Overview
Animal Emergency Hospital Launceston (AEHL) is the only after-hours emergency veterinary clinic in Northern Tasmania. It was founded by Dr Lisa Reynolds in September 2023, who identified the need for an after-hours emergency service in the area.
Although it currently operates when most other vets don’t – from 5pm Fridays to 8am Mondays and on public holidays – the hospital aims to expand its services to a seven-day operation within its first year. With a long-term vision of moving into larger premises and increasing the number of vets on staff, the clinic aims to expand the level of care it provides for patients in its local community.
Behind the decision to move to Covetrus Ascend
Before establishing AEHL, Lisa had experience using several practice management systems, including RxWorks and OpenVPMS. When setting up AEHL, Lisa reviewed Covetrus Ascend and decided it was the best solution for her clinic’s needs. Key factors that influenced her decision were Ascend’s integration capabilities, paperless features, efficient pricing bundles, and automatic updates.
Covetrus Ascend training and onboarding
The implementation of Covetrus Ascend at AEHL went smoothly, despite the clinic being a new business with no pre-existing data to migrate. For this reason, the initial setup, including inventory and database creation, presented some challenges.
However, Lisa says that the Covetrus team’s proactive and comprehensive support throughout the onboarding process helped overcome these initial hurdles. The team at Covetrus recognised the unique needs of Lisa’s emergency hospital and tailored their training approach accordingly.
They focused on the features most relevant to the after-hours emergency care her team provides, such as invoicing, pricing bundles, and communication tools. They de-emphasised less important features like appointment reminders and newsletters, which are less applicable in AEHL’s emergency setting.
“We don’t do a lot of things that GPs do like send newsletters,” Lisa says. “Whereas other aspects of Ascend were really important to us, like keeping track of and being able to send histories to referring vets.”
This customised training approach accelerated the learning curve for Lisa and her staff and enabled them to quickly start using Ascend to its full potential.
The post-implementation support has been equally impressive, says Lisa. The Covetrus team has been readily available to address any questions or concerns and offer prompt and effective solutions. Additionally, the comprehensive online manual and frequent software updates have empowered AEHL to resolve minor issues on their own and further minimise disruptions to their workflow.
Most useful and valuable features of Covetrus Ascend
1. Pricing bundles and invoicing
Covetrus Ascend’s pricing bundles have transformed the way AEHL manages its billing process. By standardising the costs for common procedures, the risk of mischarges has been significantly reduced.
This saves valuable time and money for Lisa and her fellow veterinarians, as they can generate accurate estimates and invoices in seconds. Critically, it also prevents revenue loss due to undercharging. In an emergency setting where time is critical and accurate billing is essential, this feature has proven invaluable.
“Being able to set up pricing bundles and charge efficiently and quickly in an emergency environment is essential,” says Lisa. “The bottom line can take a huge hit with mischarges and it’s really easy to do it because you might have patients that are in hospital for three days,” she explains. “If you’re not keeping up with your charges in a structured way, you’ll lose a lot of money.”
2. Paperless workflow
Covetrus Ascend’s paperless workflow offers a significant advantage for AEHL. By digitising consent forms, medical histories, and invoices, they have reduced clutter, improved efficiency, and enhanced their data security. This has saved physical space and streamlined administrative tasks, which allows staff to focus on patient care.
“Being paperless adds an environmental benefit,” explains Lisa, “but it’s more around time-saving for the team, as we have to enter or scan every document into a system. “Now, a client fills in a consent form and it’s all integrated easily through Ascend and VetCheck and the client gets a copy with a cost estimate. Being paperless is a big, big win for us,” says Lisa.
3. Integration with VetCheck and Provet
The seamless integration with VetCheck has revolutionised client onboarding at AEHL. By getting clients to enter their own information, the clinic has eliminated manual data entry errors and accelerated the check-in process dramatically.
“We’ve just introduced the QR code system,” Lisa explains, “which prompts clients to automatically enter all their own details. This is huge for us because 90 to 95 percent of all the people that come through our doors have never been here before. So, we’re constantly creating new clients,” she adds.
The Provet integration has also optimised AEHL’s inventory management. It allows for tracking of stock levels, reordering of supplies, and accurate cost analysis for each procedure. This results in meaningful cost savings and ensures that essential items are always available when needed.
Covetrus Ascend’s cloud-based nature has proven indispensable for an emergency clinic like AEHL. It provides secure access to patient records, lab results, and imaging studies from any location with internet connectivity.
4. Cloud-based accessibility and flexibility
This lets Lisa and her team remotely consult on cases, review test results, and collaborate with colleagues, even outside of their regular working hours if needed. This flexibility improves the quality of care and enables quicker decision-making in critical situations.
“I absolutely love the cloud feature,” says Lisa. “If the team need a little help with a case, I can just log in, read the results, look at an X-ray and share my thoughts. Everything’s accessible to me from home. A few of the team will also use it at home to catch up on notes when they’ve had a really long shift and they’ve had enough. They just go home, put on their track pants, and write up notes from home.”
5. Intuitive user interface
Ascend’s user-friendly interface has been a significant advantage for the clinic. Lisa says that new staff members, including receptionists and veterinarians, can quickly learn how to use the software efficiently.
This reduces the time and resources needed for training, which allows new staff members to become productive members of the team in a much shorter period. In an emergency setting where staff turnover can be high, this ease of use is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency.
“We have quite a lot of vets on staff, about 12 or 13,” says Lisa, “but they’re not always here on the weekend. So, we have to make Ascend as simple so someone can walk through the door tomorrow. We might have
someone coming in for three shifts who’s never worked with us before. And they need to be able to pick it up and be able to do the basics right away. The feedback from the team is that they pick up Ascend very, very quickly. I do a bit of training around how we invoice, estimate, and communicate with our clients. Outside of that, I literally show them how to do just one consult, type in some notes, and charge and they’re off. It probably takes 30 minutes to an hour max and they’re able to jump in and do consults using Ascend,” she adds.
This compares to the three to four hours she had spent in past in previous roles training new staff members on OpenVPMS.
Automated reminders and follow-ups
Covetrus Ascend’s automated reminder system, which is linked to consultations and other actions, makes sure that crucial follow-ups aren’t missed. This improves patient care and strengthens relationships with referring veterinarians, as they receive timely updates on their patients’ progress.
This feature has also proved beneficial for tracking referrals and ensuring continuity of care, which is essential for an after-hours emergency clinic.
Final thoughts
Covetrus Ascend has proven itself an invaluable asset for the AEHL team. Its robust features, intuitive interface, and excellent support have significantly streamlined the clinic’s operations, improved efficiency, and reduced the risk of mischarges.
Lisa’s advice to any practice manager or owner considering Ascend as their practice management system is clear:
“I would categorically say that it beats all the current cloud-based systems I’ve ever used, which is four of the ones currently on the market. For a cloud-based system, you won’t find anything easier and more reliable. I don’t think you can lose on it really,” she adds.
Learn more about Covetrus Ascend