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Germany 4th December 2023
Top 5 ways to use technology in your practice
Pet ownership is continuing to rise. Increasingly, young tech-savvy owners are becoming an ever more important client demographic. Therefore demand for better technological integration in veterinary practices is stronger than ever. But it’s not just fuelled by clients: technology can now assist the veterinary team to boost efficiency, reduce strain and improve the overall quality of care for pets.
Keen to find out how? We’ve put together the top five ways you can use technology in your practice.
1. Client communication
It’s not just veterinary teams that are busy – clients are too. Convenience is prized, and digital communication systems are one of the best ways to offer this. Automated reminders for vaccines, health checks and parasite treatments are now easy to implement and widely offered, often as part of an effective pet health plan, but there are other ways to make life simpler for your clients and team too.
Offering owners the ability to update basic details like their address and contact information online can reduce the strain on reception teams and avoid confusion stemming from outdated information.
An online system for prescription requests can similarly save time, especially if it’s combined with a chat function enabling easy two-way communication. From checking prescription details and advising when prescriptions are ready to collect to sharing images and videos, chat functions can offer an elegant, streamlined solution to constantly ringing phones and a chaotic email inbox.
2. Online booking
Alongside a focus on convenient communication, being able to request appointments digitally is highly valued by clients. These systems offer flexibility, enabling clients to see a range of available appointments and book at a time that suits them. And it’s not just the appointment timings that matter; clients also appreciate being able to plan their appointment at a convenient time, whether that’s when the practice’s phone lines are busy first thing or after work when the practice is closed.
Booking systems can also allow owners to change and cancel appointments easily as needed, reducing the number of ‘no-shows’; this can be especially helpful if combined with appointment reminder notifications to ensure no bookings are forgotten.
3. Telehealth
Telehealth is becoming an increasingly established part of veterinary care, with owners appreciating its flexibility, convenience and the peace of mind it can offer. Veterinary teams may worry about clients receiving advice from external providers lacking their clinical notes and medical history – but it doesn’t have to be that way. By offering your own video appointments to clients, you can capitalise on this growing part of the market while maintaining high standards of patient care and booking clients in directly for face-to-face appointments if needed.
You may even boost practice attendance in some demographics – owners of nervous cats, for example, are often reluctant to come in for regular health checks, but a video call picking up on increased thirst and behaviour changes could motivate them to come in for a blood test and more thorough examination.
4. Digital payments
One of the biggest ‘pain points’ in veterinary care is payment, and while the majority of payments are made in-person, it’s in everyone’s best interest to make all forms of payment as simple and easy as possible. Offering an online payment portal can give clients the ability to pay for items like prescriptions remotely, or even allow payment for procedures like euthanasia without additional phone calls if the client finds this less stressful. A hub that allows owners to view their outstanding balance can also help them to stay up-to-date with costs for inpatient care on a real-time basis.
Establishing a digital payment system could also enable you to expand your retail offerings online, with click and collect or even home delivery for items ranging from pet food and dental care products to shampoos, toys and treats.
5. Technology to improve patient care
Much of the technology being implemented into veterinary practices is designed to boost convenience, save time, and streamline workflow. However, it’s easy to overlook the ways in which practices are adopting technology to improve their quality of care too.
Digital radiography is widely used nowadays, and digital dental x-ray machines can offer significantly improved dental care. Depending on your practice, other potential uses for technology include CT scanners, laparoscopic equipment, non-invasive screening for skin cancers, biomarker testing and increasingly advanced herd health software. Artificial intelligence is also beginning to play a role; AI-powered imaging software, for example, can produce rapid and often highly accurate radiology reports, saving time and reducing the risk of human error and missed diagnoses.
Looking to learn more about how technology could benefit your practice?
Our newly designed communication platform, Vet2Pet, combines management of our Pet Health Plans with our Post2Pet home delivery services, appointment bookings, prescription and delivery updates, two-way chat function and seamless integration into your existing practice set-up.
Get in touch to find out more.
