Why Irish consultants are moving from DGL to Brigid
DGL (now part of Clanwilliam / Lanas Healthcare Technologies) has been a market leader for large private practices and hospital teams. Consultants move to Brigid when they want the letters, the dictation and the patient experience handled inside one modern system — instead of stitched together with Word, Dragon and phone calls.
Letters without leaving the record
Templates and raw EU dictation stay in the record workflow. The clinician authors, reviews and signs the consultant letter, GP referral and result summary. Consultation recording and Generative clinical drafting are disabled.
Patient app release gate
Brigid is disabled for launch pending clinic, privacy, provider and app-release approval. No booking, payment, result, form or cross-clinic sharing availability is claimed.
Clinic-approved import from DGL
Import scope, representative records, permissions, continuity and rollback are rehearsed with the clinic. Production cutover happens only after the clinic accepts the migration evidence.
Feature Comparison
| Capabilities | BrigidEarly access | DGL Practice Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Built for Irish private practice (VHI/Laya/Irish Life/Aviva) | ||
| EU-hosted records + GDPR privacy controls | ||
| Multi-site clinic & theatre lists | ||
| Insurer invoicing (VHI / Laya / Irish Life / Aviva) Staff prepare/review EUR invoices; automated insurer eligibility and submission are not launch-authorised. | Per signed orderBeta· Auto-submit disabled | |
| Clinical letters built in (no Microsoft Word) Brigid provides templates and raw EU dictation; the clinician authors consultant letters, referrals and result summaries. | ||
| EU voice dictation Brigid includes raw EU speech-to-text dictation where approved. Consultation recording and Generative clinical drafting are disabled for launch. | Raw text only | |
| Administrative AI Classified administrative and non-clinical research use only; clinical, patient-facing and autonomous routes are disabled. | Default-off | Verify with provider |
| Patient app (book, pay, results, sharing) Disabled for launch pending clinic, privacy, provider and app-release approval. | Disabled· Launch gated | |
| Data import | Clinic-approved | Verify with provider |
| Modern cloud-native UI Designed from the ground up for 2026, not an interface layered up over two decades. | ||
| Month-to-month contract The signed order controls term, renewal and cancellation. | Per signed order | |
| No card to request early access |
Switching from DGL Practice Manager — common questions
- Do I still need Microsoft Word and a Dragon licence for letters after leaving DGL?
- Brigid includes templates and raw EU speech-to-text dictation inside the record workflow. The clinician authors and signs the consultant letter, GP referral and result summary; Generative clinical drafting is disabled for launch.
- How do I move my patient records out of DGL Practice Manager?
- Import scope and mappings are agreed with the clinic. Representative patient, clinical and billing records, permissions, continuity and rollback are tested before the clinic signs production cutover.
- I work across several hospitals — can Brigid handle my clinic and theatre lists?
- Multi-site clinics and theatre lists can use the same staff-controlled administration backbone and raw EU dictation. The patient app is disabled for launch; clinicians author clinical letters and staff execute every action.
- Can Brigid invoice VHI, Laya and Irish Life the way DGL does?
- Staff can prepare and review EUR invoices with configured codes. Automated insurer eligibility and submission are not launch-authorised; clinics use their normal claim channels.
- What does Brigid cost, and am I locked into a contract?
- Published early-access pricing starts at €129 a month, month to month. Raw EU speech-to-text dictation is included; a Generative AI clinical scribe is not an enabled launch feature.