Veterinarian teams now have a plethora of tools at their disposal to increase productivity and optimize processes, freeing up time to concentrate on our core competencies of patient care and customer support. Are we making the most of these opportunities? That is the crucial question. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently conducted a study of veterinary business owners, and the results offer some significant new information.
The current status of technology use
Online pharmacy, electronic medical records software, and practice information management software (PIMS) are all being used by many practices. Telehealth, online appointment scheduling, and digital inventory management systems have all shown delayed adoption.One
The rate of technology adoption varies by type of practice as well. For instance, companion animal practices are more likely than mixed animal or equine practices to use PIMS integrated communications software and online appointment booking.
Examining the causes of hesitation
In an effort to better understand these results, the AVMA surveyed practice owners about their perceptions of their own technological adoption. Sixty-nine percent of owners claimed to be keeping up, twenty percent claimed to be lagging, and the remaining owners claimed to be unsure.One
For what causes did they fall behind? Time limits were cited most frequently, followed by lack of motivation and budgetary limitations.
How to get over your hesitation
These factors must be taken into consideration, but they don’t have to limit us. There are numerous digital solutions available to automate or streamline repetitive processes and smoothly integrate technology into daily life. These technologies offer options to meet client demands and answers to specific issues that teams may be facing. Over time, the majority of these tools—if not all of them—save more time than they require to implement. Furthermore, there is enormous potential for major efficiency improvements through the proper application of artificial intelligence’s capabilities as it continues to be incorporated into technological solutions.
The good news is that you can still experience results without utilizing every technology that is currently on the market. In actuality, a methodical, step-by-step strategy will help you get past any hesitation or opposition on your team and pave the way for long-term benefits.
Here are some pointers to get you going. If technology isn’t your thing, think about appointing a tech-savvy team member to spearhead the initiative.
Determine what kinds of digital tools or services are currently missing from your practice. The ones from the practice owners survey that were previously stated can serve as a guide.
Discuss with your team the difficulties and conflicts they face in their day-to-day work and how they could be resolved.
Choose one tool that you believe will solve a problem or opportunity you’ve seen and that would be the simplest or least expensive to use. If the product offers a rapid victory with potentially significant impact, such an online pharmacy or appointment scheduling platform that is ready to use or videoconferencing software for telemedicine sessions, you will receive bonus points.
Request that the vendor outline the capabilities of the tool, the implementation procedures, and any continuing assistance with upgrades, technical problems, and training.
Learn how much it will cost and what time and money savings you might anticipate from its deployment. With only a small financial investment, a number of digital solutions can significantly increase revenue streams or reduce expenses and time. Even if just some clients use the technologies that help with client communications, patient follow-up, or product sales, these advantages can still be seen.
To find out how you and your team like the tool and how it affects a particular aspect of your practice, start with a modest pilot project. You can usually test things out for very little money, and after a week or two, you will have a better understanding of the technology than you could from a vendor’s presentation. To reduce interruption, you can progressively increase the tool’s use if you like what you see.
Learning about other practices’ experiences with the tool you have chosen and any guidance they may have to offer will also help you get over your reluctance. This way, you won’t have to start from zero.
For more information on how technology can be utilized to enhance procedures, practices, and productivity, check out the recently launched AVMA Axon Tech Talk webinar series (avma.org/Axon). Watch the “Online Ordering and Home Delivery” episode.
Discover advice and actual case studies about implementing telemedicine services.
How to maximize use
Additionally, there are growth prospects for practices that have already adopted digital technologies. Frequently, the tools we currently use have functions we haven’t yet learned or utilized. Making use of those qualities can provide a high-impact, low-budget increase.
PIMS, for instance, can be very helpful in automating or facilitating a wide range of repetitive, everyday chores. Do you utilize every function, or do some go unutilized?
It may be quicker to get in touch with the vendor directly, such as the technological support team of the PIMS company, even though you could read about the features that are offered in the marketing or instructional materials to learn about a technology’s full potential. Request that they showcase the potential uses of the tool in your practice.
After that, find out what your team thinks of the underutilized features and how they might impact their job. (See the Tech Talk webinar “Boosting Productivity” to learn how one practice accomplished this, followed through, and obtained the benefits.)
The bottom line
Technology is a need, not a luxury, in today’s hectic lives. Better patient care, happier customers, more efficient operations, and less team stress are just a few of the numerous advantages, which also include financial gains. Veterinary teams can achieve more and see more patients with their present staff by maximizing efficiency in companion animal practice, according to studies.4. The Just One Thing series on the AVMA@Work blog (avma.org/Blog), which offers helpful advice for veterinary practices that can be completed in 15 minutes or less, is a great place to get more ideas on how technology can be used to accomplish these goals.
