Take advantage of technology

Recent innovations and technology opportunities give veterinary teams a wealth of resources to streamline operations and improve efficiency, freeing up time to focus on what we do best: care for patients and assist clients. The important question is, are we taking full advantage of these opportunities? Results from a recent survey of veterinary practice owners by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) provide some important insights.¹

The state of technology use

Many practices are using practice information management software (PIMS), electronic medical records software, and online pharmacies. Adoption has been slower for digital inventory management systems, online appointment scheduling, and telehealth.¹

Technology adoption rates also vary by practice type. For example, PIMS integrated communications software and online appointment scheduling are more common in companion animal practice than in mixed animal or equine practice.¹ (Figure 1)

Exploring reasons for hesitancy

To delve deeper into these findings, the AVMA asked practice owners whether they felt they were keeping up or falling behind when it came to using technology in their practice. Overall, 69% of owners said they were keeping up, 20% said they were falling behind, and the remainder said they didn’t know.¹

What reasons were given for falling behind? The most common reason was time constraints, followed by financial constraints and lack of interest.

How to overcome hesitancy

Although these reasons need to be acknowledged, they don’t need to hold us back. Many digital tools are available to simplify or automate routine tasks and seamlessly incorporate technology into everyday practice. These tools provide solutions to specific problems that teams may be experiencing and opportunities to deliver what clients are demanding. Most of these tools, if not all, save more time in the long run than they take to incorporate. And as artificial intelligence continues to be integrated into technology solutions, the potential is immense for significant efficiency gains through responsible use of these capabilities.

The good news is you don’t have to fully implement all available technologies right now to see results. In fact, a thoughtful, incremental approach can not only help overcome any hesitancy or resistance within your team but also prime your path toward sustained rewards.

Here are some tips to get started. If technology isn’t your thing, consider recruiting a technology enthusiast from your team to lead the charge.

Identify which types of digital tools or services your practice currently lacks. You can use the ones mentioned previously from the practice owners survey as a reference.

Talk with your team about pain points and frictions they are encountering in their daily roles and how these might be overcome.

Pick 1 tool that you think will address a problem or opportunity you’ve identified and would be easiest or least costly to implement. You’ll earn bonus points if the tool promises a quick win with potentially high impact, such as a ready-to-use online pharmacy or appointment scheduling platform or videoconferencing software for telemedicine visits.

Ask the vendor to highlight what the tool can do, the steps involved in implementation, and any ongoing support to help with training, technical issues, and updates.

Find out about the cost as well as the potential savings in both money and time you might expect with implementation. Several digital tools can substantially improve revenue streams or cut costs and time, with just a minor financial commitment. For tools that facilitate client communications, patient follow-up, or product sales, these benefits can be realized even if only a portion of clients take advantage.

Start with a small pilot project to discover how you and your team like the tool and its impacts on a specific area of your practice. Often, you can try things out for minimal expense, and within a week or two, you will know more about the technology than you could garner from a vendor’s pitch. If you like what you see, you can gradually expand the tool’s application to minimize disruption.

Another great way to overcome hesitancy is to learn about the experiences of other practices in implementing your chosen tool as well as any advice they have to offer, so you don’t need to start from scratch.

Check out the new AVMA Axon Tech Talk webinar series (avma.org/Axon), which focuses on technology and how it can be used to improve practices, processes, and productivity. Be sure to catch the episode “Online Ordering and Home Delivery.”²

Find tips and real-life case studies on putting telemedicine services into practice

at avma.org/Telehealth.

How to optimize use

Practices that have already embraced digital technologies have growth opportunities as well. Quite often, the tools we’re already using have features we have yet to discover or use. Leveraging those features can offer a low-budget, high-impact boost.

For example, PIMS can be great for automating or facilitating a myriad of routine, often repetitive tasks. Are you taking advantage of all features, or do some go unused?

Although you could find out about a technology’s full capabilities by reading about the available features in the marketing or instructional materials, a quicker path might be to contact the vendor directly—for example, the PIMS company’s technology support team. Ask them to highlight what your practice could be doing with the tool.

Afterward, ask your team about their thoughts on the unused features and how those features might affect their work. (Discover how one practice did this, followed through, and reaped the rewards in the Tech Talk webinar “Boosting Productivity.”³)

The bottom line

In today’s busy practices, technology is a necessity, not a luxury. Among the many benefits are superior patient care, happier clients, smoother operations, and less stress on the team, not to mention financial gains. Indeed, research has shown that optimizing efficiency in companion animal practice can allow veterinary teams to accomplish more and reach more patients with their current contingent of staff.4 For more ideas on how technology can be used to achieve these goals, be sure to check out the Just One Thing series on the AVMA@Work blog (avma.org/Blog), featuring practical tips for veterinary practices that can be achieved in 15 minutes or less.

REFERENCES

1. Doherty C, McKay C, Ouedraogo FB. 2024 AVMA Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession. American Veterinary Medical Association. 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://ebusiness.avma.org/ProductCatalog/product.aspx?ID=2157
2. Doherty C, Hayworth R. AVMA Tech Talk: online ordering and home delivery. American Veterinary Medical Association. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://axon.avma.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=285
3. Doherty C, Boudreau L. AVMA Tech Talk: boosting productivity. American Veterinary Medical Association. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://axon.avma.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=319
4. Ouedraogo FB, Weinstein P, Lefebvre SL. Increased efficiency could lessen the need for more staff in companion animal practice. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023;261(9):1357-1362. doi:10.2460/javma.23.03.0163