{"id":2723,"date":"2025-03-19T08:31:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T22:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/software.covetrus.com\/apac\/?post_type=case_studies&p=2723"},"modified":"2026-08-13T12:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:32:37","slug":"port-macquarie","status":"publish","type":"case_studies","link":"https:\/\/software.covetrus.com\/apac\/veterinary-insights\/case-studies\/port-macquarie","title":{"rendered":"Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital Modernises and Embraces a Paperless Future with Covetrus Ascend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital<\/a> is a well-established veterinary hospital with a rich history that spans 50 years. It is the last independent veterinary hospital in the area and boasts a team of six dedicated veterinarians and support staff that specialise in small animal care.<\/p>\n

As a result of the veterinary team\u2019s broad range of technical expertise and skills, the clinic serves as a referral centre for advanced orthopaedic surgery, and it also delivers general equine care and canine reproductive services.<\/p>\n

\"\"Its focus on advanced veterinary care, together with its long-standing commitment to independent practice, makes Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital a valuable asset in its local community and a leader in the field of veterinary medicine in the region.<\/p>\n

According to Dr Tim Reed, Partner and Veterinary Surgeon at Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital, one of the practice\u2019s key goals for 2025 is to embed the rollout of Covetrus Ascend<\/a>, which was implemented late in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re settling into a routine and aiming to get the best out of the system, we will be adding VetCheck in the next few weeks so we can use the digital capabilities of Ascend more, including digital forms and other functionality we didn’t have with our old system, Customer Logic. We\u2019re aiming to become more efficient this year,\u201d Tim adds. \u201cWe’re all learning new muscle memory with a system that’s different to what we’ve used for the past 20 years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fast and efficient cloud-based PMS needed for paperless practice<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

When considering their decision to select Covetrus Ascend<\/a> for their cloud-based veterinary practice management software, Nurse Manager and Veterinary Nurse Kylie Borham said their main goal was to implement a robust cloud-based program. \u201cOur previous system was slow, and a lot of the client files are quite big, so we\u2019d spend a few minutes loading each record. We definitely wanted to improve on the speed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also wanted to go paperless, which is why it was really handy moving forward with a cloud-based program. We also wanted to integrate easily with VetCheck,\u201d she adds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tim explains that his team looked at six different practice management solutions and narrowed their selection down to Ascend. \u201cWe’d been on an old server-based system, which was a risk if the server crashed, and we\u2019d lose 20 years of data. So, yes, it was time to change to cloud-based\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"He adds that several of the clinic\u2019s vet nurses spent some time on the Covetrus Ascend demo environment to assess if they could navigate their way around it easily. They also considered Ascend\u2019s implementation process. \u201cIt was a case of trying to find a flow that worked for us. The way Ascend looked and worked was far easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kylie agrees that it was valuable to have the Ascend demo environment trial in the decision-making process. \u201cIt was good to have the program available for us to try before we decided on Ascend. It gave us a valuable hands-on opportunity to see if we could navigate our way around it without any training. We found it very user-friendly and liked that we could add pictures to the client file,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Onboarding experience with Covetrus Ascend<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Both Tim and Kylie are satisfied with the onboarding and training for Covetrus Ascend<\/a> in their practice. In particular, they\u2019re highly complimentary of Simone, the Covetrus implementation specialist. \u201cSimone is amazing \u2013 we love and miss her!\u201d says Kylie.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was particularly good,\u201d says Tim. \u201cShe took us through all the training. She was bubbly and happy. She understood our idiocy and our inability to comprehend change!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He adds that Simone accommodated staff members\u2019 leave by extending the training period, which was helpful. She also made sure that the team had access to the self-paced online learning courses to support the in-person training she provided.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did everything in person and gave us access to the online learning portal,\u201d says Tim. \u201cWe went through each module of training with her live in a one-hour or two-hour session week by week.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Responsive and helpful customer support<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital experienced a dramatic improvement in their software customer support in a number of areas after transitioning to Covetrus Ascend:<\/p>\n

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  • Responsiveness:<\/strong><\/span> Tim and Kylie say they and their team consistently receive same-day responses to their enquiries now, in contrast to the sometimes weeks-long wait times they had previously.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u201cReplies are normally the same day,\u201d says Tim, \u201cwhereas with our previous provider, it could take two weeks or longer before we got a response.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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    • Helpful and accessible:<\/strong><\/span> They also find the Ascend support team polite and willing to help, even with seemingly basic questions. They also actively encourage user feedback. \u201cThe support team have been very accommodating and polite,\u201d says Kylie. \u201cSometimes we ask silly questions that we should maybe already know or figure out, but they’ve all been amazing.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \u201cIf the software doesn\u2019t do a particular thing, they advise us to make a product suggestion, which is fabulous. I’ve done that several times \u2013 they get back to you quickly,\u201d she adds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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      • Clear and actionable guidance:<\/strong><\/span> The Covetrus support team also provides the Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital team with very clear and concise instructions, which helps them implement solutions independently. \u201cWith Ascend, we get really good instructions from tech support that explain how to do things in a way that we can understand and follow,\u201d says Kylie.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n