Quitman Animal Clinic is a full-service mixed-animal practice located in Quitman, a town in Wood County, East Texas. Established in 1949, the practice has deep roots in the Quitman community and prides itself on providing personable service along with world-class veterinary care.
In 2023, the team at Quitman Animal Clinic decided to switch from their existing cloud-based practice management system to ezyVet. On the eve of go-live day, we joined the Quitman Animal Clinic team on-site to chat about the transition and how they think their new system will shape the practice’s daily operations.
Former cloud software fails to meet expectations
With a population of 2,000, Quitman isn’t the biggest town around. But make no mistake about it - the practice is busy. Staffed by five veterinarians, the practice sees a large volume of walk-in cases, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs.
“We normally see about 150 animals a day,” explained Dr. Randal Bennett, veterinarian and co-owner of Quitman Animal Clinic. “As a full-service clinic, we have all the facilities that are necessary to run a clinic - everything from bloodwork, all the way up to endoscopic work, ultrasounds, and X-rays. There's a lot going on. From the time you hit the doors until the time you leave for the day, you're on the run.”
In a busy environment with so many moving pieces, having the right practice management system is key. That’s something the Quitman Animal Clinic team knows firsthand. The practice has used a wide range of solutions in the 75 years it's been in business, including paper-based, DOS-based, and server-based systems.
Prior to ezyVet, Quitman Animal Clinic used Vetport, a cloud-based system. Initially, Randal was excited about the prospect of moving away from a server-based system and had hoped that the new solution would help drive efficiency and future-proof the practice. Unfortunately, the software did not meet his expectations.
“We were experiencing software slowdowns. We could see that the communication [features] were not as advanced as they should be. We were missing charges. Moving to the cloud gave us the opportunity to work without a server, but we were afraid of the consistency of the product. It wasn’t helping us move to the future.”
Finding the right solution with the support of trusted VDC
Quitman Animal Clinic had experienced how a lackluster practice management system could hinder day-to-day work. So, when the time came to search for a new solution, the team was, understandably, more cautious. They began evaluating their options, working closely with their IDEXX Veterinary Diagnostics Consultant, Jessica Brown.
“Switching practice management software is a difficult thing,” said Jessica. “It’s a huge commitment for the clinic; it’s a huge commitment for all people involved. No practice wants to change systems, but they understand that, ultimately, it will be beneficial in the long run. It’s my job to support them - so they know I’m here to help every step of the way.”
Over the past six years, Jessica has developed an outstanding relationship with Quitman Animal Clinic, providing her expert guidance to help build out the clinic’s diagnostics capabilities and strategically grow the business. A thorough understanding of the practice’s inner workings and aspirations, coupled with in-depth knowledge of the software landscape, meant she was in a unique position to help match the practice to a suitable practice management system.
“I knew they wanted to grow substantially. Dr. Bennett wants to double his diagnostic revenue over the next two years, so they needed the most efficient and best workflow. I felt that they could do that with ezyVet. Support was also a big deal for them. With ezyVet, they’ll have all the support they need. That’s super important to them. In a practice of this size, if they have an issue, they need it fixed soon - they don’t want to wait two weeks.”
After evaluating a number of different cloud-based solutions, Quitman Animal Clinic decided to go with ezyVet, driven by the need for an efficient system that would support its future growth ambitions.
Robust implementation plan makes for smooth transition
Migrating to a new practice management system is no easy feat - particularly when you’re dealing with such a varied and high-volume caseload. In the lead up to go-live day, the ezyVet implementation team joined Quitman Animal Clinic on-site to assist with training and system configuration, ensuring the practice would feel confident to hit the ground running on go-live day.
However, as certified veterinary assistant Brittany Lui explained, ezyVet’s robust implementation plan helped simplify the transition.
“Dr. Bennett likens software transitions to a divorce. It's messy, it's complicated, it's hard, and no one likes it. But the implementation of ezyVet is going really, really well. [ezyVet implementer Taylor Bawley] is amazing. She's been super helpful and hands on through everything. I think the doctors and admin staff have a good grasp on it and all our employees are super excited to use it.”
The team also took advantage of ezyVet Academy, a self-guided course designed to help get new users up to speed on the basics of ezyVet, including appointment scheduling, payments, medical histories, and more.
With Jessica’s guidance, the expertise of the ezyVet implementers, and the hands-on learning provided by ezyVet Academy, the Quitman Animal Clinic will be in great shape to hit the ground running when the practice officially goes live with ezyVet tomorrow.
"One of the nicest things about this transition is that ezyVet has a plan, and it's easy to follow the plan as we move forward,” said Randal.
Cutting-edge features at the team’s fingertips
Transitioning to ezyVet has unlocked a huge range of cutting-edge features, including automated communications, automatic charge capture, workflow templates, and more. Randal is confident that those features will translate to greater efficiency across the board, helping the clinic elevate its wellness-based care while improving the client experience and supporting a better work-life balance for frontline staff.
Randal is especially looking forward to making the most of IDEXX VetConnect PLUS, a platform that facilitates access to historical diagnostic data and trending graphs. This will be critical as the clinic focuses on elevating its wellness-based practices.
“IDEXX integration is really important to us. We're trying to make sure that the software aligns with all the laboratory equipment we have. IDEXX VetConnect PLUS is integral in that.”
Randal believes the integration will lead to improvements throughout the diagnostics workflow, including “time for submission of samples, the ability to get blood out the door, the ability to come back and make interpretations as well as follow through on those interpretations.”
One of the features that Brittany is most excited about is ezyVet’s charge capture technology. In the hustle and bustle of daily practice life, it’s all too easy for some charges to occasionally slip through the cracks.
“We're an incredibly busy clinic. As a result, we do miss a lot of charges going through the day-to-day things. A big part of why we got ezyVet is because we really, really think that it’s going to help us fix this problem.”
With ezyVet, those revenue leaks will be a thing of the past. ezyVet automatically captures all billable products and services and adds them to the client’s invoice, minimizing the risk of missed charges, reducing the cognitive load for staff, and driving revenue for the business.
A future-proof system
Go-live day is just around the corner. The team at Quitman Animal Clinic is looking forward to using ezyVet and seeing the impact a modern practice management system can have on their day-to-day tasks. When asked if he had any advice for other practices considering upgrading their system, Randal said:
“If you're planning on getting new software for your practice, I would say the first thing you need to do is look at cloud-based products. The cloud-based products are going to make your life easier and make things move smoother in your practice. If you don't have those basic fundamental components, the software is going to be clunky.”
With big growth plans on the horizon, the practice can feel confident that it has the right system to achieve its business goals and the right tools to help the team continue to deliver exceptional patient care.
Want to see what ezyVet could do for your practice? Book a demo today to discover how ezyVet could help your clinic save time, drive revenue, and better serve your patients.