Occentra comparison

Occentra vs Orchid Live

Evaluate Orchid Live's established specialist occupational health suite against Occentra's clearer Referral-to-Case model and versioned configuration.

Occentra is the stronger choice for new implementations that want an explicit operating model and structured data designed around occupational health delivery.

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Reviewed 3 September 2026 by the Occentra product team

Why Occentra

Why organisations evaluate Occentra alongside Orchid Live

Orchid Live is an established specialist suite with diary, case management, pre-placement and surveillance capabilities built up over years of occupational health delivery. Occentra offers an explicit Referral-to-Case operating model, versioned Form configuration and structured operational data from day one.

An explicit Referral-to-Case operating model

Clients, Employees, Referrals, Cases, Tasks, appointments, Forms, Documents and Reports are distinct concepts in Occentra. Teams see intake, triage and delivery in the same terms they use to describe their service, with each step separately measurable.

Versioned Form Templates as product configuration

Administrators build Form Templates and controlled value lists in the product, publish them as versions, and keep earlier submissions bound to the version that was completed. A service can change what it asks without changing the meaning of what was recorded.

Structured operational data from the first submission

Form answers are captured against published, versioned templates and stored as structured data. Reporting draws on operational records rather than free-text notes, and history is preserved rather than overwritten when something changes.

A foundation that grows as one product

Occentra is developed as one coherent platform. New capability is added to the same operating model, so the system your team learns this year is the system that grows with the service.

Key differences

Where Orchid Live's established suite and Occentra diverge

Specialist suite versus explicit operating model

Occentra

Occentra is developed as a single occupational health platform, with each capability designed against the same Client, Employee, Referral and Case model.

Orchid Live

Orchid Live is an established specialist occupational health suite with case management, diary, surveillance, recalls and bespoke assessments built up across years of customer delivery.

Why Occentra has the advantage:

One coherent model means configuration, reporting and permissions behave consistently across the product, and teams see the same operating language everywhere.

Referral-to-Case as the operating spine

Occentra

A Referral is the request for service. Accepting it opens a Case, and the Tasks, appointments, documents and outcomes for that work sit inside the Case.

Orchid Live

Orchid Live supports referrals and case management as part of its wider specialist suite.

Why Occentra has the advantage:

The distinction between a Referral and the operational Case created from it keeps intake, triage and delivery responsibilities explicit, so turnaround and accountability can be measured at each step.

Bespoke assessments versus versioned Form Templates

Occentra

Administrators build Form Templates and controlled value lists in the product, publish them as versions, and keep earlier submissions bound to the version that was completed.

Orchid Live

Orchid Live emphasises bespoke assessments and questionnaires, and states that customers can configure workflows, assessments, templates and branding within the product.

Why Occentra has the advantage:

Because questionnaires are versioned product configuration, a service can change what it asks tomorrow without changing the meaning of what was recorded last year.

Suite reporting versus structured operational data

Occentra

Reports run against structured operational records with typed parameters and CSV export, and significant changes are written to append-only audit history.

Orchid Live

Orchid Live offers one-click reports and Power BI integration for operational visibility.

Why Occentra has the advantage:

Reporting from structured Referral, Case and Form data means operational figures come from the records themselves, and audit history shows what changed rather than only the current state.

Capabilities

Orchid Live and Occentra side by side

A summary of how each product approaches the core of an occupational health service. Occentra's status is stated as it stands today.

Capability

Occentra

Orchid Live

Operating model

Referral management

Referrals have their own lifecycle, referrer context and preserved state history

Referrals and case management within the specialist suite

Why it matters Keeps intake separate from operational delivery

Case management

Accepting a Referral opens a Case as the operational workspace for delivery

Case management with specialist access

Why it matters One place where accepted work is owned, progressed and closed under explicit conditions

Appointments and diary

Practitioner diaries and Case appointments with timezone handling and conflict controls

Team diaries, appointment management and reminders

Why it matters Appointments belong to the Case, so scheduling and clinical work stay connected

Configuration

Configurable Forms

Form Templates are configured in the product, published as versions and validated on submission

Bespoke assessments and questionnaires with in-product configuration

Why it matters Configuration is versioned so historical meaning is preserved

Manager and HR access

Managers and HR users can submit referrals and see case status without clinical detail

Portal access as part of the specialist suite

Why it matters Managers see referral status without clinical detail, keeping operational and clinical boundaries clear

Employee access

Employees can complete assigned forms and questionnaires through a controlled interface

Employee self-service within the suite

Why it matters Employees complete assigned forms through a controlled interface tied to the Case

Practitioner workflow

Tasks and operational work

Tasks sit inside the Case, with ownership and closure conditions made explicit

Workflow and task handling within the suite

Why it matters Work is attached to the Case it belongs to, so nothing progresses outside a case record

Roles and permissions

Fine-grained roles and permissions applied consistently across operational records

Role-based access across the suite

Why it matters Permissions are applied consistently to the same operational records everywhere

Reporting and records

Client and Employee records

Clients, Employees, Employments, contacts and Locations modelled as distinct records

Occupational health records covering clinical and surveillance history

Why it matters Employer, Employee and Employment are separate records, so history survives job and contract changes

Reporting and CSV export

Named operational Reports with typed parameters, an operational dashboard and CSV export

One-click reports and Power BI integration

Why it matters Structured answers support operational reporting directly

Audit history

Append-only audit history and preserved state changes rather than overwritten records

Audit and access reporting

Why it matters History is preserved rather than overwritten

Commercial / implementation model

Product direction

Developed as one coherent platform, with new capability added to the same operating model

Established specialist suite with ongoing development

Why it matters The platform is designed as one coherent system

Incumbent fit

When remaining with Orchid Live may still be reasonable

Orchid Live's principal advantage is its specialist operating history and the breadth of occupational health workflows already in production. For some organisations that is enough to stay where they are.

The service already runs on it successfully and the operating model is settled
Surveillance, recalls, pre-placement and diary workflows are already embedded in daily operations
The disruption of migration would outweigh the benefit expected in the near term
The buyer prioritises an established specialist OH suite over an explicit Referral-to-Case model

For a new implementation, or where an explicit operating model, versioned configuration and structured data matter more than continuity of an established suite, Occentra offers the more compelling foundation.

Demonstration

Six questions for an Orchid Live replacement evaluation

These questions expose whether the operating model, configuration approach and data structure match how your service wants to work.

How does a Referral become active operational work, and who owns each step?
Can administrators change Forms and controlled values as versioned product configuration?
Can the system preserve historical meaning when Forms or labels change?
How are tasks, appointments, documents and outcomes connected to a Case?
Can operational data be reported without reconstructing meaning from free text?
How does manager referral submission and status visibility connect to the underlying Case, and how do employees complete assigned forms?

Ask both vendors to demonstrate these using one of your real workflows rather than a prepared product script.

See how your service would work in Occentra

Bring one real Referral, Case, Form, appointment and reporting workflow. We will show how Occentra supports it today, identify any gaps directly and explain how configuration would work.

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