Welcome, everyone, and thank you for being here today. I'm Lauren Jones, and over the next hour, we'll explore how we can view technology as a major part of our journey in veterinary medicine. Wherever you stand with your relationship to technology, you might be a tech whiz, or you might be like the Facebook commercial.
That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works. But wherever you land, we all agree that technology and VettMed, like so many other industries, are is becoming more crucial every day.
With the right technology, we can streamline our day to day process, improve our efficient efficiency, keep joy in veteran veterinary medicine for us, our team, our clients, and ultimately our patients. So many of our cases in vetMed can be incredibly frustrating for everyone involved. We know firsthand the impact that some conditions have on quality of life.
As pet owners, we've all been there. For example, an allergic dog who's constantly scratching and shaking, keeping us up at night, and as clinicians, we see it too. One of my favourite patients in my hospital is a py mix named Max with horrible skin allergic skin disease.
Max is an absolute gem of a dog, but he came to me broken, and his people were too. His ears were swollen, oozing green discharge, and I'm sure most of you can smell what I'm describing. His coat was dry and flaky.
He was an 110 out of 10 itchy. He was miserable, and his humans were too. They had been turned away because of his breed, didn't understand any of the diagnostics and really didn't have any client education.
They were managing him on epiotic and Pred alone. They had given up trying and had resigned themselves and Max to a life of itch and smellliness. One of my favourite parts of that med is seeing an owner when we give them hope.
And by letting technology work for us through utilising the appropriate diagnostics, client education tools, and more, we managed Max as an individual and not as a blanket allergy dog. We were able to give him his life back. He had flare-ups, of course, when when we managed his allergies his entire life, but he came out of it a different dog and still the sweetest and bravest boy.
But no longer in chronic pain or itching. He got to be a dog again, going for walks without stopping to itch or stealing cheese off the counter, which did not help our diet trial, but that's a story for another day. So why am I here talking about Max?
I often think of the maxes in our world and how we can really truly make a difference in our patients' comfort and quality of life. While we can't prevent every disease, technology enables us to provide the best possible care. It helps us diagnose more accurately, educate clients more effectively, and ultimately improve the quality of life for our patients and their humans just like we did for Max.
So today, let's explore how technology can be a game changer in veterinary medicine. Hopefully, by the end of the presentation, you'll have a few tips and tricks for you to take back to your own hospitals, discover some resources to help relieve some administrative burden, and find tools to get time back in your day to practise better medicine, treat more patients, and to do it all while still making it home in time for family dinner. So now you know a little bit about why I'm here today.
Here's a little intro about me. I'm a Penn vet graduate with about 20 years of experience in VetMed, 10 of those in hospital ownership. My journey has spanned from owning and operating veterinary hospitals outside my hometown near Philadelphia to leading the charge on innovative solutions at Shepherd Veterinary Software.
I'm passionate about empowering veterinarians, especially through technology. Through my roles, I've gained an understanding and appreciation of the challenges facing our profession. And ultimately my goal is to help veterinarians keep their passion for VettMed by providing them with the resources and support they need to thrive.
And of course, no presentation would be complete without a glimpse into my life outside work. So here are some photos of my family, 2 and 4-legged, my kittens, Tay and tug, our horse to moan, and my husband and children. So now that you know a little about me, let's talk about some of the pain points we see daily in practise.
Now, Royal Canin conducted a survey in 2022 around the key challenges in the veterinary profession. And you can see here the quote of more than 40% of all veterinarians surveyed said that admin was their main problem. Admin.
That's not what most of us signed up for when we got into veterinary medicine. Some of us, and I'm assuming probably a lot who are in this webinar today, actually do enjoy some of the business side, but still it can be a massive undertaking, causing our professions stress and sometimes stealing our joy. It's clear from this survey, but also from practical experience, that veterinary professionals tend to have a strained imperfect relationships with our clients, our teams, our hospitals, because running a business and dealing with humans are not always in our comfort zone.
The good news is we don't have to sit idle. We can see technology and not as a threat, but as an opportunity. I want to start with some pain points from my own personal experience.
When I bought my first hospital in rural Amish country in 2015, it was just me and my husband who is not a vet. No management system, no practise manager, no one who really knew what they were doing. I worked all week and I was on call most nights.
So after working all day, doing the things that I love, I'd sit down to my desk and see this dreaded stack of paper on my desk. I'm sure this is a pretty common sight for anyone who's worked with paper medical records, and that's if we were lucky and could find all the charts. We joked that sometimes they would grow legs and move to Narnia.
So at the end of my day, I take off my doctor hat and I put on my management hat. Then I sit down with my task list. Does this look familiar to anybody?
I would pay the bills, monitor time sheets, and I would get Post-it notes like this, reminding me to adjust the time clock. I would then run payroll, review cases and audit charts for mischarges, which meant deciphering handwritten records like this. It was labour intensive and frustrating.
I know I'm not alone here. This is a common story in so many hospitals. And all of that made me resentful and kept me from doing the things I love, like spending time with my family and just as important, freeing me up to get back to what I love doing in vetMed.
The unusual surgeries, there are surgeries, the unusual cases, that feeling we get when we save a life, the learning something new. So, you know, the way I see it, there are kind of 4 tiers of pain points and vetMed that we can address. We all have a lot on our plates.
