQ
How much does IT support for a medical practice cost in Melbourne?
Our rates are $205/hour onsite and $125/hour remote, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee. For ongoing plans, see the business IT support page.
Can you help remotely without coming to the clinic?
Yes. Many problems with reception PCs, email, passwords and MFA, and software can be fixed remotely at the remote rate. Printer faults and Wi-Fi coverage in consulting rooms usually need someone onsite, and we will tell you which applies when you book.
Do you offer ongoing managed IT for practices?
Yes. Our managed plans and their prices are listed on the business IT support page.
Do you repair laptops or computer hardware?
We do not repair laptops, and we do not do board-level repairs. On desktops, we diagnose faults, upgrade SSDs and RAM, and fix software problems. If a diagnosis points to failed hardware, we tell you. Parts carry the manufacturer's warranty only.
Book IT help for your practice
Call 03 7057 2770 or use the booking page. See the suburbs we cover. You can read more about Geeks I.T. Melbourne or return to the home page.