Choosing the Right Practice Software for your Clinic: A Vital Decision

When it comes time to decide on a practice software for your veterinary clinic, it is essential to compare and evaluate several factors such as available features, cost, customer support, integration capabilities. It is also important to consider what specific needs your practice has and the size of your practice to compare them to the capabilities of each practice software. After working at different veterinary facilities with different practice software needs, I quickly learned the importance of finding a practice software that aligns with your practice’s needs so we did a brief overview of a couple of the more popular veterinary practice software options.

Before diving into our overviews, let’s go over some of the features that will be discussed:

⦁ On-Premise vs Cloud-Based Software: On-premise software is installed and runs on physical servers that are located within the veterinary clinic, this means that the software can only be accessed from computers or devices located at the clinic. On-premise software offers higher security measures that your practice has full control of but also requires internal IT resources in the event of any internet or software issues. Although on-premise software can be accessed remotely, it can be challenging and have many small points of possible failure or limitations, such as the office’s internet connection, the server the software is on. Additionally, any of these issues must be handled by your local IT professional whereas with cloud-based software, there is a cloud server team that would handle these issues. On the other hand, cloud-based software is able to be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, allowing veterinary staff to access the software from multiple locations or from their mobile phones while on the go. All security protocols, maintenance, and software updates for cloud-based software are managed by the vendor. Cloud-based software is also generally more cost-effective. Ultimately, the choice between on-premise and cloud-based software depends on your clinic’s specific needs, budget, and whether you have IT resources available.

⦁ Laboratory & Imaging Integration: Veterinary practice softwares that have a laboratory and/or imaging integration feature allow communication between your veterinary practice software and external laboratory (for labs such as bloodwork) or imaging systems (for images such as x-rays). With laboratory integration, veterinarians can easily order lab tests (bloodwork, urinalysis, cytology, etc.) and submit their order requests electronically to the laboratory. Once the lab performs the ordered tests, the results are automatically uploaded in real-time into the veterinary practice software, eliminating the need to wait for results and data entry. With imaging integration, veterinarians can order imaging procedures such as x-rays, ultrasounds, MRIs, or CT scans directly through the practice software. Once the images have been obtained, they can be sent directly to the imaging center. Once the imaging center have completed the imaging studies, the reports are automatically uploaded in real-time into the veterinary practice software. Imaging integration also allows for veterinarians to easily send out images to remote specialists for an imaging consultation or second opinion.

⦁ Reporting Tools: Reporting tool features allow veterinary management to easily gather and analyze different data points related to their practice’s operations, patient care, and financial performance. Some examples of reports that can be run include, but are not limited to, diagnostic reports, revenue reports, expense reports, inventory reports, client retention reports, controlled substance logs, staff performance reports, and payroll reports. Utilizing the reporting tool feature can help management enhance their operational efficiency and improve patient care.

⦁ Inventory Management: The inventory management feature in veterinary practice software can help effectively keep track of and manage medical supplies, medications, and other inventory items such as pet food. This feature helps ensure your veterinary clinic has the right amount of stock available without overstocking. For veterinary practice softwares that have advanced inventory management – it is even able to keep track of expiration dates of medications and vaccines to ensure that expired products are used or discarded before they become unsafe or ineffective.

Please note: this brief overview does not include all veterinary practice softwares and includes personal opinions that stem from our personal experiences with each software.

⦁ AVImark: AVImark has a wide range of comprehensive features that include automated scheduling reminders, inventory management, extensive reporting tools, and integration features that can easily integrate with various diagnostic labs and imaging systems. This program is highly customizable making it a suitable fit for practices of all sizes and they offer excellent customer support and training resources. Some things to keep in mind are that it is an on-premise software only and it’s overall cost can be a bit high for smaller practices.

⦁ Cornerstone (By IDEXX): I have about 3 years experience with Cornerstone as both a veterinary receptionist and as a manger. Cornerstone is a great program for larger practices and hospitals, especially those with multiple doctors/specialties. This software offers advanced scheduling tools, real-time inventory and medication management, advanced reporting, and a seamless integration with IDEXX laboratory systems and imaging. It is important to note that because of it’s wide-range of capabilities and features, it does require quite extensive training in order to take advantage of everything the software offers. Like AVImark, it is an on-premise software only and although it is scalable for practices of any size, its cost can be a bit high for smaller practices.

⦁ IDEXX Neo: IDEXX Neo is another veterinary practice software by IDEXX that offers a cloud-based, easy-to-use program for smaller to mid-sized practices. The software is extremely user-friendly and is by far the easiest program to learn how to use. IDEXX Neo includes features such as appointment reminders, automated billing, basic inventory tracking, basic reporting, and integrations with IDEXX laboratory systems and imaging. Because of IDEXX Neo prioritizes being cost-effective and user-friendly, it does has limited customization options.