Whether you're a veterinarian, a practise manager, a nurse, or a CSR. Besides taking care of sick animals, we're also running a business. Mountains of paperwork and administrative tasks.
It's like trying to run a marathon while also balancing a bunch of rocks in your head. This administrative overhead can significantly detract from the time available for patient care and professional development, with reports indicating that veterinarians and management roles spend 20 to 30% of their time on non-clinical tasks. Yet all of these to dos are crucial for proper management and success of a veterinary hospital.
They're time consuming, in-depth, and tedious tasks that you can see here, just a few that can often have legal or even financial consequences, which means we have to get it right. And if we can do it better and more efficiently, we can even reduce that 20 to 30% admin time so we can see more pets or see our families more. Clients.
Clients are a huge part of frustration in VettMed for all the reasons listed here, but they can also be one of the best and most rewarding parts. In a 2018 report, 28% of vet pet owners of US pet owners reported experiencing a barrier to veterinary care. So as professionals, it is up to us to grow and find better ways to serve these families and their pets.
We want to reduce the barriers to care. For me, the one that stands out here is the most underutilised is client education. Sometimes even the hardest cases, the ones that keep us up at night, the ones that make us feel like failures, can lead to something amazing.
For example, one of, my long term clients at my newly acquired hospital, and I kind of had a rocky introduction. I diagnosed her dog, but failed to explain the why behind our treatment plan or explain the disease well. I was rushed.
It was the end of the day, whatever the reason, but I failed her and her dog that day. Her dog at the time was a senior Labrador, and I diagnosed it with osteoarthritis. I recommended pain meds and physical therapy, but I rushed through the explanation, focusing on the what instead of the why.
I didn't fully explain how osteoarthritis affects a dog's mobility and quality of life, nor did I take the time to answer her questions about potential side effects of the medication or even discuss alternative therapies. She was rightfully upset and called me on my shortcomings, and I'm really glad she did. She was kind enough to extend me some grace and let me have a do-over.
I called her back the next day and apologised for not giving her the attention and explanation she deserved. We scheduled a longer appointment where I used diagrams and plain language to explain the disease process. I provided her with handouts and client education resources, and I encouraged her to to get a hold of me, whether that's a call, a text or an email with any questions or updates.
She was visibly relieved to have a better understanding and felt prepared to make informed decisions about her dog's care. And this experience is really a turning point for me. I realised that client education isn't just about delivering information, it's about building trust and partnership in a way that works for that individual client.
I've learned to empower clients to be active participants in their their pet's healthcare journey. And that same client actually ended up naming her next dog after me. So, this is LJ and LJ is still a patient at my hospital to this day.
We all have those clients who seem impossible to please, but I've learned that sometimes those challenging interactions stem from a place of fear and vulnerability, but by providing clear communication, empathy, and education, we can turn those situations around and build stronger relationships. Patients too contribute their own set of pain points. Although, truth be told, these are probably some that we're the most adept at tackling.
These two pups here are also patients of mine, Piglet, James and Ralphie Lou, who've had just about every bulldog condition you can think of. These guys, like many chronic conditions, can be challenging and even frustrating, but at least they're in the door. What about those pets who were seemingly healthy and fly under the radar, and so we rarely see them.
They also provide opportunities for our growth and learning. According to the AVMA, almost 20% of dogs and 50% of cats do not receive regular annual veterinary care. This suggests a significant portion of pets are missing out on essential preventative measures and well care.
We're missing early diagnoses and the chance for intervention. But there is something we can do about that. Technology can help us bridge that gap.
Reminder systems, automated emails and texts can ensure clients don't forget appointments. We can offer multiple financial incentives like online payments and payment portals and flexible payment plans to make care more affordable, or through telemedicine, we can increase access to care for those who struggle to make it into the clinic. Technology can let us be better clinicians for our patients.
And then there's the team, your work family, your classmates, and even your actual family and friends perhaps. These are the people we spend most of our days with and formed deep bonds with. We're a mighty group of veterinary professionals and it's an incredibly small world.
So most of us have, unfortunately known someone who has struggled or even lost their life due to some of these compounding issues. We know that veterinary professionals face crushing workloads every day, compassion, fatigue, emotional whiplash, financial pressures, and lack of support can all be pretty staggering. All of these can lead to the stat that 1 in 6 veterinary professionals contemplate suicide, which is 3 times the national average.
It's clear that we need to prioritise our mental health and support one another. We are strong and resilient as a community, and this doesn't happen overnight. And I, I really do think we are trending the, the better way in the industry every day.
But I found it's these small doable changes, little by little that allow that allow us to stress less and find more joy. Small changes in our technology, yes, streamline workflows, improved communication, but also make sure to make small changes that support each other and prioritise our own well-being. Now, we went over a lot of pain points and obviously technology can't solve all of our problems.
However, it is a powerful tool that can improve our lives as veterinarians and provide even better care for our patients. So now I'm gonna talk about 4 different areas where tech solutions can address these pain points that we just went over, efficient documentation and simplified workflows, enhanced diagnostic accuracy, optimised client communication, and better financial management. At the end, we'll then go through some real world numbers and examples to illustrate these benefits and leave plenty of time for questions at the end.
I do want to mention that all of these examples are from my software which is Shepherd, but most of the time, most of the things we're talking about really apply to other systems as well. All right, we'll begin with efficient documentation and simplified workflows. So a goal of mine is to give my team the tools to be as efficient as possible.
