VetSurg is a purpose-built orthopaedic and neurosurgery referral practice located in the Perth suburb of Beckenham. It was founded in September 2023 and is led by specialist surgeon and business owner Dr Mark Newman.
The practice is dedicated to advanced surgical cases, working in close partnership with veterinary primary care practices throughout the region. The clinic currently operates with a small but highly skilled team, including one intern and five veterinary nurses. “We’re an orthopaedic-only referral clinic,” Mark says.
When it was time to choose a cloud-based solution for the new practice, simplicity and ease of use topped Mark’s list of priorities. “We wanted something with a nice, simple interface that doesn’t require a lot of extra input,” he explains. Covetrus Ascend met all of his and his team’s requirements.
Covetrus Ascend – simple and easy to use
Before launching VetSurg, Mark had used multiple systems, including RxWorks and IDEXX Cornerstone, and he had limited exposure to ezyVet.
Mark considered others but found their interfaces too cluttered for his requirements. “The number of text boxes, screens, and tabs made it seem messy and too visually overwhelming,” he says.
Before using Covetrus Ascend, VetSurg briefly operated with Microsoft Word and Xero for invoicing. “That was clunky,” he said.
“We’re with Ascend because it is so simple and easy to use for what we need.”
Up and running easily with streamlined support
“We were up and running within three weeks,” says Mark. “It was a pretty simple onboarding process. We got a few of our documents and fees uploaded, and we were ready to go.”
Mark describes the onboarding support as strong: “There was enough support to get us up and running easily. It was streamlined.”
While his clinic coordinator oversaw most of the training for his team, Mark believes the learning process was straightforward: “They all did the online learning and had meetings with someone from Covetrus. But a lot of it was learning as they went.”
Simplicity is Covetrus Ascend’s standout feature
Covetrus Ascend’s key value point for VetSurg is its simplicity.
“To be honest, the simplicity is what I like most,” says Mark. “It’s perfect for our requirements. Everything we do is similar, so we rely heavily on procedures and pre-written templates.”
The team uses bundles extensively for common surgeries and case types, which helps standardise notes and invoicing. “Everything’s a bundle with a procedure and pre-written templates,” he says.
Although VetSurg doesn’t use the full range of Covetrus Ascend’s functionality, they rely on a few key features:
- Cloud-based access: “It is helpful to be able to access Ascend from home as needed, both for myself and my staff. Even as we’re just walking around the clinic, it makes a big difference to be able to access it on our phone or iPads. It’s easier to do things, having it accessible on mobile devices. This saves us time.”
- Procedures and templates: “The bill comes up pre-populated with everything, and the procedure notes are there. They just need a bit of modification.”
- VetCheck integration: “The main integration we’re using is VetCheck, which seems to be working very well.”
Notable efficiency gains with Covetrus Ascend
Compared to both the manual Word and Xero workflow and more traditional systems like Cornerstone, Mark reports notable efficiency gains.
“There’s definitely a time saving. With Cornerstone, billing was quite laborious. In Ascend, I just hit the button, and the procedure’s all there.”
Strong recommendation for Covetrus Ascend
Mark has already recommended Covetrus Ascend to his peers in the veterinary field: “I was speaking to a colleague who was starting up a mobile imaging business, and I told them: ‘You’re not going to use the millions of tabs on other systems – it’s going to get pretty frustrating to have all that clutter.’ So, I suggested Ascend simply because, from our point of view, it is very easy to use.”
For specialist practices or startups with clear, focused needs, Mark believes Covetrus Ascend is the right choice. “I wouldn’t have any hesitation recommending it because it is perfect for our requirements. With our needs, it certainly ticks the boxes.”
