Effortlessly manage your day
When you spend most of your working day on remote farms, it’s impractical to rely on a data connection to access client and patient information from your veterinary practice management system. Equally, paper records can easily become damaged or misplaced as we travel between clients. We therefore need reliable cloud-based technology that offers all the convenience of in-house veterinary software, even when we’re offline.
The simplest way to work remotely is to utilise a tailored app, such as On the Road (OTR), that can be downloaded onto your phone or tablet and which syncs with your main veterinary PMS. But how does this fit into your working day? At the beginning of each shift, appointments, maps, client balances and clinical histories (including images) can be downloaded from the veterinary PMS onto the app – all of which can then be accessed offline. Alongside this, clients can be informed of your estimated time-of-arrival by sending an SMS through the app, and the practice can be updated throughout the day with your location and appointment status.
During the consultation, the app also makes it possible to document clinical notes (with the option of using a dictation function), dispense medications, upload images and book follow-up appointments – all whilst offline. Importantly, batch numbers can be recorded automatically, and stock levels instantly updated from your location.
The data recorded offline can be synchronised with the main veterinary PMS database once you regain a data connection, all with a quick tap of the screen. Not only can you save time by updating client and patient records as-you-go, but you can protect your bottom line by ensuring that all the information is accurate and that nothing is accidentally left off an invoice.
Sharing the workload
It can feel as if we spend a lot of our day working alone in farm practice, but we of course rely on a whole team to complete all the required work for our clients and patients. Whether it’s ordering medication, running a blood sample or emailing insurance forms – there are many steps involved in providing excellent care. This process relies on a whole chain of communication, but it’s much simpler to use a tailored function on the veterinary PMS to manage these actions for you. This function is often referred to as a ‘task list’, and essentially works like a shared messaging platform that all users can access to assign tasks to other team members – or to themselves if they wish to use it as a personal ‘to do’ list.
The advantage of using a task list is that the progress of each task can be tracked, so everyone knows the development of a particular case or administrative exercise. There are also handy shortcuts within the task list, with instant access to patient records.
Using a task list within your veterinary practice management system is simple, and it’s a really effective way of ensuring that all stages to patient or client care are completed promptly. No more relying on emails or verbal instruction that can often slip through the net when we’re juggling the pressures of the working day.
Prompt debt recovery
Your veterinary PMS can make billing a straightforward process by customising pricing for herds, clients and farms. But veterinary software can also save a lot of time when it comes to recovering client debt – a part of business that few of us enjoy but is essential for protecting our income.
Aged debt reports can be compiled directly from the veterinary practice management system and having a helpful debt management screen, provides a clear, understandable method of identifying debt, along with accounts that require specific action. The debt management tool allows you to add account notes, update client account information, access invoices and document history all in one place. It can also highlight any accounting errors which need to be corrected by the practice. Once ‘bad’ debt has been identified, accounts are flagged so that the client can be contacted. Vets can also be alerted to which accounts are flagged ahead of their consultations.
The benefit of using your veterinary PMS to manage your practice debt is that the data collected can be converted into Excel for your own analysis and records, making it easy to note when accounts have been settled. It’s beneficial to run these reports regularly as part of the general sales report process, and in doing so, we can recover any debt promptly and harmoniously; maintaining the strong client relationships that are so integral to our farm work.
Automatic Batch Detail Statements
Batch Detail Statements are now automatic through your veterinary practice management system and eases the pressure on veterinary teams. In line with VMD regulations, your veterinary PMS automatically issues Batch Detail Statements overnight on any items that have been dispensed that day. The summary statements contain the batch details (batch numbers and expiry dates) of each item booked out for treatment against a particular herd or animal and is sent to the Bill payer as well as the primary farm contact. You will still have the ability to run these batch statements manually, but this automation means one less thing on your to-do list and peace of mind for your clients that they have the information at their fingertips.
Measuring success and building for the future
Much of farm veterinary work is seasonal, and the quieter months can offer an opportunity to assess the wider performance of the practice and set measurable action points for the year ahead. Your veterinary practice management system can really shine in this task and removes any guesswork. Simply by running specific reports with the data already in your veterinary PMS, key performance indicators (KPIs) can reveal exactly what’s working well and where we may look to improve.
Determining which services bring in the most revenue – alongside metrics such as the amount of procedures completed and overall invoice numbers – can help to establish your practice’s best sellers. A unique selling point (USP) may even be identified which can help to focus marketing objectives within the local market. Client experience can also be assessed by looking at metrics such as the number of new clients, how many have left, and the repeat-visit rate of existing customers. Client satisfaction surveys, used alongside the reports, can also be beneficial here.
The advantage of measuring KPIs is that data isn’t biased, and we can base many important business decisions on the results.
A PMS that supports you on and off-farm
A working day in farm practice may feel somewhat unpredictable, but you therefore need a reliable veterinary practice management system that can adjust to the unique ways you work and the challenges you may face.
Tailoring the functionality of the veterinary PMS offers huge advantages and ensures that your clients and patients receive an exceptional service; regardless of whether you’re working at the practice or in the most remote of locations.
