Top 3 challenges around integrating telemedicine – and how Airvet can help

Oct 18, 2021

According to the NAVC’s recent Voice of the Veterinary Community study, helping animals on a daily basis is what veterinary professionals cite as their favorite part of their job (77%), followed by doing meaningful and purposeful work (65%).

But on the flip side, there are many stressors. Challenges with appointment time restrictions, trying to find work-life balance, staff turnover, and compassion fatigue – and that doesn’t even account for trying to keep up with the latest procedures and adopting new technology! And in addition, chasing a process or compensating for a broken system can prevent you and your team from devoting attention to new science and procedures to keep your practice state-of-the-art.

 

Top stressors for veterinary professionals

Top Stressors for Vet Professionals (Source: Navc)

 

 

Telemedicine offers powerful solutions, yet many veterinary practitioners are uncertain about how to transition from their current business model into this new form of radically improved care.

But at Airvet, we are dedicated to providing ways to improve the veterinary team’s day by making client communication an easier and richer experience.

 

Veterinary Practitioners’ Top 3 Concerns about Telemedicine

 

1. We sometimes hear: “We already have an in-hospital system that works and introducing telemedicine is too complicated.”

There is no turning back, and would you really want to? It may seem ironic, but high-tech enables high-touch. There is no substitute for human intelligence, caring and compassion, and emerging technologies enable practitioners to devote more time, energy and resources to creating superb patient care.

Better tech allows you to locate patient charts, examine records and make recommendations with more speed and accuracy than relying on archives of primitive manual records tabbed in thousands of manila folders. Young pet-owners who grew up with Instagram, Twitter, and Facetime are quick to accept telemedicine as the new gold standard, but the fact is that older clients are the ones who may be most positively impacted by more agile, streamlined systems.

The growing majority of consumers worldwide already use their smartphones for ride services, food delivery, shopping, bill-paying, and banking. Airvet is committed to giving this modern technology to veterinarians so the pet owner is able to conveniently get answers directly from a veterinarian, is kept in the loop during hospitalization or drop-offs, and, and is receiving the best possible experience through a level of service only possible with telemedicine.

With the global veterinary telehealth market size expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% from 2021 to 2028, veterinary practices are starting to acknowledge that virtual care will ultimately need to become an accepted aspect of their workflow. Integrating telemedicine as an option may end up being an important step for a veterinary practice to take in order to stay competitive in the space.

Influential millennials and Gen Z pet-owners are now the predominant pet-owning demographic and they lead the charge in terms of demanding telemedicine options. State by state, we’re seeing a number of regulatory changes geared towards determining the optimal nuances around what makes for a safe and productive VCPR that includes telemedicine. And, even without an integrated virtual care approach, technology has already changed your practice. Could your current practice function without connected care activities such as email and text messaging? However, the true opportunity – and challenge – lies in finding the right connected care solution to create cohesiveness for you and your clients.

Airvet is the #1 rated telemedicine app with thousands of positive reviews from happy clients like yours. With Airvet, you can enhance your existing workflows related to scheduling, payments, case management, and client communications. This means a better experience for your client and a better bottom-line for your business.

 

2. You may say: “Introducing telemedicine into my practice is too time-consuming.”

You’ll soon appreciate the irony of this objection!

Because today, it’s the antiquated processes and outdated technology that drain your time and racks up the hours of busywork spent by your team, struggling with dated interfaces, searching for a patient record, reconciling statements and similar tedious clerical tasks.

And there is no end in sight currently for the increase in business the industry has seen across the board. The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that veterinary appointments increased 6.5% between January and June 2021 alone compared to the same period in 2020. The profession as a whole – including you and your team – are overworked and overwhelmed.

As daunting as introducing a new platform into your workflow may sound, our veterinary teams are actually saying that telemedicine services like Airvet have improved their workflows, radically improved their efficiency, and helped them give stressless VIP service to their clients.

One of our hospital partners recently made the comment that “Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up”, and we’re seeing that same concept across the board for our partners. Identifying opportunities for moving appointments from in-office to virtual care – such as virtual rechecks for skin, surgery, mobility and medical management, for instance – can save your practice significant time. With one hospital partner, the practice manager timed check-in for surgery before and after using Airvet and their process went from 7 minutes to 2 minutes. Rechecks that were previously taking 30 minutes dropped down to 5-10 minutes with the Airvet chat feature.

That’s not to say that the process will just fall into place. Change always presents challenges, but that’s why Airvet goes one step further to offer our concierge services for FREE to our partners. With our concierge program, we go beyond simply getting your workflow integrated. We stand by you as your partner to offer expertise and support as you fully engage with the tech and enhance your appointment scheduling process, client communication, and other key business functions.

We are positive that you will marvel at the amount of quality time that’s freed up throughout your team by investing in telemedicine. And with improved access to information and consultation, your clients will feel more connected, more listened-to, and more valued, cementing their trust and loyalty.

 

3. You may be thinking: “If my clients start using Airvet, what will keep them coming back to me?”

We are dedicated to protecting and enhancing your practice, and we understand the investment that you’ve made in building precious client relationships. There are a number of ways that we work with hospitals to ensure that Airvet can support positive client and staff experiences as well as a fully connected care experience.

The Airvet business model is centered on providing convenient technology services for the veterinary hospital and the pet owner. We always connect your clients through you as their primary veterinarian, with Airvet working as part of your extended team. Our aim is to help you provide 24/7 convenient service for your clients while helping you add additional revenue for your practice as your veterinarians participate in the use of the platform. For the times when none of your doctors are available, the Airvet app directs the pet owner to a veterinarian who practices at least 50 miles from your location, assuring that your client is not directed to a competitor. Your clients benefit from having support from a veterinarian when they cannot reach your team without having to consult with “Dr. Google” or rush to an urgent care facility – especially for times when it may not be necessary.

Even better, whenever one of your clients conducts an Airvet session with an on-demand veterinarian in your absence, you’ll receive a detailed case report of the virtual visit, information you’ll use when you contact the client yourself the following morning.

Our goal is for Airvet to enhance your already existing practice workflows while improving the experience for your client, keeping them satisfied and loyal to your hospital and impressed with your use of technology to provide them access to your professional advice and care for their pet.

 

Connect with Airvet Today

At Airvet, our goal is to support a care experience for you and your clients with opportunities that are manageable and productive, and to partner with you every step of the way to ensure that we help you accomplish your goals.

If you are interested in learning more about Airvet, please use the calendar below to schedule time with our team. We look forward to working with you!

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