I want to optimise efficiency practise wide. I promote get in, get out, get home, because work-life balance is a major part of our culture. It's important to us to use the time in our hospital as best we can.
We don't want our teammates working on records until midnight. When they're home, they're home and better able to recharge and get ready for the next workday. So what does that look like?
Automations are one key to simplifying your workflow and allowing your staff to be efficient and productive. Send SMS and email reminders automatically to let clients know what they're due for. Appointment notifications to remind clients of their appointments.
Direct booking for those clients who prefer non-human interactions. Use pre-exam forms to send out as soon as the appointment is created. Have diagnostics upload directly into the record without any push.
And automatic treatment notes and prescriptions in prescription instructions. The bottom line here is that the more automations we have leads to decreased staff time freeing them up to perform other tasks. So for us, it all starts with reminders for preventative care.
Gone are the days where we only send postcards or have our team manually call clients. We can do so much more now. Here's a custom email our software sends to clients when their pet's due for a vaccine, annual exam, faecal, whatever we want.
We decide what they get reminded about. We determine which products get reminders and how often we want to we alert the client to avoid frustration over too many emails as well. So when a client receives a reminder that Lola is due for a rabies vaccine, they can call, text, or email, or even direct book through our pet portal.
And we make sure remind them of that in this email. It's not just Lola's due for X, Y and Z. It's, hey, Lola's due for a vaccine, and here's how you can connect with us.
A website, yep, pet portal, done. A link to pay? Sure.
And don't forget to bring the faecal sample. It's all in there because it's custom and automatic. Here's an example of a text notification we send, again, at the custom time and cadence that we choose.
This is a surgery, if this is for a surgery or a sedated appointment, but I'm able to, to customise all of the messages based on the appointment types that I set. So I can remind them to NPO the night before, remind them to give sedatives like gabapentin or trazodone. Ask them to bring a urine sample, remind them that they're with a nurse, not a doctor, to avoid day of confusion.
This is even another opportunity for me to tell them about a pet portal. Or let them know how they can pay us and how they can contact us. There are so many options for how we can better communicate with our clients, and all of this is automated.
Now every hospital is different, and preferences here are no different as well. Some hospitals want the ability for clients to book directly based on predetermined availability, which is possible. Others want clients to request appointments, but we still have that control of confirming and suggesting appointment times.
Luckily, it's easy to set up either to meet your needs, and again, automate as much as possible. We've actually shown that hospitals can see 2 more appointments per day on average when using direct booking versus not. So my ACT or average client transaction at my hospital is around $270.
By adding two more appointments a day by utilising something like direct booking means almost $3000 in revenue per week and over $140,000 for the entire year. In my opinion, if we're not utilising direct booking, we're just leaving money on the table, but it has to be done right, automatic and custom to your hospital. So, once the appointment is scheduled, another automation is already in full swing.
We like to start the exam process before the pet is even in the building. As soon as the appointment is made, the client automatically receives a form like this to fill out, and then we call this the pre-exam questionnaire, just by scheduling. We use this for all of our exam types.
We have surgery consent forms, pre-visit forms, new client forms, and if desired, we can even create a euthanasia form. Now I know this, this graphic and some of these are tough to see, so I'm try I'll try to show some larger versions of what we have in within these forms. So we make sure to ask things like, What's the reason we're seeing the pet today?
What current medications is the pet on? And I know for me, a lot of times clients forget this. Oh, they're on this allergy medication, I can't remember the name.
By giving this to them before the appointment, they can go check their medicine cabinet, and so we have accurate accurate medication details and as well as how much they're actually giving. Check with the husband, how much are you giving, making sure we're all on the same page. What brand of food are you feeding?
Is it grain-free? We even have the very first touch point on education around diagnostics. We ask on our pre-exam form and explain blood work or things like ear cytology.
So this maximises our time by gathering information before my clients even arrive, and they do it in their own time, not when they're stressed out in the lobby, juggling a toddler and a sick pet. I've seen a great reduction in data entry time and errors and missed details. So now instead of your nurse chatting with the client for half of the exam before you even step foot in the room, the nurse can take mere minutes to confirm what's on the pre-exam form.
Get any approved samples to get in to get the, to like an ear cytology or, you know, any blood samples, and then allow the doctor to get into the room sooner. And if your doctor's running late, the nurse might want to go ahead and draw blood that the client has already approved on the forms or get that ear cytology going. Now, I also love templates and I use them everywhere I can.
First, I use these preset medical record notes which are attached to different products. So I'm not typing the same thing over and over again. I use this for spa, neuters, dentals, mass removals, and then other things like ear cytology, vaccines, nail trims, and customise it then for each patient.
So, for example, here, I invoiced the lepto vaccine. By adding the treatment to the medical record, I have the option then to automatically add that we changed the needle, we administered the vaccine, and that there were no immediate post vaccine vaccination reactions. I can edit this as needed and then click add note.
I love how this allows the entire staff to stay consistent in our wording and record keeping. This ends up in the same place in the soap every time with the wording that we want. So here is another example of what my default spade notes look like.
I can easily edit any part of this to customise to the specific surgery. Maybe I use 20 suture instead of 30. It's super easy to edit, but the bulk of the report is already there in the wording of my choice.
