Whether you have new staff members or new veterinary practice management software, your software company will provide the best training for veterinary software. If you're renewing your practice's dedication to creating a paperless vet EMR -- electronic medical record – arrange for specialized training for veterinary software programs and unlock the true potential of your system and your staff members.

Most veterinary software solutions come with whole-staff training packages that are easy to use after installation or conversion. If you've been using your software for a while, you may face new fees for one-on-one software company-directed training, but in-person education isn't your only option. Determine how many staff members need training, their level of computer and veterinary software expertise, and which modules they will primarily use. Your veterinary software training needs will depend on your current situation. Consider:

1. Whole-clinic training to use new veterinary software programs.

2. Training for new clinic staff or doctors who will be using software for veterinarians.

3. Training refreshers that cover veterinary clinic software updates.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Provide clinic-wide training for a new veterinary information system

Install and begin using new veterinary computer programs with the help of experts from your veterinary hospital software company.

I recommend: Train two of your staffers to use your new AVIMark veterinary software within 90 days of purchasing your system at the company's Missouri training center, and pay nothing for the training. MDS VetInfo provides training for its mobile veterinary software applications, either at your facility or online. VIA Veterinary Practice Management Software will schedule new-user training in person or via Web conferencing. Learn more about ImproMed's veterinary practice software by clicking the Education link at the main site to find ImproMed University. The company offers on-site education for your entire staff within 30 days of the initial software installation or any full-system upgrade.

Prepare new hires with orientation training for veterinary software

Most veterinary software programs follow similar module design, but doctors and staff who are new to your clinic would benefit from some professional training for veterinary software. Seasoned staff members can provide direction when it comes to the veterinary hospital software features your clinic primarily uses, but standardized initial training will get new users off on the right foot.

I recommend: Contact AT Veterinary Systems for help training new team members to use your hospital's veterinary computer program. Hire Authorized AVIMark Training Representative Karen Cochran for new-user training at your clinic, over the phone or at a three-day seminar in Newport Beach, CA.

Learn new software features to enhance your vet EMR

You will invariably need to update your veterinary clinic software, and as new features become available, it will be important to hone your skills and those of your staff members.

I recommend: Explore customized training for veterinary software solutions using RxWorks. The company offers a comprehensive catalog of advanced training online, and also offers voice-over IP training updates, user conferences and discussion forums for professional and peer support options. Choose self-paced lessons online to use VETport's web server-based practice management modules.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you're currently shopping for veterinary practice management software or a veterinary software companion module -- such as mobile software, timekeeping software or an integrated upgrade solution -- ask the software provider for a few local references, or call around to find another clinic using the software. Set up a time to see the software in use, and ask the staff if the program is easy to learn, easy to use, and whether or not the company provides continuing education for new staff or program updates.

Veterinary practices have a great deal of information to track and manage including patient histories, supply inventory, appointments and financial information. Veterinary computer programs can help simplify your practice and make it work more efficiently by managing all of the information needed in one program that' s easy to use and geared specifically toward veterinarians.

The right veterinary software can:

1. Reduce operating costs.
2. Improve customer satisfaction.
3. Improve the accuracy of records.
4. Keep track of your inventory.
5. Improve communication in the office and with your customers through veterinary clinic software.
   

With software for veterinarians, you’ll improve your practice and your customers will appreciate the time-saving functions. Rather than settle for multiple programs that are not geared toward veterinarians, try veterinary software that has been created for a practice just like yours.

Action Steps
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Determine which veterinary software modules you need to have

Veterinarians with specialized practices will want to have veterinary computer programs designed for their special needs. Large animal practices may benefit from different software than a small animal practice, for example. You'll also want to consider any other special needs that your practice may have or solutions to computer issues that you'd like to solve with better software.

I recommend: Elkin offers VIA Equine which has been designed for vets specializing in horses and Vetech sells Advantage for Equines. At Veterinary Management Online, you can purchase software that will track the grooming side of your business.

Improve your practice with veterinary software programs

Sure, you can buy software that simply does what other programs have been doing, but why not buy veterinary software that will improve it? Consider programs that, along with your website, allow individuals to schedule appointments after hours or allow you to conduct an emergency 'office' visit via the web if needed. Technology is changing how vets practice and veterinary software solutions help you stay competitive.

I recommend: IntraVet’s software gives you updated features like inserting your client’s pet photos on their invoice and keeping track of boarding information. Clinic-Ware has been designed by vets for vets, so you’ll find the functions and add-ons that you need to improve your practice.

Look for software for veterinarians that is durable and easy to use

Veterinary software programs that won't freeze up or confuse your staff are worth their weight in gold. Your practice needs to run efficiently and effectively and if the software isn't contributing to that, you need to find different software. You want software that won't let you down when you need it most. Some veterinary computer programs will also integrate with other programs, such as accounting ones.

I recommend: DVM Manager offers online user seminars and support to help you learn to make the most of their software. Vet-Point can be customized in a number of ways to help it improve your practice while it remains easy to use. AVImark offers training videos and seminars with their veterinary practice software.

Take the veterinary software for a test drive

Most veterinary software companies offer a free trial or a demo. This can be a great way for you and your staff to discover whether the program you're interested in is right for you. You want software that takes care of the functions you need it to, but that's also easy to use for even the most computer illiterate staff member.

I recommend: Schedule a meeting with a consultant and test drive the Vetware computer program. Many veterinary software companies also exhibit their software at industry meetings or other events. You can see DVMax at various locations throughout the year.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Have your office staff try the software out before you buy. They'll be using the software as well and you want them to be comfortable with it.
• •  Ask other veterinarians what veterinary information software they use in their practices. Firsthand knowledge of the pros and cons for a particular veterinary practice management software can help make your decision easier.

