Ask Brigid vs DGL Practice Manager · for Irish consultants
DGL Practice Manager alternative for Irish consultants
DGL Practice Manager has evolved over 25 years and, by its own account, is used by thousands of consultants across the UK and Ireland. Ask Brigid is EUR-priced practice management for Irish private consultants, hosted in AWS Dublin.
Facts about DGL Practice Manager checked 23 September 2026Primary records in AWS Dublin (eu-west-1)From €129/month + VAT, every seat included
Practice management, records, dictation, one clinic inbox and card payments — hosted in AWS Dublin, priced flat per practice from €129/month + VAT.
Ask Brigid vs DGL Practice Manager for Irish private consultants
DGL (part of Clanwilliam Group, now under Lanas Healthcare Technologies) has evolved over 25 years and, by its own account, is used by thousands of consultants to run paperless practices across the UK and Ireland. Its pages document an electronic patient record, diaries, SMS and email to patients, card payments and Healthcode EDI billing. Every user signs in with multi-factor authentication, and since November 2024 a practice can ask for soft fobs instead of a physical key fob (checked 23 Sep 2026).
Hosted in AWS Dublin
Ask Brigid keeps the practice's diary, records, dictation and billing in one system, hosted in AWS Dublin (eu-west-1), with records exportable at any time.
Dictation in the record, on both plans
Recording and transcript on both plans, in the record itself, and letters come out on your own letterhead from the same record, so there is nothing to copy across. Nothing is filed or sent until the clinician has signed it.
Clinic-approved migration from DGL
The move is done for you and checked by you before go-live: import scope, representative records, permissions and rollback are agreed with the practice first.
Side by side
What each one is, in their words and ours.
Every DGL Practice Manager fact names the page it came from and the day it was read.
| Capability | Ask Brigid | DGL Practice Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Practice management and the electronic record Ask Brigid: several consultants in one calendar, every seat included, and one record per patient. Forms go by email, by link or in the patient’s app. Your team works the waiting list, and no patient gets an offer it has not approved. DGL documents an EPR and diaries for consultants, rooms and clinic sites, with clinic and theatre lists. Source: dglpm.co.uk, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Included | Yes — a single-view Electronic Patient Record (EPR) |
| Track record DGL says it is used by thousands of consultants to run paperless practices across the UK and Ireland, and that it has evolved over 25 years. Source: dglpm.co.uk, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Early access, launching in Ireland | Thousands of consultants in the UK and Ireland, by its own account |
| Dictation Ask Brigid: recording and transcript on both plans, in the record itself. On Professional, dictation works in every field of the practice system, not only in a note. DGL lists dictation and transcription functionality to save secretaries time. Source: dglpm.co.uk/features/workflow-management, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Included | Dictation and transcription documented |
| Patient card payments Ask Brigid: billing starts from the consultation itself, so there is no second system to key it into, and the patient pays by card through a link. The card fee is published on the pricing page, all in. DGL takes credit and debit card payments in person or over the phone, and added Billink so patients can settle invoices online. Sources: dglpm.co.uk/features/accounting and dglpm.co.uk/updates-to-dgl-practice-manager, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Included | Card payments in person or by phone; Billink online payments since Nov 2024 |
| One inbox for the whole clinic Ask Brigid: your own Gmail or Outlook address, worked inside the practice system on both plans, sorted by priority with a warning on suspicious mail. SMS and WhatsApp messaging are not in the Ask Brigid launch release. DGL sends patient communications by SMS, email, post or fax, and includes Microsoft Word and Outlook licences. Source: dglpm.co.uk, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Included | Sends patient SMS, email, post and fax; Word and Outlook licences included |
| Insurer eligibility checks and claim submission Automated VHI, Laya, Irish Life and Level Health eligibility checks and claim submission are not in the Ask Brigid launch release; staff use each insurer's normal channels. DGL source: dglpm.co.uk/features/integrations-and-partnerships, checked 23 Sep 2026. | Disabled · Not launched | EDI billing: invoices sent electronically to Healthcode, which forwards them to insurers |
How a move works
Three steps, and you can check each one.
- Open the sample practiceThe real app on invented patients: open a chart, dictate a line, prepare an invoice. No sign-up.
- Request early accessTwo questions; we reply by email. Founding practices get the published founding price.
- The ChangeoverYour records moved and checked by you before go-live. Export terms are published: five working days, no fee.
Switching from DGL Practice Manager, the common questions
Answered from DGL Practice Manager's own pages and ours.
Does DGL still need a physical key fob to sign in?
Not necessarily. DGL requires multi-factor authentication before any user can access the system, and its data-security page still describes time-synchronised RSA key fobs. Since its November 2024 update DGL has also offered soft fobs, so users can log in without a physical fob or code (dglpm.co.uk, checked 23 Sep 2026).
Can Ask Brigid send insurer claims electronically, like DGL’s Healthcode link?
No. DGL documents an EDI billing link that sends invoices electronically to Healthcode, which forwards them to insurers (dglpm.co.uk, checked 23 Sep 2026). Staff can prepare and review invoices in Ask Brigid, but automated insurer eligibility checks and claim submission are not in the launch release; staff use each insurer's normal channels.
How do I move my records out of DGL Practice Manager?
Import scope and mappings are agreed with the practice. Representative records, permissions and rollback are tested before the practice accepts production cutover.
What does Ask Brigid cost compared to DGL?
Ask Brigid publishes two flat prices per practice: €129/month (Essential) and €299/month (Professional), plus VAT. DGL Practice Manager does not publish pricing on dglpm.co.uk (checked 23 Sep 2026).
From the notes
Read before you move.
Compare
Compare Ask Brigid with other Irish practice systems
Ask Brigid. Stay a doctor.
Open the sample practice and run a clinic day on invented patients: the chart, a dictated line, an invoice. Nothing is sent, booked or filed until you say so.
Ready to talk? Request early access or write to david@askbrigid.com.
Facts about DGL Practice Manager on this page were checked on 23 September 2026 against the sources named beside them. Features and pricing change, so check the vendor’s own site before you decide. DGL Practice Manager is a trademark of its respective owner.