{"id":5545,"date":"2019-06-01T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=5545"},"modified":"2022-03-08T21:02:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:02:48","slug":"hidden-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/hidden-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden gems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who remembers managing a veterinary practice before the era of computers? Using paper, sticky notes and whiteboards to keep track of patients, prescriptions and billable services added up to missed opportunities.<\/p>\n

Enter the computer and practice information management systems. Today\u2019s PIMS come in a variety of forms, including cloud-based, server-based, freeware and custom-built. They remain a key component of every veterinary business, tracking patient flow, client communications, billing, patient history and other actions.<\/p>\n

Each PIMS offers different sets of features and benefits, so we spoke with five popular providers to uncover lesser known or underutilized features in their software<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Covetrus\/Vets First Choice<\/h3>\n

As hospital manager at Pond Point Animal Hospital in Milford, Connecticut, Katy Joyce knows the importance of building trust with pet owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vet industry is a fine line between medicine and business, and building a relationship with clients is important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joyce, who has worked in veterinary medicine since the mid-1980s, sees prescriptions as a way to keep a foot in the door with clients. She likes how the Vets First Choice prescription management platform integrates with her practice management software. The platform automatically tracks prescriptions, whether the item was purchased through Pond Point\u2019s online store or staff posted the prescription as a suggestion to the client.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I arrive in the morning, I log in to see what prescriptions are coming up,\u201d Joyce said. \u201cThe new format lists prescriptions coming in for renewal, so I can see, \u2018Hey, Roxy\u2019s due for a heartworm prescription renewal next week.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterinarians can type notes to clients directly through the software when a prescription is renewed, avoiding the need to place calls to help guide pet owners through the prescription-filling process.<\/p>\n

Covetrus, headquartered in Portland, Maine, was formed in February 2019 through the merger of Henry Schein Animal Health and Vets First Choice.<\/p>\n

Hippo Manager<\/h3>\n

Lexington, Kentucky-based Hippo Manager bills its cloud-based PIMS as easy to use. It comes with a learning management system for new clinic team members.<\/p>\n

\u201cClinics lose about a third of their staff every 12 to 18 months, so we provide a full library of training, including quick videos for new hires, and we track their progress to ensure they\u2019re going through it,\u201d President and CEO Sam Razor said.<\/p>\n

To help users leverage all the features, Hippo generates reports that identify trends in user behavior. Practices then can easily identify frequently used or unused functions in the software. Identifying and improving user behavior can increase revenue by up to 30%, Razor said.<\/p>\n

Hippo also connects treatments with the payment software, allowing users to set up charges through the medical charting feature and process payments from the exam room.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of sitting in an exam room, going through the visit, and then moving outside to the waiting room, they can pay with their card in the exam room when the vet is done,\u201d Razor said.<\/p>\n

This option saves data-entry time, avoids missed charges and improves the checkout experience, he said.<\/p>\n

Vetter Software<\/h3>\n

Automation is a key differentiator for Vetter Software, said Sagi Solomon, the Santa Clara, California, company\u2019s founder and CEO. He considers the software\u2019s wellness plans to be a hidden gem.<\/p>\n

\u201cVets have shied away from wellness plans<\/a> because they\u2019ve been difficult to manage \u2014 you have to check whether a customer is a member of a plan, check that they\u2019re getting the right discount, and collect payments,\u201d he said. \u201cWe developed a system that takes care of all this complexity. The discounts, renewals and payment collections are handled automatically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wellness plans are common at larger practices, but Vetter is seeing greater adoption by smaller practices. The main reason clients drop out of wellness plans,\u00a0 Solomon said, is because of manual mistakes in managing the plan. Vetter automatically handles the discounts, payments and renewals, ensuring that clients get the value for which they pay and reducing dropouts due to missed renewals.<\/p>\n

Christie Krepol, practice manager at Unity Animal Hospital in suburban Philadelphia, said integrated wellness plans sold the hospital on Vetter Software.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of the software we used in the past had built-in features we could use to implement the plan,\u201d Krepol said. \u201cWith our old software, we had to print a list every day to check who was coming up for renewal. Administratively, Vetter\u2019s plans are a lot easier, thorough and more accurate. You can store a credit card securely. Our old software was not able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another gem Krepol sees is Vetter\u2019s internal task system, which allows team members to leave messages for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a doctor that\u2019s out of the office that day, we can leave a note about something they need to check when they\u2019re back,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead of paper notes everywhere, it\u2019s accessible in the software, and since it\u2019s cloud-based, if it\u2019s important and they\u2019re at home, they can see it from their kitchen table.\u201d<\/p>\n

ClienTrax<\/h3>\n

The Grove City, Ohio, company promotes a few features it considers unique among veterinary PIMS:<\/p>\n