Newstead Vets is a local family-owned small animal general practice located in the heart of Newstead, Queensland. The clinic offers a wide range of veterinary services, from routine check-ups and vaccinations through to dental work and surgical procedures.
The practice is equipped with leading technology, including a modern dental unit and a full in-house laboratory. The Newstead Vets team prides themselves on building long-term relationships with clients, ensuring continuity of care throughout a pet’s life.
Under the leadership of Veterinarian Dr Thiago Giraldi and Practice Manager Eviie Veron, the practice aims to deliver the highest standard of veterinary care while embracing growth and innovation.
Newstead Vets consistently seeks to streamline its operations to enhance efficiency and improve patient care. A key part of their journey towards operational excellence has been the adoption of Covetrus Ascend, the cloud-based veterinary practice management solution (PMS).
This decision has transformed the clinic’s day-to-day workflow and made it quicker and simpler for staff to manage patient records, communications, and client relationships.
A need for streamlined operations and a cloud-based PMS
Before migrating to Covetrus Ascend, Newstead Vets had been using another Covetrus product, RxWorks. While it had served their purposes well, Dr Thiago, Eviie and their team were seeking a user-friendly cloud-based PMS.
They had explored other options, such as ezyVet, however they wanted a solution that would reduce human error, minimise staff training time, and offer ease of use across devices.
“You spend a huge amount of resources training your team to use your systems,” says Practice Manager Eviie. “It takes so long when it’s complicated and difficult to access. But having it as a cloud-based solution means you can access it from anywhere from your phone, which is fantastic.”
After evaluating Covetrus Ascend, the Newstead Vets decision was clear. Ascend’s user-friendly interface, cloud-based accessibility, and the ability to integrate smoothly with other veterinary tools and platforms were compelling features.
The team also appreciated the simplicity of maintaining medical histories in Ascend, which allowed them to quickly reference and update patient information during consultations. The system’s ability to flag medical and drug alerts also enhanced the clinic’s safety protocols, especially when dealing with patients on specific medications.
“If a patient is on a medication, like a steroid, that can’t be mixed with certain drugs, you can see that straight away and it pops up as a flag, which makes it a lot safer and easier,” explains Eviie.
Onboarding and training experience
Transitioning from RxWorks to Covetrus Ascend was a smooth experience for Newstead Vets, particularly in terms of training and onboarding. For many veterinary practices, the shift to a new system can be challenging, but Ascend’s intuitive design simplified it significantly.
One standout value point during onboarding was the minimal time needed to train staff on the new system. This is a significant improvement compared with other systems, where it can take months to train staff to full competence.
Covetrus’ support team also played a pivotal role in the transition. “They’re incredibly helpful,” notes Eviie, explaining that any issues or questions were resolved quickly, which reduced potential downtime or disruptions during the switchover. The reliability of the support team provided the clinic with confidence as they integrated Ascend into their operations.
Key features of Covetrus Ascend that deliver value
Several features of Covetrus Ascend have been instrumental in improving Newstead Vets’ daily operations:
- Mobile accessibility: The cloud-based nature of Ascend lets staff access patient records and manage tasks from anywhere with an internet connection and at any time. Whether they’re working from home or remotely monitoring clinic operations, Ascend gives them complete flexibility. “I use it from home and on my phone to keep track of things throughout the day, especially if I’m not in the clinic and on call,” says Eviie.
The Newstead Vets team are investigating using Ascend on tablets during consults in the near future too. Ascend is responsive across all smart devices and has been designed with this in mind, at no extra cost to users.
“It’s so user-friendly and easy to use on mobile devices,” says Eviie. “You can log what’s happening during surgeries on Ascend straight away, for example, which teeth have been removed during a dental or writing up histories immediately. So, we’re definitely looking at doing that soon.”
- Internal messaging: Ascend’s unique internal messaging feature is highly valued by Eviie and the team. Staff can send messages within the platform, which eliminates the need for post-it notes, texts, or verbal reminders. This feature makes sure that important information is communicated to the right staff members promptly and without error.
“You know for sure that the person is going to get it when they’re next on Ascend,” adds Eviie. “There’s no need to leave stickers around the clinic or tell staff members to tell other staff members something when they’re back. It makes following up with the right people much easier and cuts down on human error, as people often forget to pass on a message. It’s so easy when you can just do it instantly,” she adds.
- To Do lists: Ascend lets the Newstead Vets team quickly and easily create and manage To Do lists, which has streamlined their client communication workflows, follow-up tasks, and administrative duties like sympathy cards or vaccine reminders.
“It’s so easy to add patients to and remove them from these lists,” says Eviie, underscoring how this feature ensures that no task slips through the cracks.
- Inventory management and integrations: Ascend’s integration with Provet and IDEXX has also been a game changer for Newstead Vets. The automatic uploading of receipts and simplified cost tracking saves valuable time for the team. The integration with IDEXX ensures that test results are seamlessly added to patient files, which saves time and minimises human error.
“With Provet, it’s really simple to see what’s coming in and what the cost price changes are,” explains Eviie.
Results of Covetrus Ascend implementation
Since implementing Covetrus Ascend, Newstead Vets has experienced significant improvements in efficiency and staff productivity. Some of the biggest wins include:
- Reduced training time: Onboarding new staff has become significantly faster. Compared with other systems Eviie had experienced, which could take months for staff to become proficient in, Ascend lets team members start using the system on their own within a couple of days.
- Streamlined communication: The internal messaging system within Ascend has dramatically reduced the need for manual communication methods, which helps make sure that important messages aren’t lost or forgotten.
- Enhanced work-life balance: Ascend’s cloud-based platform lets staff work remotely when necessary, which contributes to a better work-life balance. As Eviie notes, “Being able to help the team out remotely if I need to is really valuable to me.”
- Improved patient safety: The medical alerts feature has enhanced Newstead Vets’ ability to track and manage patients who are on medication. This improves the overall safety and quality of the care provided.
- Time savings across the team: From quicker access to patient records to more efficient task management, Covetrus Ascend has significantly cut down on administrative time for Newstead Vets. This has allowed Dr Thiago, Eviie and their team to focus more on providing high-quality veterinary care.
Advice for other clinics
For other veterinary clinics considering Covetrus Ascend, Newstead Vets’ practice manager, Eviie, offers clear advice:
“Give it a go. It’s the best program I’ve ever used, and the team at Covetrus are incredibly responsive. If there are any issues, the team are very responsive, which makes a big difference.”
The overall experience at Newstead Vets underscores the value of a cloud-based, user-friendly system like Covetrus Ascend, which has improved operational efficiency and contributed to a better work-life balance for the team.