Pet owners value Peachtree Hills Animal Hospital (PHAH) in Atlanta, Georgia for its ability to successfully balance personalized care with the latest in veterinary technology.
PHAH continues this future-facing, client-centric approach during the current COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions, by delivering care in new ways and moving quickly to embrace new technologies.
Peachtree Hills’ owner, Dr. Duffy Jones, DVM, explains his practice’s philosophy. “We strive to provide extraordinary care for our pets and that care starts with the pet owner,” he says. “The better the pet owner’s experience, the better the experience will be for the pet.”
With this goal in mind, PHAH adopted a new workflow using the telemedicine capabilities offered in his Covetrus PIMS. Because some pets still require an in-clinic exam during these times of social distancing, the Covetrus’ telemedicine options provide secure video teleconferencing to ensure no contact between clinic staff and clients.
In about the same amount of time as a standard office visit, we are able to provide the best care for the pet in need and the owner is able to fully participate in the exam. It’s a win-win for everyone. Dr. Duffy Jones, DVM – Peachtree Hills Animal Hospital
Virtual visits from start to finish
- Client requests a visit online. Staff schedules exam and sends a virtual visit link to pet owner and veterinarian.
- Client brings pet to clinic for contact-free admission in parking lot or other area, then staff retrieves the pet from the client’s car.
- Veterinarian starts videoconferencing call from the exam room and client connects to virtual visit from the vehicle, contributing to the discussion on their pet’s diagnosis and treatment. Lab work is completed if required.
- Veterinarian or staff mutes the visit while preparing the client’s bill, then reactivates to discuss any questions. Staff collects payment using client credit card and returns patient to client’s car.
Top takeaways for success
When you’re ready to start conducting virtual visits in your practice, consider the following tips gained from the PHAH experience:
- Share information with your clients to help them understand the process, especially how the technology works.
- Consider extending your clinic WiFi signal to your parking lot to avoid client connection issues with the mobile provider.
- Set up a mobile cart with a video camera enabled laptop or separate camera with microphone that can be taken from exam room to exam room.
- Provide personal earbuds to each team member to use when needed to have a more serious conversation with the pet owner. It may be possible to connect two pairs of earbuds to one computer, so the vet tech and doctor can both hear.
We are in a relationship-driven profession. Having visual contact helps to foster that relationship better than just a phone call. While some clients request a phone call, we ‘push’ them so we can see their body language and strengthen that relationship. Dr. Duffy Jones, DVM – Peachtree Hills Animal Hospital
Convenient, continued care
PHAH returned to 100% staffing and a full appointment calendar within one week by using the virtual exam room set up with the new telemedicine functionality in their PIMS.
Start connecting today
The Covertrus PIMS telemedicine functionality is free for all customers on Covetrus Support. To learn more, visit get.covetrus.com/telemedicine
Download the full case study.