Patient tracking helps Dr Matthew Balerdi increase practice numbers by a third

At a glance 

The professional

Dr Matthew Balerdi | Consultant Imaging Cardiologist | Patient Safety Advocate | Paperwork survivor

Spire Hull & East Riding Hospital | Humber Health Partnership NHS

The industry

Secondary care | Cardiology

The size

Solo practitioner

In modern healthcare, patient safety isn’t just a box-ticking exercise, it’s a commitment to trust, integrity,and delivering on every promise. For Dr Matthew Balerdi, a leading cardiologist specialising in cardiovascular imaging, patient safety means ensuring every individual feels supported, seen and heard throughout their care journey. But as his private practice grew, outdated systems threatened that promise.

The challenge: Lack of tracking leaves patients at risk of being lost to follow-up

When Dr Balerdi first entered private practice, administrative blind spots were putting his patient safety at risk.

“I wanted to find out how many patients I was looking after, but the answer came with about 50 sheets of paper. There was no way to extract the data in any electronic format, so I was flying blind for the first few years of private practice.”

The practice management system he inherited could not digitally track patients, leaving critical follow-up appointments at risk of being missed. Each patient with a heart valve replacement or complex cardiovascular condition relied on timely monitoring and vigilant follow-ups, yet the manual process made it all too easy for someone to slip through the cracks.

“It’s important that we don't lose these people, because if the valve starts to go wrong, the patient goes wrong. So it's imperative that we keep them under a follow-up pathway.”

The solution: Patient labels and automation ensure follow-up attendance

Semble has transformed the way Dr Balerdi monitors his growing patient numbers. With Semble Data, he now has instant visibility of all his patients in just a couple of clicks.

“Previously, if I wanted to track my patients or even know how many I had, I'd have to sit with a piece of paper and manually count them up. Now with two clicks of a button, Semble transforms hours of work into three seconds.

“As soon as I migrated to Semble, I instantly knew the total number of patients. It was around 706. Now the count is nearer 1,006 for all private patients.”

Internal labelling within Semble has been key to cultivating stronger engagement with patients – a crucial step in ensuring follow-up attendance. Filtering patients by certain labels means Dr Balerdi can add automatic reminders for their next appointment, even creating appointments a year in advance.

“As soon as I migrated to Semble, I instantly knew the total number of patients. It was around 706. Now the count is 1,006 for all private patients.”

Matthew Balerdi, Consultant Cardiologist

“By applying simple labels like ‘valve disease’, I can keep track of these people through their patient pathways. It's two clicks away, rather than generating reports and then going through Excel and filtering it. It’s fantastic.

Once they attend, they'll automatically get follow-up renewals – Semble remembers this for us, which is exactly what we wanted it to do.”

Pre-Semble, patient management was a paper-heavy process. With no opportunities to analyse key data, there was little opportunity for expansion. Over the last nine months, Dr Balerdi has seen his practice grow 30%.

“Previously, if I wanted to track patients or even know how many I had, I'd have to sit with a piece of paper and manually count them. Now with two clicks of a button, Semble transforms hours of work into three seconds."

- Matthew Balerdi

“Semble allowed me to see exactly where I was in my private practice. I can see how many new patients I’m getting through, how many follow-ups. I can see what I've been paid for and what I haven't. I can then chase those payments, whereas with other systems it’s nearly impossible to do that.

“I'm all about reducing friction points to delivering care, and Semble does that in a fantastic way.”

The impact: Trust as the foundation of patient safety

For Dr Balerdi, the result of using better tech doesn't stop at its efficiency. It also brings about a new standard of safety and trust, which is the backbone of high quality healthcare.

“Patient safety is about building trust and integrity," Dr Balerdi explains. "For me, it boils down to doing what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it.”

With Semble every process, from sending GP letters to confirming appointments to sending those all-important follow-ups, is streamlined and reliable. Patients know exactly what to expect, down to when their GP will receive a letter or when their next check-up will be.

“I tell the patient, ‘I’m going to send the letter out to the GP. You should get it within the next 24 hours. If you don’t, check your junk mail.’ And it’s no harder than that. These things improve the trust in me and in my practice. We get excellent reviews from patients saying everything was done exactly how it was supposed to be done.”

Patient safety is about building trust and integrity. For me, it boils down to doing what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it. We get excellent reviews from patients saying everything was done exactly how it was supposed to be done.”

- Matthew Balerdi

This transparency has helped build a powerful sense of security for Dr Balerdi's patients, which in turn helps to improve outcomes.

“With that high level of trust and integrity, patients believe they’re getting the care that they deserve. Things happen much more rapidly. They feel supported, they feel seen and they feel heard. And that’s primarily for me the best way you can make someone feel safe.”

For Dr Balerdi, embracing technology wasn’t just about efficiency, but upholding the core values of patient safety and trust. With Semble, he’s built a practice where every patient can feel confident that their care is proactive, connected and collaborative, in line with what today's patients are looking for from their care. 

“There’s been a paradigm shift in terms of what patients want and how we should be approaching them. If we’re willing as clinicians to have a collaborative approach to making them feel better about everything, then we should do it.”