This also allows me to quickly reference later, because let's be honest, we all have, may have good memories, but we can't remember every little detail. So I use this life cycle button, which is on the patient's page that will show me a scrolling view of the patient's entire record, and I can even search by keyword, diagnosis, medication, etc. So, when I search for a vaccine in the record, it looks like this.
I can search for any of those specific words and the software will highlight the specific location of what I'm looking for, making it easier for me to review the previous notes. Automations and templates are so, so crucial. And by just one manoeuvre in my software, I've actually done 5 things.
I've added the item to the medical record, I've added the item to the invoice. I can add that medical record note. It can even link discharge instructions and also adjust any necessary inventory so that removed in this case, a lepto vaccine from my inventory automatically.
Just like auto automated medical record notes, I automate my prescription instructions, all with the ability to edit, of course. Automated medication instructions offer a significant advantage in improving client compliance and reducing medication errors, which elevates our level of care. Here you can see that when I make a new prescription, the software automatically shows me all available medication options, so I can easily select select the correct one.
Once I select the product I want, you'll see pre-populated prescription directions. So now I have clear and concise instructions and the same wording for everyone. Example, I'm not a fan of give one tab twice daily, because what does that mean?
I know it makes sense to us, but we all know that sometimes clients think of twice a day differently than us. I'm a stickler for very specific medication instructions. Give one tablet by mouth every 12 hours or twice daily.
Because we do again, know how silly pets can be. So it not only helps with consistency, but it also helps with my goldfish memory. I can't for the life of me remember some things like here the doses for Dosiquin.
So we see fewer medication error er errors, and we can check all legal boxes for safe medication administration. Finally, we can link anything here, products or prescriptions to discharge instructions. So just like with our treatments, in one simple act of creating a prescription, I've created the invoice, updated the medical record, removed any inventory needed, and have created discharge instructions that are compliant with laws like Bowie's law or Lizzie's law.
Make sure you integrate as much as you can into your PIMs, lab work especially. Lab work can automatically upload into your electronic medical record, so no more checking websites to see if values are back. A real life example of a notitis case.
The tech can bring a pet into the room, take a sample, because we've already asked for their permission permission on the pre-exam form. The tech can stain the slides, put them in the machine, the machine, and then they're free to move on to their next task. Once the slide is stained, it's set it and forget it.
It automatically uploads into the record when it's finished. So you can scrub in with the new grad. You can call the client back, you can finish the exam room artwork, flush the IV line because technology is working for you.
You can also take your documentation efficiency even one step further with AI as well. I use a real-time transcription service called Transcribe AI, which is directly integrated into my practise management software. It automatically generates medical record notes during my exams.
This technology frees me up to focus on patient care while simultaneously creating an accurate medical record. I don't know how many times I've forgotten. I've taken a TPR and then moments later forgotten it.
Luckily, I don't have to do that anymore. All I have to do is press this this record button and transcribe AI is like a fly on the wall. It speak we speak all parts of our soap and exam and then click done.
It will remove the likes, the buts, the conversations about your client's grandmother that aren't pertinent to the to the exam. Once we're done, we sit back and relax as we watch our words transferred into the direct and correct parts of the soap. How long do we spend typing our records?
With transcription services, we're dramatically cutting back our typing time, and our soap open to close time. We talk in real time during the, during the exam and then come back later to add or edit as needed. That's how we can start getting our records done on time, so you're not hunting the doctor down after hours or forgetting crucial parts of our exam.
This last amazing part of Transcribe by AI is that it's built into my software, so no copy or pasting, or need to set up an account with a third party. All right, so we've done the exam, we've gotten the diagnostics, and now we have a game plan. I'm a big fan of treatment bundles.
It's like having a cheat sheet that makes sure nothing slips through the cracks with fewer mischarges. Plus, it keeps everyone on the same page when it comes to billing. Here's an example of what we use, excuse me, with a Trizbatrol deck solution.
But you can also edit as needed, because not every patient is a one size fits all. So maybe this one doesn't need dex SSP and just needs Betril and Triz. I can unselect it, but it's also reminding me of everything that is there.
And just like other products, I entered this bundle just like I would a regular treatment. I have these bundles for everything, sick appointments which give me the option to invoice exam, radiographs, blood work, or well visits. So no more forgetting about the Kennel cough vaccine or the nail trim.
And just like regular treatments, if it's in the medical record, it automatically shows up on the invoice with associated medical record notes, discharges, and inventory adjustments. So you're probably starting to see another trend here, which is customization, because no two hospitals are the same, right? Here are some examples from our physical exams.
I love creating custom physical exam templates with each doctor's own wording. You want within normal limits, but I want no significant findings. Done.
Or I've even created a PI list to make entering your physical exam a breeze. Just click on the dropdown for an entire list of possible abnormalities, also leaving space to freeform notes too. Sometimes I know I have mental lapses and they happen, and I find myself googling what's the doctor word for?
But by pre-populating examination fields for common presenting complaints, especially skin or ortho, doctors can quickly and accurately record patient information. You can even duplicate from previous exams or create body maps like we see here. We can retrieve body maps from previous exams and upload them into our new records, so we're not redrawing the same 10 masses year after year, or forgetting to monitor one.
We can pull it up, add anything new to that exam, and then move on and it's saved in the cloud. So not all appointments fill out the pre-exam form though, right? Whether they forgot, they didn't have time, or if we had a walk-in.
