A clear printed guide
Two pages: the timeline on one, food, drinks and medicines on the other, with boxes for the patient's own times. For the fridge, the waiting room and anyone who prefers paper.
Open the example guide (PDF)How many of your patients arrive unprepared?
Start with your own numbers, then send us your handouts. Nothing you enter leaves this page unless you choose to send it to us.
patients a month
Colonoscopies, or whichever procedure needs the most prep. A rough number is fine.
arrive not ready. With clearer prep, 3 of them could be ready.
- Ready
- Arrives not ready
- Ready with clearer prep
Your clinic
in 100
Prep not done properly, the wrong food, or a missed medicine step. The Australian average for colonoscopy is about 7 in 100. Your best guess is fine.
$
A cancelled or repeated slot, plus wasted staff and theatre time. An empty 30 to 45 minute endoscopy slot costs an Australian day surgery $1,200 to $2,500.
%
Studies of interactive prep apps and reminders suggest around 40% or more. A pilot measures your real figure.
Staff time on prep calls
$
%
Your estimate
Today, about 168 patients a year arrive unprepared. At $1,200 each, that's about $201,600 a year.
Could come back to you each year
$102,700
Fewer unprepared patients a year
67
Staff hours back a year
368
A typical pack pays for itself once it helps 9 patients a year prepare properly. At your numbers, that's about 1 in 19 of the patients who arrive unprepared today.
How this is worked out
Estimates only, from the numbers you entered. Dollar figures are rounded.
Where the starting numbers come from
The calculator starts at the conservative end of published Australian and international figures. Change any of them to match your clinic.
- About 7 in 100 colonoscopies in Australia have inadequate bowel prep, roughly 63,000 procedures a year.
- An empty 30 to 45 minute endoscopy slot costs an Australian day surgery $1,200 to $2,500 in facility fees, specialist billings and fixed staff costs. A typical $50 late cancellation fee recovers less than 5% of that.
- Inadequate prep means a repeat colonoscopy, usually within 12 months, which raises total costs by 60% to 257% (138% on average).
- Poor prep cuts polyp and adenoma detection by over 40%, raising the risk of missed lesions.
- Interactive apps and timed reminders lifted adequate prep from 84.2–93.5% to 91.0–98.2% in clinical studies.
- Interactive timelines and food checkers save an estimated 15 to 20 hours of nurse and admin time per 100 patients, mostly from fewer calls about diet and timing.
- Over 22% of Australians speak a language other than English at home, and the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard asks services to give patients prep instructions they can understand and to check that understanding.
Sources
- Bowel Cancer Australia and the Medical Journal of Australia (2024). Inadequate bowel preparation leading to poorer colonoscopies.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard (2025).
- Cancer Council Australia and GESA. Clinical practice guidelines for surveillance colonoscopy.
- Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and PLOS ONE. Meta-analyses of digital health interventions, cost-effectiveness thresholds and interactive SMS reminders in colonoscopy prep.
Easier on a computer? We'll send you the link.
Your handouts are probably on your computer, and that's where uploading is quickest. Enter an email address and we'll send a link to this page with your numbers already filled in. It can be your own address or a colleague's.
Have your files on this phone? Upload them here instead.
Send us your handouts. We'll send back a free review.
Within two business days, you'll get:
- A clarity score across ten checks, including the 2:30 am test: can a tired patient find the next step in ten seconds?
- The three changes that would help your patients most.
- One section of your handout, rebuilt, so you can see the difference.
Have more than one procedure? Add up to five files, one for each, and we'll review them together.
It's yours to use, whether or not we work together. If it looks useful, we'll offer a 20-minute walkthrough of your instructions as a working planner.
Got it. Your review is on its way.
We've sent a confirmation to . Expect your review within two business days.
While you wait, open the example planner on your phone.
What you'll get: one approved version, in every format your patients need.
Your team signs off one plain-language version of your instructions. Everything is built from it, so when a time changes, it changes everywhere.
Your instructions
Rewritten in plain language, every step tied to a day and a clock time. Signed off by your clinical lead, with a version date.
An audio companion guide
The printed guide, read aloud in a calm, natural voice. For patients with low vision or low literacy, and anyone who'd rather listen while they get on with it.
A short explainer video
Two to four minutes of clear motion graphics, with captions and a natural voiceover, for patients who'd rather watch than read. The example runs 3 minutes 43 seconds.
A personal planner
Each patient gets a link that opens to their own plan: every step as a clock time, a live countdown, a "can I eat this?" checker, drink trackers and reminders in their calendar. No app and no login.
Open the example plannerAdd what your patients need
- Your community's languages, translated and then checked by certified translators
- Easy Read
- Large print
- Auslan
- Sharing with a carer
The examples are for Tidewell Day Surgery, a fictional clinic. Your pack follows your instructions and your brand.
Questions clinics ask
How many files can I send?
Up to five at a time, up to 15 MB each and 50 MB in total. PDFs, Word files and photos all work. If you have more, send the first five and reply to our confirmation email with the rest, or paste a link to a shared folder instead.
What happens after I send my handouts?
You get a confirmation straight away. Within two business days we send your free review: a clarity score across ten checks, the three changes that would help your patients most, and one section rebuilt. It's yours to keep, whether or not we work together.
Should I remove patient details first?
Yes, please. Handouts shouldn't have any, but if one of yours does, tell us and we'll delete it straight away.
Will this add work for our staff?
Very little. Staff send one link at booking, from whatever system you use now, and hand over the printed guide to anyone who prefers paper. We do the writing, design, recording and updates. Your clinical lead reviews and signs off each version.
Do patients need to download an app?
No. Each patient gets a link by QR, SMS or Email that opens their plan in the phone's browser. There's nothing to install and no account to create.
Do you store patient information?
No. The appointment time travels in the patient's own link, and anything they tick off stays on their phone.
Who's responsible for the clinical content?
You are. We rewrite for clarity and flag anything ambiguous or contradictory, and your clinical lead signs off each dated version before it goes live. We never change what your instructions say.
What about patients without a smartphone?
The printed guide covers them, with boxes to fill in their own times, and the audio guide can be played from any device or a link the clinic shares.
Which procedures can you do?
We started with bowel prep for colonoscopy. The same approach suits gastroscopy, day surgery fasting, imaging with contrast, eye-drop schedules for cataract surgery, and procedures that need medicine changes beforehand.
Can links go out from our booking system?
Staff can send a personal link in seconds from any system today. Sending automatically from your booking or SMS platform is something we scope with you, system by system.
What happens when our instructions change?
Tell us what's changed. We update the approved version, your team signs it off, and the planner, guide, video captions and translations all update together with a new version date.
What does it cost?
It depends on the formats and languages you choose. Most clinics start with one procedure, and we quote after the free review, once we know what your handout needs.
Who's behind this?
Orbi Labs, a studio with 20+ years of experience making video, design and digital tools.