These days, it’s easy to feel like you’re running short on time, all of the time in practice. One of the biggest factors influencing the day-to-day efficiency of your team is your practice management system (PMS).
From helping your vets run to time in consults, streamlining ops mornings and efficiently arranging visits, to stock planning and monitoring practice performance, the PMS influences all aspects of the business.
With various systems available, which factors should you consider when choosing one?
Improved efficiency and reduced workload
Automated client communications and reminders – reduces your reception team’s workload and ensures efficient appointment scheduling, including routine checks booked in advance.
Automated attachment of lab results and task generation – prevents important results from being overlooked and frees up your staff’s time.
Reliable connections with insurers, wholesalers, and third parties – saves significant time for your team through seamless integrations.
Integration with third-party apps (e.g., Pets App, Vetstoria) – enhances client communications with features like appointment and prescription reminders, online booking, and telemedicine, reducing phone calls and taking some of the strain off your team
Increased flexibility
Cloud-based systems can offer your employees much greater flexibility. From syncing between branches to allowing employees to carry out admin tasks and phone calls at home, they can allow you to offer more flexible working patterns to your team, improving staff satisfaction and retention. You may also want to choose a PMS that’s suitable for use via mobile app, providing much greater accessibility for ambulatory roles.
Monitoring workloads
Your PMS can also allow you to monitor which vets are being consistently overworked or underutilised and manage issues before they become a problem. Being able to spot consistent patterns, like excessive waiting times at certain times of day, or inexperienced vets not gaining experience across a wide range of species or cases, can help with proactive management. A PMS that offers sophisticated reporting can help to improve staff retention in the long run.
Secure data storage
Your PMS will be responsible for storing a wealth of client data, so it’s important to pick one that will help you abide by GDPR. Systems that highlight incorrect email addresses or incomplete phone numbers can also help to ensure your communications run smoothly.
Ease-of-use
More than almost any other factor, ease-of-use is critical to your PMS. Spend time exploring your options and make sure you pick one that combines convenient features with user-friendly design.
Set-up and training
When setting up your practice, you’ll need to devote some time to setting up your PMS. This will include setting up your stock lists, automated label suggestions, item pricing and various other admin tasks. You’ll also need to factor in training time for new staff.
Room to grow
And finally, you might only just be starting out with your practice, but when choosing your PMS it’s worth taking into account any future plans for growing your practice.
If you double in size, how will that affect your fees? Will the software be able to scale and adapt as your practice expands or moves in a different direction? Is training easily available for new staff members?
For an intuitive, comprehensive cloud-based PMS, consider VetIT; the experienced team are always happy to provide advice and can help you to define your practice’s specific needs and set up an effective PMS.
Read more….
For more comprehensive information and to ensure you cover all aspects necessary for a successful launch, we invite you to read our Modern Veterinarian’s Guide to Opening a New Practice. An invaluable tool crafted by industry experts, it provides you with essential insights, best practices, and practical tips to ensure your success.