For those cases that we haven't gathered information before the appointment, shortcut keys are really helpful for my staff. By creating prompts for essential questions related to the appointments related to the appointment, our staff can quickly and consistently gather the information we need. This is an example of the lists or texts used to carry around to remind themselves what to ask.
So we don't have to do this anymore. Now, all we have to do is type forward slash and here I use ear appointment as an example, but you can use whatever custom term you want, and it populates this list. Of custom questions.
So I think we can all think of use cases for this, things we have things to ask for ear appointments or derm, vomiting appointments, well appointments, first puppy appointments. So I know here this is a list of 14, and I could probably add to it. There's no way I can remember this off the top of my head every time.
We also use it for senior appointments, so this goes on and on. We save so much time and really maximise our time with the client by doing this, rapidly collecting the relevant patient history and symptoms, shaving those minutes off your history taken. So now I want to talk a little bit about AI and VettMed, and no, not the not the kind with collection tubes.
I'll admit I've been a little sceptical with all of the eye that seems to be exploding, not just in vetMed but in every industry. I was maybe a little hesitant, a little resistant. Then I realised that I was breaking one of my own rules that I created back in 2015 when I purchased my first hospital.
When I took over this practise, I was eager to learn the ropes, but I often found myself hitting a roadblock. Remember, I didn't have the support team and management that I do now. It was just me and my husband.
When I try to learn something, I asked some senior staff members, well, why do we do it this way? I'm big on leading with curiosity, and I wanted to know the ins and outs. Too many times the response was, because that's the way we've always done it, and that sentence is like nails on a chalkboard for me.
It hinders growth and development. It became clear that we needed to foster a culture of innovation. We needed to embrace change, big or small.
We needed to be uncomfortable, to take calculated risks within reason, of course. From the colour of our scrubs to anything that we do like management software, every decision should be made with the goal of improving patient care and staff satisfaction. And we also have to be comfortable that it doesn't, if it doesn't work, we stop it.
We go back to another way. No biggie. I think it's important for all of us here to remember that our staff are the backbone of our practises.
In order to have any of the changes I'm talking about here today, and nor in any other setting, we need their buy-in. Staff buy in and support means the difference between the success of any initiative and its failure. So I encourage all of you to empower your staff and encourage their input before instituting anything like software changes and especially AI.
My favourite thing about AI is that it can provide consistent and unbiased results. We all know that one person's 3+ on an ear cytology doesn't necessarily correlate with somebody else's 3+. This used to drive me crazy in practise all the time.
My medical director, for example, actually has a master's in microbiology. So like in what universe will I read out my own slides like her? And this was really frustrating to me because I felt like it left my patients at a disadvantage and that they weren't getting the same standard of care as my medical director.
Plus, when your doctor is running 150 minutes behind, it can be hard and frustrating to have them stare into a microscope for another 10 for a truly accurate review, but we owe that to our patients, right? I want to feel good about my results and trust our results. So when the technology became available, we started using AI powered analysis to count on a reliable result on the same scale every time, faecal results, urinalysis, cytology, things like that.
This is an example of an AI powered ear cytology. You can see it differentiates left from right, has a account that I can compare for future rechecks to get a really good understanding of our treatment efficacy. Now I will mention that at first there's a bit of a lag here while we started to gain, gain trust in our equipment.
For at least the first week or two, we compared our regular FNA fine needle aspirate analysis with our AI machine. Again, I needed my doctor's buy-in. We all had to be comfortable.
And so far we've been super happy with the results we found. So yes, it does take a little more time and costs more upfront, but the long term benefits far outweigh this initial cost. We've really levelled the playing field and take that human component out of the equation, so that we can increase our human component within the exam room.
AI also provides and automatically uploads these gorgeous images into the patient's record. I've only been a vet for about 15 years now, and I'm amazed by how far we've come. My first job, I remember using toilet paper rolls and a shaky iPhone camera to obtain microscopic images like the ones on the left here.
Then we thought we were really cool with those viewing screens connected to microscopes. But now I don't even have to do anything, and I get these high quality images that I can share with owners, specialists, and it also allows me to have teachable moments in my own hospital. This is another favourite tool within our software called Diagnose AI.
There are so many practical applications for this programme, and I would have loved to have seen it as a new grad. You can bounce questions off it. It's pulling from the subjective and objective part of the soap.
So it will compile a list of treatment plans, diagnoses. You can even ask it for medication doses. I think of it as like a 5 minute consult, but with a control F functionality and a built-in formulary.
Many of us in VettMed use the saying, when we hear hoofbeats to think of horses, but that doesn't mean the zebras don't exist. Diagnose AI elevates your hospital's medicine by helping you think of those zebras. So when your team just saw the 10th derm case of the day, we want to approach it like the first still, and diagnose AI helps with that to remind you and your staff of the differentials and next steps.
It's a powerful sidekick. You can even ask it to create discharge instructions that are compliant with your local laws or even in another language like you see here. Well, AI is a powerful tool, it's important to remember that it's not a replacement for human expertise.
Veterinary professionals and pathologists are still needed to interpret the results and make a diagnosis. In some cases, a second set of human eyeballs may be necessary, but AI can initially help free up that that time and create more consistent results. And so it's a good starting point.
And when we, when we do need that extra set of eyeballs, it's super easy to share because the record's already in the cloud. I can request path reviews from the integrated companies or even Send them to my local or to my vet school best friend to help me analyse images and come up with treatment recommendations. One click or one click, I can send it to referral hospitals.
