Washington Veterinary Medical Clinic and Germantown Hills Animal Hospital are affiliated clinics in Washington and Metamora, Illinois. These full-service veterinary facilities are co-owned and operated by Dr. Peter Nichols and Dr. Christine Slagel.

How integrated services connect two bustling practices

With two busy clinics staffed by sizeable teams, Nichols and Slagel chose AVImark for practice management. AVImark integrates seamlessly with other Covetrus services, delivering a single platform solution including online prescription management, Rapport client communications, telemedicine solutions, and payment processing.

Integration makes innovation easy

The clinics moved to AVImark 15 years ago, part of a switch from paper to digital workflows, and Dr. Nichols continues to enjoy the future-facing approach of Covetrus: “One of the biggest benefits of having Covetrus as a partner is their desire to innovate. I also appreciate how their software communicates so easily with the equipment in our clinics.”

His view is supported by his Practice Manager. “There are always new features and updates,” says Jennifer Strube, CVPM. “AVImark is the core of our practice management solution and we have integrations like client communications with Rapport, our online storefront, payment processing with CareCredit, and most recently, telemedicine solutions that support our concierge service. We’ve adopted these new features as they have come along, which has worked well both for our practices and for our clients. With Rapport, for example, it’s so easy for our clients to schedule their appointment online now.”

The team also appreciates AVImark’s ease-of-use. “It’s very intuitive,” says Jennifer. “We’re able to adjust the templates to fit our practice needs, and it is veterinary-specific.”

Prescription management improves patient and practice experience

The clinics have unlocked new services and revenue with Covetrus prescription management and a practice-branded online pharmacy. Drs. Nichols and Slagel and their team can now create, approve, and renew standard prescriptions, preventatives, and special diets. Clients receive industry-leading emails, including refill or renew reminders, online bookings, and exclusive Covetrus-funded rebates.

“These integrations allow us to write a digital script that is automatically saved against the patient record,” says Dr. Nichols. “There’s no more searching to try and find a prescription.”

“It’s really essential to have a reputable partner that we know and trust for our clients to get their prescriptions online,” says Jennifer. “The Covetrus prescription management platform sends a notification when a client wants a script, and we can either approve or deny it. Because the platform is fully integrated, we can even put the product straight into their shopping cart and let them know it’s there.”

Rapport empowers telemedicine during coronavirus

The latest feature in Rapport – telemedicine – has served the clinics well during COVID-19 physical distancing requirements. “The video functionality is so easy to use in the exam room,” Jennifer explains. “We take the patient inside while the client waits in the car and they’re able to participate in the examination with the doctor and their pet, almost as if they were there.”

The clinics also use Rapport for integrated client communication. According to Jennifer, “Rapport is great for emailing and texting clients about scheduling and other information.”

Wellness plans and recurring payments

Washington and Germantown offer preventative healthcare plans – a growing trend across the veterinary industry. Bundled services allow for fixed, regular payments, and contribute to long-term patient health. Wellness plans require the security and flexibility to manage client payment information, so the clinics use integrated payment processing from Covetrus.

“In my opinion, they’re the best provider in this area,” says Dr. Nichols. “We manage healthcare plan payments through AVImark, which means we don’t have to have another service, and it’s good to have it all under one umbrella.”

“The integration is great – payments automatically show up in AVImark,” adds Jennifer. “It’s been really useful during the pandemic to be able to store our clients’ credit card details securely. If they need refills, we ask if they would like to use their stored card. It’s held automatically, and we can process it for them. The same applies for preventative healthcare plans; split payments are automatically processed without having to do a thing.”

CareCredit integration eliminates stress

Integration with CareCredit delivers the same seamless experience. “In AVImark, when you create an invoice and a client has a CareCredit account, it automatically links up with their account,” says Jennifer. “So we don’t have to log into CareCredit and search for their credentials; we can process CareCredit payments and it automatically writes back to AVImark.” This saves time and allows for easier end-of-day reconciliation: “The accounts balance, and our front desk team is done in minutes.”

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