This piece is intended to highlight companies that deserve attention from individual, independent veterinary practice owners. No compensation was provided in return for inclusion in this series of articles; in fact, none of them knew ahead of this article’s writing that they would be featured. At present, VPP only does business with Petdesk, though we have had conversations with all of these companies about potentially piloting them in our Partner practices.
FuturePet – www.futurepet.care
I’ll preface this by saying that FuturePet is brand new and I haven’t gotten to play with the platform just yet for myself, but based on the demo I saw and the premise, I’m excited because they are serving a need that should have been met years ago in our industry. How much of an appointment gets consumed by collecting the ‘S’ of your SOAP? Even a few minutes is a meaningful portion of time that could be spent on additional topics. Is there any reason you couldn’t collect this electronically before the patient enters the room? Perhaps in the waiting room on a smartphone? Or even before the client arrives that day? The fact is that for a lot of appointments, the answer is no, you can absolutely collect this ahead of time. FuturePet solves for this through a beautiful online tool that can integrate with your practice management system. Effectively an email or text message would go out to clients with a link to an online form ahead of their appointment. They complete the form, press submit, and you have their information by the time the doctor enters the room. Simple. Valuable. Client-friendly. Check. Check. Check.
I can foresee multiple applications of this kind of tool in the future too. I know for a fact that your reception staff isn’t confirming client contact information 100% of the time. An automated tool like this can help solve for that kind of information collection. The same goes for asking about pet insurance coverage. And for preventatives compliance. And for a dozen other things that your practice should, in theory, know about clients and their pets each and every time they walk through your door. Don’t forget, data is extraordinarily valuable and collecting it methodically is the prevailing challenge.
Something I would highlight about a tool like FuturePet: too many companies in our field don’t pay enough attention to creating an aesthetically beautiful experience for our clients. Apple was a pioneer in this area, transforming consumers’ expectations when it comes to interfacing with technology. Idexx and Schein are way behind the times when it comes to the practice management systems. They are way behind when it comes to Vetstreet/PHNP. Tools that you use at your practice that offer a distinctively modern look and feel reflect well on your practice. They also create a point of differentiation between your practice and your competitors. While beauty isn’t everything, and can’t overcome technical shortcomings when it comes to marketing and technology tools, it can have definite value for your practice.
