Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery has been a trusted part of the Stones Corner, Woolloongabba, and Greenslopes community for over 40 years. The clinic is well-known throughout the community for its bespoke care. The team deliver personalised service that stands out amongst the competition. 
Under the leadership of Jodie Swan, who became the surgery’s owner early in 2024 after seven years as a vet nurse and practice manager, the clinic continues its tradition of compassionate care while embracing modern tools to improve efficiency.
“We are a small but very busy clinic,” Jodie says. “We are pretty much at clinical capacity at the moment. So, we’re making sure we’re using all our resources wisely so that as many clients and patients as possible can visit us and still feel special.”
Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery chose Covetrus Ascend, a cloud-based practice management solution, to make sure they could continue to operate at peak efficiency while maintaining their personalised approach. The decision to move to Ascend was driven by a need to modernise the practice’s workflows and reduce administrative burden.
As Jodie explains, “Ascend has been a positive experience for us. It has pushed us to approach veterinary medicine in a modern way that customers are expecting, and we have the support of the Covetrus team to help us grow through the experience.”
Reliability and accessibility were key PMS requirements
Before adopting Covetrus Ascend, the clinic had used RxWorks for nearly a decade. Jodie recalls her early days in veterinary practice, working with “the old KISS system, writing cards and having filing cabinets,” before transitioning to RxWorks.
When it came time to consider introducing a new practice management system, loyalty to Covetrus and the ease of transitioning from one of their products to another played a big role. “When we were looking to change to Ascend, I didn’t consider anyone else,” Jodie says.
When considering the switch to a new PMS, reliability was a top priority for Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery.
“We wanted to make sure that if we swapped to a new system – especially if it was a cloud-based service – that we could maintain access to it. We also wanted to be sure it was as good, if not better, as RxWorks.”
Covetrus Ascend offered peace of mind, with its 24/7 support coverage. Fast fortnightly release updates also meant that Jodie and her team could be confident the software was kept up-to-date and constantly improving.
Cost-effectiveness was another critical factor for the Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery staff. The clinic’s previous server was assessed during the ownership change, and its replacement was estimated at a significant sum. This made Ascend’s subscription-based model even more attractive.
“That was a big, big drawcard,” Jodie says. “The monthly Ascend costs are really reasonable. It’s also a lot easier to manage our cash flow versus the yearly license fee that we used to have. Plus, it’s actually worked out cheaper than I expected, which I love!”
Onboarding and training with Covetrus Ascend
Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery benefited from a hands-on onboarding experience, which Jodie describes as both comprehensive and well-supported. “We had the support of Ascend techs that came on-site,” she says. “They helped us convert our document files, get our stock under control, and do a full tidy-up.”
On the day of the transition, Covetrus provided onsite assistance.
“We had someone live in the clinic working alongside us,” Jodie says. “Of course, like all IT things, we had some hiccups on that day, but they were minimal. Ascend was getting up and running in the background and we didn’t have to stop anything. Everything just kept running as normal.”
Training was another key part of the onboarding process, and Jodie devised a creative approach to make sure her team were prepared. “We made it fun and competitive within our team,” she says.
“We had the online learning portal and all the short training sessions available through it. The staff member who finished them first won a prize. We wanted our staff to know how to
use all the main features beforehand, so they weren’t stressed on the day. It’s quite a simple program, so once you know where to go, you can follow the steps and figure it out.”
Features delivering value
Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery has embraced many of Covetrus Ascend’s features to streamline its operations and enhance team productivity.
- To-dos: Jodie describes how she and her team adopted the to-do functionality very quickly. She explains: “If the phone’s ringing and you know you need to do something, you write a quick to-do. You know it’s there and you can go back to it when you’re ready. It’s not being forgotten or written down on a scrap of paper that you’re going to lose.” The to-do feature also ensures continuity across shifts. “We know that someone will see it and action it,” she adds.
- Consultation workflows with MyHub: “MyHub makes things a lot more efficient and seamless,” Jodie says. From check-in through to payment, MyHub facilitates communication between team members and minimises interruptions. “The vet can write notes back to the front desk about when they want a recheck booked in. Everyone is aware where each consult is at, so we don’t have to go into the room and say, ‘Are you finished with that consult now?’”
- Remote access and mobility: Jodie and her team use Covetrus Ascend on a variety of devices, including workstations, an iPad, and mobile phones. “The vets and I have access to the system from home,” she says. “If I’m out of the office, I can quickly and easily answer a question. At night, or first thing in the morning, I can also help to reschedule or block out emergency consultations without even being in the building. We can structure things a lot easier in real-time.”
- Integrations: Integrations with the Paws App booking platform and Provet Connect have further streamlined operations. “With Provet Connect, there’s no human error with our receipting anymore,” Jodie says. “We know what’s coming and what’s on backorder before it arrives in the building. It saves so much time. It’s also nice having Provet as our wholesaler – it makes it so much simpler to have everything in one basket.”
Results of Covetrus Ascend implementation
Since adopting Covetrus Ascend, Stones Corner Veterinary Surgery has realised significant time savings and operational improvements. The team save five hours a week thanks to streamlined workflows, integrations, and features like to-dos and duplicate appointments.
The clinic has also seen cost savings, including $300 a month saved by setting up automated reminders in Ascend instead of using an external service provider. As Jodie notes, “The Ascend team taught us how to set that up ourselves and we’re getting a better response compared with what the outside company was doing for us.”
Beyond these measurable results, Jodie also appreciates the peace of mind that comes with Ascend’s reliability and support. “It’s online so we can access it anywhere, which makes life far easier and more efficient. I like that we also don’t have to worry about backup either,” she adds. “All of these key requirements are taken care of, so we can just get on doing important veterinary work and not worry about the other things.”
Advice for other clinics
For Jodie, the decision to adopt Covetrus Ascend has been a resounding success. “With Ascend, you have the support that you don’t get with a lot of other companies,” she says. “Support is local and on the ground. You’re speaking to someone in Australia. It’s also online which makes it so much easier and more efficient.”
Her advice to other clinics considering Ascend? “It’s a no-brainer.”