How to Make Vet Clinics More Efficient

When running a successful veterinary clinic, it’s vital that your day-to-day operations are efficient and well-maintained. Without a methodical approach to work, your team may face an uphill battle and patient care can be impacted as a result. 

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to streamline your processes, future-proof the clinic and save yourself the headache of ‘catching up’ down the line.

That’s why we’ve put together some top strategies for making your veterinary practice more efficient:

 

Manage appointments on the cloud

Scheduling software such as Panacea lets you manage appointments and reminders for clients. Automatic reminders save your admin team having to manually track who needs messaging and ensures that no one is accidentally missed.

Having regular reminders like this can help to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations, allowing for better use of the clinic’s time and resources. 

Additionally, Panacea allows for online booking directly from your website, which can make it easier for clients to schedule appointments without needing to call. 

However you approach this, at least it will take some pressure off your plate. 

 

Digitise your records

Another way to improve efficiency is to implement a digital record-keeping system. We’ve talked about this in our 2023 New Year’s resolutions article, but let’s discuss how going digital does more than just clearing out your workspace.

By transitioning from paper records to an electronic system, veterinary clinics can reduce the amount of time spent on manual administrative tasks.

Filing becomes a simple matter of clicking, dragging and dropping. Naming, organising and completing forms is suddenly much faster when you can type what you want or even auto-populate fields. 

Forms you could easily digitise include:

  • Anaesthetic
  • Surgical
  • Dentistry
  • Euthanasia consent
  • Patient history questionnaires, etc.

Electronic records also make it easier to access important information quickly, which can be critical in emergency situations. Say goodbye to physically combing through a mess of files, when all it takes is a keyword or two to bring up exactly what you need.

 

Revitalise the clinic experience

In addition to technology, there are some more ‘analogue’ steps that you can take to improve your clinic workflow.

For example, implementing a triage system can help prioritise urgent cases and ensure that patients are seen in a timely manner. You can read a little more about it in this article or by speaking to local clinics who already do this.

Another way to improve the efficiency of your care is by having a designated person responsible for managing the flow of patients and coordinating with staff. This may be an additional task for your administrator, but making this a dedicated role can allow for greater focus and more opportunities to innovate.

 

Review and reassess

It’s also important for veterinarians to regularly review and evaluate their existing processes to identify areas for improvement. This can include conducting staff meetings to discuss ideas, implementing new protocols and regularly reviewing and updating standard operating procedures. 

If you have this in place already, but your meetings only include managerial staff, consider opening the floor to all workers in order to hear input from across the clinic landscape.

 

Don’t lose track of the client experience

While improving your workload is extremely important, a lot of the time that you save with these processes can be funnelled back towards your clients. After all, true efficiency includes preventing unnecessary confusion and stress, which benefits you as well.

Providing a strong client experience can mean talking to them about their pet’s health, offering education and resources (many of which can be quickly generated via templates) to help them care for their pets, and being responsive to their needs and concerns. 

All of this will let you maintain a loyal client base, bolster your local reputation and focus on the bigger issues.

 

 

Overall, there are many steps that veterinary clinics can take to make their practices more efficient. By implementing new technology, streamlining existing processes and focusing on high-quality customer service, veterinary clinics can ease up the intensity of daily operations and strengthen the areas that matter the most. 

2023 New Year’s Resolutions for Vets

Around this time, a lot of us like to make lists of our New Year’s resolutions – but by the end of month one, we’re already struggling to meet those goals. This could either be because we ask too much of ourselves all at once, we aim for sweeping changes that are ultimately out of our control, or we’re just not specific enough.

With 2023 now here, it’s time to set some inspiring yet realistic resolutions. These could be for your personal life, relationships or even your workplace (the focus of this article). Because the truth is, actively planning what you want out of work will make it easier to find what you need. 

To get you started, here are some fun and achievable New Year’s resolutions for vet workers.

 

Declutter and organise your space 

An organised physical and digital space is always a great resolution to start with, as a tidy space can equal a tidy mind and more room to focus on important tasks. This one is especially relevant to veterinary admins, but we think that it can apply to anyone from vets themselves to nurses, managers and beyond. 

