Overview
Indooroopilly Vet Clinic is a well-established small animal veterinary practice based in Indooroopilly, Brisbane. It has served the pet community in Indooroopilly and surrounding suburbs for over 40 years and has built a reputation for providing exceptional patient care.
The practice recently underwent renovations of its over 100-year-old Queenslander building and the team took advantage of the opportunity to also upgrade their practice management software. This, together with a new graduate joining the veterinary staff, has prepared the clinic for new growth and innovation.
Challenges with Current Practice Management Software
Before refreshing its practice management software, Indooroopilly Vet Clinic faced several challenges with its existing system. These included that it wasn’t intuitive, it didn’t have SMS capabilities, and there were inefficiencies in note-taking and patient communication.
Additionally, there was no seamless integration between Indooroopilly Vet Clinic’s systems and those of its major distribution supplier, Provet. This created challenges with updating pricing and inventory management.
Collectively, these challenges led to wasted time and frustration among staff, prompting the need for a more efficient and user-friendly solution.
User-friendly and efficient veterinary software required
Indooroopilly Vet Clinic recognised the need for a more efficient and user-friendly solution and decided to transition from Cornerstone to Covetrus Ascend, a fast-growing cloud-based practice management system. Many of the team already had experience with Covetrus in the past, this helped make the transition to Ascend smoother.
The decision was influenced by Ascend’s integration capabilities with Provet, as well as its SMS functionality.
“Being able to send SMS messages was a huge drawcard,” says Dr Danielle Appay, one of Indooroopilly Vet Clinic’s veterinarians.
“So was being able to integrate with our major supplier Provet. It meant our staff didn’t need to spend unnecessary time updating prices and they could focus on other, more important, tasks. Plus, it reduced the risk of items being missed.”
Seamless adoption of Covetrus Ascend
The transition to Covetrus Ascend went smoothly and minimal technical support was required. The clinic’s staff found Ascend intuitive and easy to use, which meant that the solution was adopted quickly across the team. The cloud-based nature of Ascend also allowed for seamless data migration and ensured the team could access it from anywhere there was an internet connection.
Danielle and her team found Ascend’s intuitive interface and comprehensive training resources extremely helpful. Its user-friendly design simplified the learning curve for staff and enabled them to grasp the new functionalities and features of Ascend quickly.
Danielle highlights several system features that streamlined her practice’s transition to Covetrus Ascend. Its organised tab system and the ability to leave notes for each patient file improved the clinic’s organisational efficiency and the secondary contact option offered more comprehensive patient data entry, which improved the overall quality of patient records.
The value of Ascend’s intuitive interface was demonstrated by how quickly the clinic’s new graduate picked up the system.
“I tell new staff that it’s just like using a web page on your phone or desktop computer, which makes it very intuitive. Our new grad picked it up really easily. She’s taken to it the easiest of us all, even though she hadn’t used it before she started with us.”
Danielle adds that the ability to automate price updates and send SMS notifications to clients was a game-changer that freed up staff to focus on patient care and less on administrative tasks.
Robust training and support from Covetrus
Covetrus provided training and support that was pivotal in ensuring a smooth transition to Covetrus Ascend. The clinic’s staff members received thorough training on how to use Ascend’s various features effectively and it covered all aspects of the software, from basic navigation through to advanced functionalities.
The Indooroopilly Vet Clinic team also benefited from personalised training sessions, particularly by one of the Covetrus team members who was a former vet at the clinic and who was familiar with their operations.
Additionally, Covetrus delivered ongoing support to address any questions or concerns that arose during the transition. This comprehensive training and support ensured that the clinic’s team was well-equipped to leverage the full potential of Ascend.
Implementation questions followed up quickly
The clinic’s practice manager maintained a list of unique questions during the roll-out of Covetrus Ascend, which Covetrus addressed promptly to ensure minimal disruption to daily operations.
“Our practice manager kept a list of little questions or things that needed to be altered, and they were resolved quickly. Six weeks in, and everyone’s comfortable with Ascend now. Part of that’s because we pushed training and got our staff to do the pre-implementation training and practice with the training modules beforehand. This made the switchover really quick and easy.”
The value of Ascend’s time-saving features
Time-saving features significantly improved Indooroopilly Vet Clinic’s efficiency and productivity. For example, quicker access to patient information and automated note-taking have streamlined consultations and treatment plans and reduced each consult time by five to ten minutes.
The SMS client communications feature now lets the clinic send appointment reminders, test results, and other important updates directly to clients’ mobile phones. This has enhanced communication and reduced the time spent on phone calls and manual reminders.
The integration with Provet has also proved invaluable. The automatic updating of prices and inventory now saves the clinic’s staff considerable time and lets them focus on more critical tasks. The seamless connection between Ascend and Provet for medication requests and stock management also ensures more accurate and efficient ordering processes.
Danielle confirms that the new exam section and consult notes features save a substantial amount of time during patient consultations.
“The consult notes feature saves us so much time when we’re writing up notes. You can flick through them in three or four minutes. Also, instead of the nurses having to ring owners and tell them that their pet’s medications have been made up, the vets now send an SMS when we’ve done them, and it gets saved as part of the communications in the to-do list. This also saves us a lot of time.”
Additionally, the upgrade to Ascend has brought numerous productivity and efficiency benefits to the team. The system’s user-friendly interface and intuitive design have been well-received by all staff members and the ability to automate routine tasks and communicate effectively with clients has improved overall efficiency and patient care.
The clinic is now able to handle more appointments with the same resources, which has led to increased revenue and improved client satisfaction. Overall time savings amount to 16 hours per week.
Final thoughts
Indooroopilly Vet Clinic has successfully streamlined its operations and enhanced its overall efficiency by upgrading to Covetrus Ascend. Its intuitive interface, supported by comprehensive training and ongoing support from Covetrus, has enabled clinic staff to seamlessly transition to the new system.
Ascend’s time-saving features, such as quick access to patient information and SMS customer communications, have significantly improved the clinic’s workflow and communication with clients. The integration with Provet has further enhanced the clinic’s efficiency by automating pricing updates and inventory management.
Danielle encourages any practice owner or manager considering an upgrade to Ascend:
“Just jump in and do it. It’s so user-friendly that your younger staff will pick it up straight away. For other staff, just do the training and become familiar with it. Ascend is really easy to use and well worth it. It’s definitely been the smoothest PMS transition I’ve experienced.”
Learn more about Covetrus Ascend.