5 Must-Have Tips For Developing a Digital-Driven Patient Experience In Your Vet Clinic
The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the human healthcare industry to adopt software technologies, such as paperless intake systems, online appointment booking, patient web portals, and touch-less payment systems, to provide safer, more efficient processes for interacting with patients. While the COVID crisis was not an ideal scenario to motivate such change, the necessity to continue operating forced clinics to enact technologies that had long been on their to- do list. On the other hand, while the veterinary industry has been more reluctant to switch, human health is also driving the consumer demand for a better vet health experience. Recent survey data from HealthIT.Gov revealed that the patient demand for a better, more efficient experience had been a critical factor in 80% of human-health clinics shifting to digital records management.
60% of respondents claimed that patients preferred electronic documents over paper forms.
40% of patients expressed frustration from inefficient paper systems and lack of better access to care
and records.80% of patients claimed they would prefer paperless systems if asked to switch from a provider they
know and trust.
”Just like human health, Pet health documentation holds a wealth of data to improve the health outcomes for pet parents and their pets, according to Caleb Weber, CEO of Vet Hero, the market leader in veterinary software technology. Vet clinics must bridge the digital divide and begin collecting this data and interacting with their clients more efficiently to meet the new demands of pet parents.”
This brings us back to a fundamental issue that veterinary organizations contend with, even those that have attempted to digitize at least part of their operations: How to reduce their reliance on antiquated processes further and digitize the pet parent experience. The following five must-have tips will help your vet clinic to realize just how crucial digitizing the experience is to adopt into your practice.
#1 - Compare your pet parent’s digital experience to your experience with innovative companies
Imagine the convenience of shopping at Amazon, purchasing plane tickets, or requesting an Uber driver, to the appointment processes at your clinic. If you're like most, your clinic's inefficiencies quickly become apparent. Pet parents should be able to easily work through the appointment process from the comfort of their home versus waiting till their appointment day to simultaneously wrangle a pen, paper, and clipboard against the 6-month-old Rottweiler at the end of a leash.
#2 - Consider the value of more quality time spent with pet parents versus handling mundane paperwork
We often hear that veterinarians prefer their analog processes and prefer paper. Yet, they are not typically the ones with their noses deep in paperwork, scanning, transferring data, and shredding paper. This is more left to the front office team and back office vet techs, who are also responsible for setting the tone for a positive pet parent experience and building the trust required for achieving a positive outcome. Research shows that leveraging technology will gain back up to 5 hours daily, allowing your team to spend more valuable time with parents and their pets.
#3 - Understand that 20% of clients won't adopt some or all of your technology right away, and that's ok
At least for the next several years, you can expect that approximately 20% of your pet parents, more commonly your elderly clientele, won't adopt some or all of your technology, and that's ok. Assuming the average clinic sees 40 patients a day and over 9,000 appointments a year, that's 7,200 appointments that staff would otherwise lose hours to mindless paperwork, shredding, scanning, and data transfer. More importantly, that’s 7,200 better pet-parent experiences.
#4 - Realize that pet parents are more accurate than you at filling out their data
Having clients digitally fill out their demographic information and pet health history reduces common data
translation errors, from poor phone connection to sloppy handwriting or inaccurately transferring data into your practice management system.
#5 - Consider the irony in the excuses for not fully digitizing the patient experiences.
There is no good excuse for not digitizing the patient experience. It is much less expensive than paper systems, saves numerous hours of staff time, improves the pet parent experience, and consumers want it. The better excuse for not moving ahead is the foreboding thoughts that come to mind when you think about the time and headaches that come with finding the right technology stack, transitioning off current systems, and training staff on new processes.
At Practice Hero, we understand that many clinics see all the benefits of digitizing the patient experiences but don’t know how to effectively execute change without disrupting their daily workflow.
Vet Hero is here to help.
Vet Hero developed the industry's first comprehensive digital technology audit that takes just an hour of your time to complete. After an initial 1-hour discovery meeting, our team will work to design a comprehensive digital optimization roadmap to help your team know exactly what, when, and how you can optimize your technology and workflows—all with little to no disruption to how you do business today.
Better yet, this is a no-obligation exercise. The final digital road map is your's to use and implement, with or without Vet Hero's help. It's our way of showing that we care and want to help you improve.