This is an image of how we send our records, so we can quickly choose what to send, only what's important and within a specified time frame. We don't have to send a whole 20 years of data, and our referral hospitals thank us for this. So as much as I love AI, we really do need to trust but verify, especially for certain types.
Imaging is one that comes to mind for me, with radiographs and ultrasound. I'm not aware of that med having the same regulations, checks or balances right now, like in human medicine. So we should always verify info and understand that AI is only a supplement for our practise and not practising for us.
For example, I asked Chat GPT to provide a microscopic image of a mite for a presentation. I was hoping to get an image like this, but instead, this is what I got. Didn't quite hit the mark, but I suppose AI is still learning, and I'm here for that.
Overall, again, it's a powerful tool that really has the potential to revolutionise the veterinary industry. But again, it's important to remember it's not a replacement for human expertise. We, the veterinary professionals, we are still the heart and soul of this industry.
We'll move on to client communication. Because it's not just about optimising and increasing efficiency in the hospital. We can simplify the client's experience too, because happy clients keep coming back and are more compliant.
One way we do this is with robust client communication tools, allowing us to bridge that gap between client communication and the medical record, which means again, we're reducing barriers to providing veterinary care, making it accessible and easy for clients too. So remember this form, this pre-exam form can set the stage before they even arrive. By utilising the pre-exam form, I can gather that that essential information and then instantly provide tailored educational resources.
Platforms like Lifelearn, PETMD, Plums vet, and Veterinary Partner offer really valuable content that I can equip my clients with knowledge about whatever potential conditions. Over half of our clients are part of younger generations who want to get their information electronically, and I'm so fortunate that we're able to. They often turn to Doctor Google anyway, so we're helping them and providing the content that we trust.
Why is this important? Some clients are embarrassed bringing their pets to us. They worry, will think they're uneducated or don't care about their pet.
When we start talking in the exam room, especially about painful conditions or sad conditions, often clients shut down and stop listening. Then it's not their fault. It's a lot of information and they're worried about their pet.
So if we can provide information on what we're doing, why we're doing it, and the next steps for for their pet, all within the comfort of their own home, where they're not feeling judged or scared, they can then come into the exam room better prepared and ready to talk and ask good questions. And at the end of the day, we're just improving compliance. Educated clients are much more likely to follow treatment plans, period.
They understand the why it is important for their pet versus blindly trusting or sadly mistrusting and getting second opinions from Doctor Pole, Doctor Google, or Doctor Weird Ant. The goal here is to empower your clients with knowledge, thereby creating a more positive and productive veterinary experience for everyone involved. So we've already talked about diagnose AI earlier, but there's another benefit I want to point out here regarding client communication.
Most of you have probably heard of Lizzie's Law in California and Bowie's Law in New York. These laws mandate that veterinarians provide specific information to pet owners when prescribing or dispensing medication. The goal here is to educate pet owners with knowledge about their pets medications, leading to improved compliance and potentially better outcomes.
Even though my state doesn't require anything like this yet, we're starting to provide it for our clients. First, I feel the law will eventually come. Second, it's just better medicine, but of course, it adds more to our plate, one more thing to do, one more box to check.
AI enters the chat again though. I've been using our AI technology to create comprehensive and compliant discharge instructions for clients. All I need to do is ask the AI to create the discharge instruction compliant with Lizzy's law like you see here with Aliqua.
Now I'm compliant. The client understands and has clear and concise instructions on what to look out for. No, it's not OK that your pet has bruising after they after they start a new medication.
Empower them to know and advocate for their pet. Built-in estimates and a smooth way to move between treatment records and invoices are so important for optimising practise operations and simplifying our workflows. By generating accurate and detailed estimates at the point of care or even before, we're providing transparency with our pricing to our clients.
This again fosters trust and builds stronger relationships. I love how our software transitions from estimate to treatment record so so quickly by clicking this manual approve and decline or requesting a client signature, and then we can click one more button to automatically add it to the plan and therefore the invoice. Fewer errors, enhanced efficiency.
So no more calling to collect a forgotten charge, sending a statement for missedarges, or having a practise manager argue with a client over it. It's clear, it's upfront, and it's easy. Pet portals are another fantastic way to blend technology and client satisfaction.
A client portal is more than a digital front desk. It's a tool to enhance the client experience and practise operations. I think of three key benefits when I talk about a client portal.
First, convenience. Clients can access their pets invoices, view patient reminders, view and print vaccine certificates, schedule appointments, request refills, and even pay bills from their own home. Another second, another way is to educate clients.
They can access a wealth of pet health information, articles and videos that I provide. I can promote things like preventative care. Remember that stat from the beginning?
Up to 50% of cats and 20% of dogs aren't seeing their pet, their vet annually. Now this number will never be zero, but through reminders and education like this, we can show clients the value of the services we provide. You can even use the website to announce holiday or weather closures in addition to social media accounts.
Finally, having a a client portal increases our office efficiency. We're reducing phone calls and reducing in-person visits by these self-service options. No more emailing, daycare or groomers' vaccine certificates, and this can shave hours off your CSR's workload.
Now I touched on this earlier, but I love AI for my clients too. We have these gorgeous full colour cytology images generated in minutes. This example is actually a lump we found during an annual exam on my parent's dog.
