Eddie Heinz, CEO of eVetPractice.com, joins us today to discuss the benefits of cloud-based software in veterinary practices. eVetPractice.com is a leading practice management solution for veterinarians and a Bluefin integrated payment partner.
Traditional practice “technology”, a thing of the past.
5 Common challenges of the traditional veterinary practice
- Paper record keeping, appointment scheduling, service reminder distribution
- Increased labor cost due to inefficiency
- Difficulty in accurately managing inventory and accounting
- Lack of advertisement avenues and initiatives
- No connection with necessary modern medical equipment, associated practices, or specialty practices
We will now discuss the advantages of moving to a cloud based practice management system.
Why should a practice utilize cloud based technology?
Accuracy of records, reporting, and scheduling
In a paper record practice, patient files can be difficult to locate, reference, and store. Staff may be frequently disorganized, and it may slow the process of patient care. Your staff will likely spend more time shuffling paperwork than providing medical attention.
With a cloud based practice, patient files are easily accessible, updated real-time, and require no physical space for storage. The ability to schedule appointments is streamlined and accurate, reducing client wait-time and cancelled visits.
Increasing client compliance
In a paper record practice, staff is responsible for tracking services due which may lead to missing service reminders or sending redundant communications. But with a cloud based practice, the system does the work for you. It allows you to send reminders in a variety of ways; postcards, emails, and text messages.
Reducing costs of operation
In a paper record practice, the cost is obvious. The physical storage demands are large and those costs will only continue to grow over time. The inefficiencies in finding records, tracking service due dates, and communicating with the client is large and are frequently error prone. And in an installed system, you have to worry about the cost of purchasing equipment and updating that equipment.
With a cloud based practice, no servers or backups are required which frees up the staff and resources to allow them to provide better patient care. Cloud based systems usually have a low upfront cost with a reasonable monthly subscription price. The monthly price includes the system, automatic updates, support, and training.
Staff productivity and satisfaction
Let’s be honest, most veterinary clinic staff members joined this industry to spend time with animals and to help provide quality care. Managing paper records or an installed system isn’t something they bought into. However, they can leverage their system to help with the quality of care.
With a cloud based practice, staff can become more efficient giving them more time to do what they love which is being with the patient and providing that care. A happier staff normally translates to higher revenue.
Client interaction and communication
For a paper record practice, client interaction is limited to office visits, phone calls, and direct mailings. But with a cloud based practice, you get all those plus the ability to email, text message, client portal (pet portal), and social media.
Business growth and expansion
The record keeping process with which you run your practice shouldn’t prevent growth. Using paper records will take a toll on resources and will stifle growth. An installed system will require more upkeep as hardware becomes outdated. It is also very common to start with a hardware setup to support your clinic, but then grow out of that hardware setup. This would require new hardware and servers.
With a cloud based practice, servers are managed by the software vendor and are set up to grow with the business.
Medical technology and cross practice connectivity
For a paper record practice, there is no option to seamlessly pull in lab results, radiographs, or specialists’ reports – they must all be stored separately. Coordinating this with a multi-location practice is near impossible.
With an install system, you can at least connect your software to external devices like lab analyzers and x-ray equipment. However, you can’t easily connect multi-location practices.
With a cloud based system, you can do both and do both well. In a multi-location practice, you can easily access one or more clinics from the same computer or device. You can also share clients and patients across locations reducing double entry. In most cases, you can run reports that show a group practice view which is near impossible with paper or installed systems.
Eddie Heinz is the CEO of eVetPractice.com, a leading provider of veterinary practice management software. Founded in 2011, the company’s clientele spans more than 40 states within the United States, as well as Canada and Australia.