On the digital side: 

In your physical workspace:

  • Move excessive stationery or devices away from surfaces and into drawers where they won’t always be on display.
  • Set up automated reminders for yourself via tools like Google Calendar, or for clients via systems like Panacea, and say goodbye to sticky notes around the desk.
  • Scan as many paper documents as you can and store them on the cloud, then shred the physical copies. 
  • Make sure medications are clearly labelled and stored in a way that makes things quick and easy to find.
  • The same goes for pet products; and since these may be client-facing, consider more aesthetically-pleasing organisation. For example, open shelves, large and bright labels, etc. If products are more appealing on the shelf, you may find your sales rising in turn. 
  • If you have multiple consultation rooms, set up your storage the same way in each one. This will help stressed vets and nurses remember where things are and save wasted time searching. 

If the clinic owner agrees, it may even be time for a fresh coat of paint or an overhaul of faded furnishings to create a more welcoming and comfortable space. 

 

Learn something new

Learning new skills in our personal lives is a common resolution for most of us, so why not do same at work? 

Take time to identify where you would like to advance at your clinic or beyond, and what specific skill or qualification could help you get there. Once you’ve got the ‘what’, don’t stop! Go ahead and ask yourself these questions next:

  • Why do I want to learn this skill? Pin this somewhere to keep you motivated.
  • Who can help me learn this skill? And/or – what resources do I have access to?
  • When can I realistically work on this skill each day? Each week?  
  • What accountability can I put in place to keep me focussed?

They say that it takes 10,000 hours (or about 416 days) to truly master a skill, so it stands to reason that picking up a new skill with even a moderate level of comfort should be achievable within a year. This may be especially true when you learn through any of the following:

  • Classes (online or in person).
  • Internships.
  • Freelance or side hustles.

Even better, some clinics may be willing to invest in you and subsidise further education or arrange time off as needed, provided this is a skill that adds value to your position.

 

Amp up your networking

This is something that can benefit anyone no matter what your current title or career goals. Meeting other vets or professionals can be a great way to learn new skills from peers, build a bubble of support and keep an ear on the latest news for the industry.

This could look like:

  • Attending networking events – search these up ahead of time and mark them on your calendar. While big gatherings are certainly not for everyone, you can at least make a goal to attend at least a certain number of these for the year and/or focus on just the smaller ones. Even just once a year can be a great way to catch up with connections.
  • Updating your online presence to reflect where you are professionally and the image you want to present to the world.
  • Reaching out to professionals and organising a one-on-one. 
  • Joining or creating local groups for online support and discussion.

There are countless ways to network, so try choosing one method that works best for you and starting there. If you find this goal is easily achievable, and it’s something you can keep on top of, then consider expanding after that. 

 

Change your mind about something

When we really stop and think about it, a lot of us get caught up in preconceived biases and often aren’t prepared to reflect on our outlook. Being able to change your mind can lead to a more positive approach to work and ultimately life in general. 

Aim to reflect on at least one major event of your week each week at a certain time (every Friday afternoon, for example) and reflect on whether your approach could have been different, what you may have learned from the experience and how you could change things going forward. 

Here are some ideas for changing your thinking:

  • Could you give yourself more credit for achievements, instead of beating yourself up for failures?
  • Have you made a judgement about one of your colleagues that would be worth revisiting?
  • Have you dismissed an opportunity that could benefit you?
  • Could your standard procedures be reinvented and streamlined? Keep an eye on this space, as we publish regular articles on how Panacea can help you do just that!

A regular ‘touch base’ with yourself is invaluable, so try committing to this regularly. 

 

Do something nice for yourself each day

Even though you may be at the clinic for long hours, it’s important to take time out of each day to take care of yourself and set up little moments that you can look forward to on stressful days.

For example:

  • Make sure that you take your breaks whenever possible. 
  • Drink plenty of water. 
  • Get up and stretch your legs if you’re typically behind a desk. 
  • Have coffee with your favourite co-workers.
  • Personalise your workspace.

Being kind to yourself is often easier said than done, so commit to the little things first and don’t let this stop when the stress piles up; that’s when it may be needed most of all.

 

 

What resolutions are you planning on this year? What do you think of our suggestions? Let us know!