I did a quick fine needle aspirate and hours later, I had a diagnosis. I can show this directly to an owner owner and point to the problem. It's changed our ability to communicate complex medical information to clients.
For ears, we can point to the bacteria and the yeast. I found that most clients had no idea what I was talking about when I would just tell them that the pet had rods and cocci in their ears. I can now visually demonstrate what I'm talking about.
This transparency has built more client trust, and I love seeing that aha moment on their faces. It also lets us demonstrate the value of what we're doing, and now we have clients who are actively excited to come back to their recheck appointment to see what their score was now. That's powerful.
Remember this messy to do list of mine. This is just what I remembered to write down. Callbacks are so important for us in the industry.
We want to monitor our patients' progress. We want to give the clients opportunities to ask questions. We want to make sure that they're scheduled for follow-up appointments.
How many, but how many times have we forgotten to write these down on our to do list and just go on to the next appointment? I know I would wake up in the middle of the night with that feeling that I forgot something. There is a brilliant solution that here that actually links treatments and products to automatic tasks.
So if something is in the record, it's also creating a task for callback. So this helps save me so much time versus creating manual tasks or writing down a to do, but it also keeps my staff consistent in our care. I know that no matter what doctor they see, they'll receive the same follow up and level of care.
If the patient isn't progressing as we expect, we get the opportunity to get them back in the building to reassess the situation. Practical examples include surgical procedures will generate a next day task, diagnostic tests like ear cytology, we have a follow up call in a week to see how the pet's doing. For new medications, I can also set reminders for refill requests or even monitoring blood work appointments.
If you didn't get that forward booking at the time of the original appointment, these callbacks also provide an opportunity to reschedule that recheck. Finally, let's talk about how tech tech helps our clients through email and text message. Again, the generational breakdown of our clients varies, but millennials are approximately 30-35%, baby boomers 25-ish, Gen X, approximately 25-ish, Gen Z 10 to 15.
This means the majority of our clients most likely are looking for some tech savvy solutions to their pet care needs. Email patient reminders have allowed me to say goodbye and good riddance to postcards forever, although I still do have the option of sending them if I wanted. I can customise the the specific reminders and frequency that clients receive emails from us.
Automated SMS reminders offer another layer of communication, providing essential pre-appointment information. For example, a reminder for a well appointment can gently nudge clients to bring in a fresh faecal sample. Or required for the procedures requiring sedation, can list out detail medication details, how to administer, ensure smoother visit and an NPO or NPO patient, excuse me.
Building on this foundation, two-way texting empowers clients to connect directly with the practise, fostering a more personalised and responsive relationship. They can inquire about appointment details, request medication refills, or express concerns via text, receiving a timely response from the practise. They don't have to wait until the end of the day for the doctor to be done for a call back.
This is just another layer of accessibility, strengthening the client hospital bond and demonstrating a commitment to exceptional service. SMS and texting also offers a direct and effective channel to introduce clients to your patient portal or any other messages you want. Again, closures, announcements, wellness programmes, community events, you name it.
Staff and clients can text text message directly within the software. And again, the greatest part of me is for it's all rolled in, no third party apps needed. Which brings me to our last point here, financial management.
Integrated payment processing has been a game changer for me. We had previous systems, but once we switched over to an integrated system, my staff was amazed by how easy end of day and payments became. Everyone benefits here.
We're producing manual tasks and errors by automating payment processing, save time and resources by eliminating the need for separate payment systems, and also the hospital gets paid faster, and we see a reduction in manual errors in the bookkeeping. Some additional features we can accept credit cards, debit, and digital wallets. We can still obviously take in-person payments and process these using, you know, or the USB terminal terminals, which we can swipe from anywhere in the hospital.
We can store credit cards, pay online, and set up recurring payments easily and securely. So no one needs to worry about data or credit card numbers getting lost or stolen. Now, clients really love the text to pay feature as well.
Text to Pay offers unparalleled convenience for those clients, allowing them to settle the pet's bill right from their mobile device. This modern payment method not only simplifies the payment process, but enhances the overall client experience. They don't need to go through a lengthy checkout or outdated payment methods.
Text to pay contributes to faster payment processing, improved cash flow, and increase client satisfaction. So again, we're supporting the newer generations, but we also have the options to not lose touch with the older generations as well, and I find that finding that balance is really key. We all love reporting, right?
Wherever you fall in the love-hate relationship with reports, one thing is clear, it has to be comprehensive and easily accessible in order for us to understand how the practise is performing and identifying areas for improvement. By implementing robust reporting features, you can gain insights into patient demographics, diagnostic trends, product usage, and financial performance. For me, reporting is important because it allows for data-driven decision making.
I can track key performance indicators or KPIs and identify areas for improvement. I can optimise inventory, manage and even allocate resources effectively that way. Again, making the software work for you.
Clean, easy reporting to keep a finger on the pulse of your practises health at any given time. I've also been able to cut ties with third party time clock softwares now that I have a time clock directly in my system. By integrating a time clock into your PIMs, you can streamline operations, reduce costs, and ensure compliance with labour regulations.
I love this integration because I don't get any more of those Post-it notes like from the beginning of the presentation. And once the user logs in for the day, it actually reminds them to clock in, which means fewer time clock errors and less managerial time spending adjusting those time clocks. Here's another really slick way to make tech work for you.
