Up to 90% of all veterinary practices use management software, with half of these users switching their providers at least once throughout the existence of the practice. Making the switch from one software program to another raises a number of issues.
The first issue, that veterinarians and their office managers face, is resistance from staff. Doing something differently than it has been done over the past several months or years is not easy, and some level of training will be necessary. Managers and staff will also naturally need to cut out any redundancies, such as eliminating duplicate or past client records and medications that are no longer used from their database, both of which is time-consuming.
Fortunately, veterinarians and their office managers can alleviate or eliminate many of these issues. You can make the transition to new and improved vet software go as smoothly as possible by looking for solutions with the following features:
The Software Should Be User-Friendly
If you want your new software to be used by everyone on your staff, then it should be as user-friendly as possible. Software which is considered to be user-friendly is:
- Easy to install and update
- Intuitive
- Fast and efficient
- Easy to navigate
- Effectively handles errors
The Software Should Be Flexible
In order for you and your staff to be able to best utilize the software you choose, it should have a certain level of customization options. There are a number of advantages that come with having flexible and customizable software:
- Custom software solutions allow you to best serve the needs of your practice.
- Customized software is more scalable than restrictive solutions, meaning that it will grow and change as your practice does (this reduces the chances of you needing to upgrade to a new software package in the near future).
- Flexible solutions can allow for greater protection against external threats.
- Customized solutions are able to operate with the other software packages your practice may already be using.
The Software Should Have Features Your Business Needs
There is more than one veterinarian software solution on the market, and most are competitively priced. Rather than focusing on price, what should be focused on are the software’s features. In order to determine what features will be most advantageous to your practice, consider your business goals and what you hope to achieve in both the short-term and the long-term.
Another way to figure out the specific features your practice will need is to list all of the different people and their job roles in the practice. Consider what features will be most beneficial to them and which will help them do their job more efficiently.
Finally, ask peers about what software they use and which features they find are the most crucial when it comes to running a thriving practice. Ask them what they like about the software, what they could do without, and what features they would put on their software “wish list.”