Veterinary consolidation is a growing trend, with over 50 corporate groups owning 40% of the US market. As demand for services rises, more practices become acquisition targets.
This growth brings both promise and complexity. The industry faces staff shortages, inefficiencies, and a lack of data-driven decision-making.
Access to data is key to maximizing consolidation’s potential. Many organizations need digital transformation – specifically, a unified practice management system (PIMS). By bridging clinic operations with corporate analytics, a unified PIMS streamlines workflows, reduces attrition, cuts costs, and boosts profitability.
What exactly is a “unified” PIMS?
Quite simply, it’s the implementation of the same software solution at every clinic in your organization. Every staff member, from the veterinarian to the receptionist, across all locations, learns to use the same tools to manage patient records, appointments, payments, inventory, imaging, and so on.
Achieving this ideal state is easier said than done. Practice management software solutions run the gamut of quality and reliability, and each one of your clinics comes with its own nuanced set of operational preferences.
So let’s be clear on what you stand to gain from the effort of unifying your organization around one system.
11 benefits of a unified practice management software solution
These benefits outweigh any of the perceived hassle of implementing a unified PIMS:
1. Standardization
A unified PIMS ensures that the same procedures and protocols – from patient care to financial reporting – are followed by all clinics in the organization. Standardization reduces inconsistencies and promotes efficiency.
2. Local flexibility
Standardization should not come at the expense of personalization. Practices value their independence and unique characteristics. A highly customizable software solution will enable localized flexibility to manage calendars, campaigns, and workflows specific to each clinic.
3. Data integration
Working within a uniform system allows you easier access to data across all of your locations, facilitating better communication and collaboration among veterinary teams.
4. Data security and privacy
A single point of control for implementing security measures ensures that sensitive client and patient information is consistently protected across all locations.
5. Faster decision-making
With real-time access to standardized data, organization-level decision-making happens with greater efficiency – from resource allocation and strategic planning to responding to emerging trends.
6. Cost efficiency
By paying for one software solution for your entire organization, you reduce licensing, training, and support costs. And managing one vendor relationship gives you more negotiating power and smoother communication for resolving any issues.
7. Enhanced reporting and analysis
Easier data integration enables faster and more robust analysis capabilities at the organizational level, yielding insights that guide strategic decisions and innovations in veterinary care.
8. Streamlined training
Onboarding new clinic staff is more straightforward when everyone is using the same software. This also allows for more mobility between locations, not requiring staff to learn a new system and improving workforce flexibility.
9. Remote access and collaboration
One of the many strengths of a cloud-based system is that it supports remote access. That flexibility enables collaboration among veterinarians in the field or when they are in different locations, working together on complex cases.
10. Improved client experience
Consistent software translates to a consistent client experience. No matter what location clients visit, they can expect the same level of service and communication – keys to building their trust and loyalty.
11. Scalability
Reaping these benefits is crucial to scaling your growing organization. As you add clinics, onboard veterinary teams, and expand services, a unified PIMS serves as the foundation for innovation and excellence.
Disparate PIMS and the hidden costs of a fragmented technology strategy
On the surface, a network of clinics that are using different PIMS solutions may seem fine – each clinic is functioning well enough with the technology stack that it already knows how to use. So why bother to intervene at the practice level, implement new solutions, and risk disrupting workflows? The answer: there are bigger risks if you don’t.
Let’s look at a few of the biggest risks to your organization if each of your clinics continues to operate independently with regards to practice management technology:
- Data integration and standardization
Different software across the enterprise means any number of data formats and structures to integrate and standardize – an extremely complex and time-consuming process that slows down insight-gathering and leadership decision-making. - Operational inefficiencies
PIMS solutions are not created equal. Some systems function very poorly, have little to no developmental roadmap, and lack many of the efficiency-building tools that veterinary teams have come to expect in order to perform their jobs well. Subpar software impacts productivity and service quality and can hinder revenue performance. - Information mismanagement
Imagine being able to share information seamlessly and securely across your organization, enabling standard operating procedures that help ensure patient safety and lead to improvements in care. But when too many systems communicate with each other, that synchronization is much more difficult to achieve. - Fees and Maintenance
Do you really want to be paying for the licensing, support, updates, and hardware for multiple software systems? Software maintenance costs vary widely, to say nothing of the dozens of add-on, third-party applications that command additional fees. - Scalability and future growth
As your organization continues to grow, the above-mentioned challenges caused by disparate software systems will only magnify. And that makes the task of consolidating your practice management technology stack – and migrating all of the data – even more complex and costly.
Key Takeaways
- A unified PIMS is essential for efficient veterinary group management – Standardizing practice management software across all clinics streamlines operations, improves decision-making, and enhances profitability.
- Benefits of a unified system are numerous – These include cost efficiency, better data security, faster decision-making, improved client experience, and scalability for future growth.
- Disparate systems create hidden costs and inefficiencies – Operating with multiple PIMS solutions leads to data integration challenges, operational inefficiencies, information mismanagement, excessive software costs, and scalability issues.
Realize the benefits of a unified PIMS for your veterinary organization
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