Search out software that captures all of your charges for you. No more duplicating treatments and then invoicing. I mentioned it earlier, just one manoeuvre in the software and the treatments in the medical record, on the invoice, adjusting inventory, and adding any discharge instructions.
Not only does this save time, but we actually have data that shows a higher charge capture rate, fewer mischarges just by using a smarter PIs. This means an increased ACT average client transaction, and increased revenue, all for practising the same medicine you're doing now, but just fairly and accurately capturing the charges. Finally, integrated inventory management is huge.
Now I hate inventory, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, but I know enough to know that the more automated, the better. You can look at a dashboard to see an overview of top selling items, recent purchase orders, estimated cost of goods sold, estimated revenue from inventory, and even see items at or below their reorder point. So now I have a few specific examples I want to share, some from my hospital, but some data is from our own recent research as well.
Of course there are so many factors that contribute to the health and success of a veterinary hospital, but I find this data really powerful. So here's where the proof is in the pudding for me. Before cloud-based software full of automations and integrations, I never imagined finishing an entire appointment in under an hour.
Now it happens all the time. So one example here, a client checked in at 10:22 for her 10:30 appointment, and we locked the soap at 11:10. Of course, this isn't all doc time.
This is start to finish the client's experience in a hospital. But how often do we get to finish an appointment with in-house diagnostics, client education, and treatment, all within under an hour? In 48 minutes, the client or the patient is on their way to feeling better and we're moving on to the next appointment on time and without having to come back to the record later.
We all love 5 star reviews, but what I wasn't expecting was for our clients to comment on things like our texting, our efficiency, our online scheduling, or smart scheduling with same day appointments built in. Getting reviews like these are huge staff morale boosters. I also make sure to track these within our software, so it's not just me seeing them on Google.
I want the staff to see what they're doing on a day to day basis is truly impacting our clients in a meaningful way. I know I'm talking about charge capture a lot, but for good reason. I noticed that my own hospital had a higher ACT in revenue after switching to a smarter PIMs, so I dug a little deeper and found that just by making the switch, we can capture more charges and there's a significantly higher charge capture rate.
I actually sold my first hospital right before COVID hit, and of course numerous factors influence the practice's value, and we certainly did a lot to increase that revenue. However, I believe a better charge capture rate was a significant factor in my hospital's 40% valuation increase, which ultimately led to a successful sale. And when I say higher charge capture rate leads to increased ACT, we're actually showing increases to the tune of about 18%.
So if your hospital's average client transaction, ACT is $200 just by capturing the services you're already performing, your ACT is now $236. At my hospital last year, we had around 7000 invoices, which means just by practising the same medicine and not changing a thing, just capturing more charges, we could actually make an additional $250,000 in that year. We talked about decreasing no shows earlier and our data is showing you can actually increase the amount of appointments per day that your hospitals see through online booking and a pet portal, about 2 more a day on average.
And many people only booked because they had an electronic method. So that's if they have if we hadn't had a direct booking, that's money that would have gone to the next vet clinic down the road. In addition to decreasing no shows by about 40% through advanced reminders and notification systems.
And the beauty of both is it's entirely automatic. Once it's set up for your specific hospital, tech is just working for you. Finally, I'm so happy to get away from high maintenance servers.
Cloud-based software means no expensive servers or complicated IT setup. Moving to the cloud means no more server maintenance. Quick story, in my first year of hospital ownership, I, it was July 4th, 2016.
I got an alarm notification from my hospital. I'm at a barbecue with my family. The hospital is closed.
I'm enjoying my day off, of course, right? That's how it always goes. Well, this was a first for me.
We had a storm go through the area, and our hospital was struck by lightning, a direct hit. It fried almost every single electronic in the building, phones, X-rays, computers, all of it. If it was plugged in, we lost it, and this included my server, folks.
Yes, we had everything on surge protectors. And when I asked my IT company, they said there was simply nothing that would have protected the equipment from a direct lightning strike. Luckily we had backups of our external backups of our data, so it wasn't lost forever.
But I hear stories all the time when hospitals aren't that lucky. Costs can get astronomical with servers, depending on the size, you might be looking at $500 to 10,000 for the server alone, plus IT support, monthly server monitoring, online backups, sonic walls, security subscriptions. The list goes on and on.
But in the cloud, all that goes away. Now, of course, I still have an IT team for all my needs in the hospital, maximising our internet reliability, troubleshooting equipment. But I sleep better at night knowing lightning will never again wipe out my data.
It's stored securely in multiple locations with tonnes of security levels in place. Well, that about wraps up our talk today. Thank you so much for your attention.
I hope you picked up a few ideas to implement in your own hospitals. Now, this photo of Max just melts my heart. Remember how miserable he was in the beginning?
Look at him now. His journey from a chronically itchy and miserable dog to a happy and healthy companion highlights the transformative impact of technology in vetMed. And imagine the joy his family feels.
If anything resonates for you, I highly recommend you talking to your staff, getting them on board, and coming up with a plan to implement little by little. Talk to your team. Brainstorm one small change you can make to improve your workflow or client communication because every little bit helps.
Max's story beautifully illustrates how technology can allow us to diagnose more accurately. Educate educate clients more effectively and ultimately improve the quality of life for our patients and their families. By embracing these advancements, we can provide truly personalised care, leading to healthier, happier animals just like Max.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to talk shop. Here's my contact info here.
Again, thank you so much for your attention today and I'd love to open the floor now to any questions.
