Efficiency is the newest buzzword in veterinary medicine. As we learned during the earliest days of curbside care and the COVID-19 pandemic, poor veterinary practice efficiency can quickly lead to angry clients and burnt-out teams. COVID was an extreme and unusual situation, but it highlighted how quickly staff shortages, protocol changes, and redundancies could impact operations.
Inefficiencies lead to wasted time and reduced productivity. Identifying and correcting the most significant time-wasters in veterinary practice can help teams do more in less time, ultimately leading to better practice performance, happier clients, and revitalized employees. Here are the biggest veterinary practice efficiency killers and how technology can help you overcome them.
1. Manual administrative tasks
Manually entering and handling information in practice software can be tedious and repetitive. Common time-wasters in this category include updating patient and client information, handling insurance claims, sending records, and processing payments. Manual entries take time and are prone to errors, which take more time to correct.
Various cloud-based veterinary software features can streamline these tasks. Integrated, one-click billing eliminates manual charge entry and separate credit card processors, and automatic charge capture reduces missed charges and time spent building an invoice. Online scheduling and pre-appointment registration minimize time spent during check-ins, and integrated insurance features allow teams to auto-populate and send claims forms during visits.
2. Appointment scheduling
Front desk teams spend much of their time managing the hospital schedule, including taking calls, manually scheduling and rescheduling visits, blocking time, and managing no-shows. CSRs must mentally juggle various scheduling rules, like staggering new and recheck visits and blocking time for urgent appointments, leaving them vulnerable to making mistakes. A properly managed schedule controls the hospital’s flow, while a poorly managed schedule can derail the day.
Some veterinary practices are resistant to online bookings, insisting they needed control over the schedule to manage the clinic’s time efficiently. However, online booking has come a long way. After entering a few scheduling rules into your cloud-based software, your CSRs only need to quickly scan the schedule each day to ensure the flow makes sense.
AI-powered scheduling tools can help manage complex hospital schedules, including those with multiple departments or mobile teams. As an added bonus, automated reminders, post-appointment communications, and deposit collections help reduce no-shows.
3. Phone calls
Have you ever left a meeting thinking a quick team email would have sufficed? Phone communications are similar—while there’s a time and place for phone conversations, many daily communications can be digitized and automated to save time. Save the phone calls for meaningful conversations and embrace technology for everything else.
Cloud-based software often comes with built-in communication tools and is ready for integration with additional applications. Automated reminders and post-visit check-ins sent via email or text ensure constant communication with clients without taking up time. Client-facing applications allow them to ask questions, send messages, or request refills, so you can answer them during dedicated times rather than dropping everything to take a call.
4. Inventory management
Many veterinary practices rely on manual inventory management methods. Depending on the practice, the inventory manager may place orders weekly or daily, constantly putting out fires to ensure the team has everything they need.
Integrated inventory systems allow automated stock tracking and can place orders directly with preferred suppliers when you’re running low. Plus, inventory tracking allows your inventory manager to pull reports and data to analyze purchasing and usage patterns, helping them better understand hospital needs.
5. Medical records
Medical record-keeping takes a huge chunk of time each day. Veterinary teams often stay late to finish the day’s charts, missing valuable personal and family time. Cloud-based veterinary software can often use AI to create discharge instructions, send educational materials, and automatically enter follow-up recommendations.
Additional AI tools that can integrate seamlessly with today’s software systems include transcription applications and services that listen to each visit and create SOAP notes automatically, so the veterinarian doesn’t have to recall details at the end of a busy day. Similarly, AI can summarize email, text, or phone messages and automatically add them to the medical record.
6. Software management
With so many new and exciting technologies available to manage veterinary hospitals and communicate with clients, you might find that team members are constantly toggling between various programs and windows on their screens. Adopting new, cloud-based software can eliminate this back-and-forth by including these features in the base program or allowing for full integration of outside applications.
Plus, cloud-based software can evolve alongside available technologies, meaning there is no need to purchase an updated version, extra software licenses, or an upgraded server.
Changes in the veterinary industry over the past few years have led many support staff to exit the profession, leaving many hospitals understaffed. While the answer to this problem is multifactorial, embracing technology can improve veterinary practice efficiency and veterinary professional work-life balance, helping practices attract and keep top talent.
Key takeaways
- Inefficiencies in veterinary workflows waste time and reduce team productivity. Identifying the most common time-wasters in your practice workflows can help you overcome them and increase veterinary practice efficiency.
- Common veterinary practice time-wasters include manual administrative tasks, scheduling, phone calls, inventory, medical records, and software management.
- Modern technology, including veterinary cloud-based software, can help your team overcome common time-wasters to save time, increase productivity, and improve team members’ well-being.
Learn how Provet Cloud can help you eliminate common time-wasters
Provet Cloud has the features and integrations you need to eliminate the biggest time-wasters in your practice. Our newest features help you deliver the best care to patients while lowering your team’s stress.
Schedule a demo to see how our adaptable software can help you solve your team’s biggest headaches.