Veterinary clinics nationwide use veterinary practice management software to improve client communications and billing practices. A move toward paperless veterinary medicine has made the development of an electronic medical record (EMR) an absolute necessity. As clients demand more personalized and efficient services and portable pet health records, preeminent veterinary software programmers have begun to develop software modules that better serve patients, clients and veterinarians, alike.

As you look into building upon services you currently offer clients, the type of veterinary computer programs your practice uses may limit, or expand, your capabilities. Take your veterinary information system to the next level, and employ:

1. Marketing, accounting and human resources reports and tools within your veterinary hospital software,

2. Improved client communication with the help of service providers specializing in eye-catching publications using your veterinary clinic software database and

3. Value-added changes within the vet EMR to improve employee communication and promote building relationship equity among veterinarians, hospital staff and clients.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Combine veterinary software solutions, veterinary software companion tools to boost business

Premier providers of veterinary practice software have integrated most of the practice management data into reporting tools that enable practice managers and doctors to get a more complete picture of cash flow. If, for example, your practice is considering a large equipment purchase such as a crematorium, your veterinary computer program should be able to generate a report, using vet EMR billing codes, detailing how many pet cremations you've sent to an another facility within a specific time period. Using that data, you can then make an informed decision about what kind of return on investment you would see if you installed your own cremation facility.

I recommend: Contact your veterinary practice management software company's technical support professionals to access business planning and reporting features within the software you already own, or to ask about competitors' business modules. Choose ImproMed Infinity, DVMAX, AVIMark or DVM Manager, all long-standing leaders making the most of veterinary software.

Find client communication providers and programs that use your veterinary software

Many veterinarians focus so completely on patient care that they allow client communications to suffer. Building relationship equity is something that the right veterinary practice management software can help you accomplish, and with the help of direct-mail marketing and reminder services that are linked to your current-client database, you can improve client communications with little effort.

I recommend: Create customizable reminder cards online with IDEXX Cornerstone software for veterinarians. View a list of veterinary software programs that work with the Healthy Pet Magazine reminder service, which provides a customized magazine full of industry news and entertainment features as a replacement for the standard postcard reminder. The magazine uses client database downloads from your veterinary practice management software, and you can create a sample Healthy Pet Magazine to view online how the reminder would look for your practice.

Unlock the vet EMR 'extras' hidden inside your software to improve business, patient care

Veterinary practice management software allows you to flag client and patient records and set up system alerts. Place alerts on clients who don't pay their bills so that front office staff can collect what's due and secure a hefty deposit before you provide any further services. Make a note of patients with existing health conditions, allergies or prescriptions that hospital staff may need to know about in the event of an emergency or hospitalization. Set up pharmacy alerts for controlled drug prescriptions that clients are refilling too quickly, or for drug interactions with maintenance medications.

I recommend: Learn more about making the most of veterinary software and your clinic's vet EMR design from the professionals at Veterinary Practice News. Discover what the vet EMR module within AVIMark can do for hospital communication and client relations, thanks to the trainers at Clinicworks.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Merial Pharmaceuticals offers Frontline and Heartgard coupon mailings to your clients several times a year using your veterinary software client database, so ask your sales rep for more information.

Veterinary software is a specific type of practice management software that helps vets keep electronic medical records and consolidate information. While electronic medical records have been in use for several years, practice management software expands the software capabilities well beyond record keeping. Practice management software can be used to transfer notes from the field to a central database, perform inventory, keep track of communication files and schedule appointments. In order to use veterinary software, however, it is important to be comfortable with the key terms for its many uses and functions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Practice management software

Practice management software (PMS) is used by a range of medical fields, most often physicians' and veterinarians' private practices, to manage administrative and scheduling tasks. PMS can also be used to integrate electronic medical records (EMRs), or the electronic versions of patient record charts that are commonly kept in paper form.

I recommend: Binary Spectrum, a software developer, offers a definition of practice management software and differentiates it from electronic medical records.

Tablet PC

A tablet PC is commonly used in conjunction with software programs to make the most of software features, and can be taken to patient visits to record field notes. Tablet PCs allow users to write using a stylus, or virtual pen, to record handwritten notes and signatures, and can connect with central databases for bringing patient information to the field and sending data back to the office.

I recommend: Wise Geek offers a concise definition of and explains some functions and features of a tablet PC.

SOAP

A term that many medical professionals are familiar with is the SOAP diagnostic process, which involves four steps: subjective, objective, assessment and plan. Many veterinary software programs provide a function for taking SOAP notes, so that your diagnoses can be organized in a simple, understandable way.

I recommend: Get a more extensive definition of the SOAP note process from Medical Assistant.

PACS

PACS stands for picture archiving and communications system, and refers to computer programs used to store and analyze medical images electronically. Many veterinary software programs include PACS functions that allow vets to display images such as x-rays, as well as utilize improved analysis and diagnostic tools with the electronic imaging technology.

I recommend: Read a definition of PACS in an abstract published by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association at PubMed Central.

Scheduler

Most veterinary software programs include a scheduler, also known as appointment, patient or project scheduling software. A scheduler function allows you to electronically input, track and manage appointments, and one of the most commonly used features is sending out automated patient reminders using your electronic scheduler's access to patient contact data and records.

I recommend: Get a concise definition of the functions of an electronic scheduler from TechTarget.

Open source software

A number of veterinary software programs is open source software, or software that is free to users and that provides open access to its source code, allowing anyone with programming knowledge to alter or update the program. Usually, open source software programs for veterinary use choose one or two of the functions of complete management software programs for purchase, such as a PACS or scheduler.

I recommend: Opensource.org offers a complete and annotated definition of open source software.