Overview
Malcolm Anderson is a highly experienced, respected veterinarian and practice owner who operates in the Wellington and Central areas of New Zealand’s North Island.
After completing his veterinary degree, Malcolm’s career initially took him to the United Kingdom and Australia. In 1998, his accumulated experiences brought him home to New Zealand, where he started Andersons Vet Hospital. This grew to become a successful small animal practice with two clinics.
Latterly, Malcolm sold his business to a large New Zealand veterinary corporate and he has spent the past four years doing contract and locum veterinarian work. His highly varied work experience has given him unique insights into what helps make a veterinary practice successful.
VisionVPM confirmed as the software of choice
Top of Malcolm’s list of key factors is the choice of practice management software. After having conducted a thorough market investigation at the launch of Andersons Vet Hospitals and followed this up with a contract and locum work in a wide range of practices, he says he’s seen and used all the practice software currently available in the market.
Malcolm says he feels confident in standing by VisionVPM as the premier practice management solution, as he’s operated hands-on with all the available software solutions during his time as a locum. “I’ve been using them all,” he says, “so I can see the pros and cons of each.”
Thinking back to the initial introduction of VisionVPM in his two Andersons Vet Hospitals practices, Malcolm says he enjoyed the ability to run them as two separate entities on the same database. This enabled him, for example, to report on and manage each site’s stock control independently. “I also liked VisionVPM’s reporting,” he says, “as I could get details for each site, but also compare performance for each practice.” “I’ve used VisionVPM since I started my own practices 23 years ago, everything I’ve seen since then has confirmed my initial decision it’s a no-brainer.”
VisionVPM supports good client interaction
Malcolm admits that, while his philosophy on what makes a successful practice may differ from convention, it has helped him achieve both professional and business success. While the clinical aspects of his services are, of course, important, he believes good client interaction is vital. “This is where practice software that encourages good client communication is essential,” he explains. “I want my vets and vet nurses to be able to have easy conversations with clients – I don’t want computers and screens blocking this smooth face-to-face interaction.”
This is where he finds VisionVPM’s speed and user interface head and shoulders above the competition. “It’s so easy to find everything in VisionVPM,” he says. “The shortcut keys are very intuitive, and the steps are progressive and easy to follow – they are very intuitive. There’s nothing on the screens that you don’t need,” he adds.
Calling on his more recent experience as a locum, Malcolm reflects on his use of competitor products. “From the outside looking in, I see that other companies who provide veterinary software haven’t taken the end-user into account. Speed and ease of use are critical for us veterinarians,” he says, “as we’re interfacing with the client at the same time.
“I have to get through a consult relatively quickly,” he explains, “which gives me 10 to 15 minutes. I have to do a patient history, do the consult, prescribe the drugs, do the labels and create an invoice – and it needs to be seamless and easy. This is why VisionVPM is so good.”
“The same applies for front of office,” he says. “Reception staff might have a client in front of them, plus another on the phone, and I think it’s essential to have practice software that drives the right customer-focused culture.”
He says this is something that both software providers and veterinarians often overlook. “Your software drives your culture, which impacts on the experience your customer has. If your client has a bad experience, this leaves them with a negative impression of their visit and your clinic.”
Malcolm adds another benefit of VisionVPM that he enjoys is how easy it is to learn. “In my practices, I had vet nurses who also took care of Reception. It was super-easy to teach them to how to take care of both functions in VisionVPM,” he says.
VisionVPM practice management software ‘heart of business’
Malcolm has an alternative view of his software providers, including Covetrus, who supply VisionVPM. “Software suppliers are the heart of my business and I treat them just like I would a client,” he says. “You can’t successfully run a practice with Word or Excel; you need practice management software like VisionVPM and a provider that you can partner with. “It’s a necessary expense,” he explains, “so, if you’re going to get one, why not get one that’s easy to use and which works seamlessly? It’s not a cost I would even debate – it’s just a key part of my business.”
Malcolm will be launching a new practice in the near future and is clear on what his software of choice will be: VisionVPM.
VisionVPM is a comprehensive practice management solution designed to simplify and streamline the management of your business, improving efficiency and growing profitability. With strong large animal functionality, VisionVPM veterinary software is an excellent choice for large and mixed animal practices.
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