HeroMed vs NetPractice — Claims-First Billing, or the Whole Practice in One Platform?
NetPractice is a focused South African claims and billing system: real-time medical-aid submission with live acceptance and rejection status, invoices and statements, patient and visit capture, scripts and basic clinical notes, aged-debtor reporting, and pay-per-claim pricing with no monthly contract. HeroMed covers that same claim-to-payment path through HeroMed Prime and then keeps going — AI clinical scribing, AI reception answering the phone, AI marketing, online booking and patient messaging in one platform on a flat monthly plan. If your practice is small, quiet or purely claims-driven, NetPractice's per-claim model is hard to beat on cost; if you want the admin itself automated, HeroMed is the broader system.
At a glance: HeroMed vs NetPractice
| Capability | HeroMed | NetPractice |
|---|---|---|
| Practice management (calendar, clients, notes, billing) | Claims, billing, visits and basic notes | |
| AI clinical scribe included | Built-in | |
| AI virtual receptionist / voice included | AI Reception Hero | |
| AI marketing / patient re-engagement included | ||
| Online booking widget | Internal booking, not patient self-booking | |
| WhatsApp + SMS built in | ||
| Custom patient intake forms | ||
| Predictable subscription (no per-note credit surprises) | Flat monthly plans | Per-claim: 10 free, then R9.50/claim |
| Multi-region ready (SA, UK, EU, AU, US, ME) | South Africa only | |
| Single subscription, single login | Single system, narrower scope |
When NetPractice is the right choice
NetPractice is a genuinely good fit for a low-volume or new practice that mainly needs claims out the door: the first ten claims each month are free, then it is a flat per-claim fee with no plan, no contract and setup inside a day, so a quiet month costs nothing. Billing bureaus and managing billers also get a dedicated partner programme for running many practices from one account.
Learn more directly from NetPractice: netpractice.co.za
When HeroMed is the better fit
You want documentation handled, not just claims
HeroMed's AI Scribe writes the structured clinical note during the consult and passes codes to the invoice — NetPractice generates scripts and notes, but doesn't document the consultation for you.
Your phone and diary are the bottleneck
AI Reception answers calls and books into the live calendar, and patients can self-book from a branded page with intake and consent captured up front.
You want patient re-engagement, reminders and marketing
Reminders, recall journeys and campaign tooling sit on the same subscription instead of being handled by hand or another service.
Claim volume makes per-claim pricing unpredictable
A busy multi-provider practice pays per claim every month. A flat HeroMed plan makes the cost predictable and includes AI credits across scribing, reception and messaging.
Pricing at a glance
HeroMed is a flat monthly subscription per practice with AI credits included; HeroMed Prime covers South African scheme claiming. Rates are published on our pricing page.
See HeroMed pricingNetPractice publishes a pay-per-claim model — the first 10 claims each month free, then a flat per-claim fee (R9.50 at the time of writing) with no monthly plan or contract.
See NetPractice pricingRun your own numbers: multiply your monthly claim count by the per-claim fee, add whatever you currently spend on scribing, reminders and reception cover, then compare that total against a single HeroMed plan. Confirm current rates on NetPractice's own site.
Common questions
Is HeroMed a NetPractice alternative?
Yes, with more scope. HeroMed handles the same real-time South African medical aid claiming and billing through HeroMed Prime, and adds an AI clinical scribe, AI reception, online booking, marketing and patient messaging in the same platform.
Is per-claim or flat monthly pricing cheaper?
For a low-volume or seasonal practice, per-claim pricing usually wins. Once claim volume is steady across several providers, a flat plan is normally both cheaper and easier to forecast — and in HeroMed's case it already includes scribing, reception and messaging.
Does HeroMed support billing bureaus running multiple practices?
HeroMed is software a practice runs itself, with the admin automated. NetPractice has a dedicated partner programme for bureaus and managing billers, so if that's your business model it's the better structural fit today.
What does switching involve?
Contact us and our team will help move patients, visit history and outstanding balances across, then configure your tariffs, codes and note templates before go-live.
See the difference in a live practice — no credit card required.