20 Jun 2025
The world has moved on since the first practice management systems began to appear in veterinary practices 20 years ago. High speed internet and massive advances in computing power have allowed for big innovations in PMS usability, which can bring significant business benefits, writes Tony Houghton…
Tony Houghton
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Image: iStock / Varijanta
Veterinary practice management software (PMS) has come a long way in the past decade or so. Back in the mid-2000s, software was developed for a very different field of devices and internet speeds.
Software and data had to be hosted and managed in a practice’s own on-premises servers and was designed for a static desktop screen. Data had to be backed up manually, information was not shareable in real time and coordination of workflows was limited.
So how is PMS developing now? Mature PMS systems have honed their functionality and workflows over time, which has resulted in capable and reliable software. Now they can be enhanced with increasing customisation so that the system reflects the nature of the practice, small or large, or farm, equine or small animal.
Options for personalisation mean users can choose how their screens appear and what information is prioritised. Instead of one-size-fits-all, it’s now possible for a system to be responsive for different types of practice and different team roles – and to easily evolve alongside the developments in a business.
These days, we can take advantage of modern technology for cloud-based systems and make the most of mobile options and modern user interface concepts and designs, such as drag-and-drop and dynamic screen sizing to access the PMS on Chromebooks, tablets and smart phones, in the practice or on the go.
This allows for much more flexibility in how a practice can function efficiently, with information being easily accessible and instantly updatable in different locations, whether that’s adding to patient records in the kennels or consult rooms, or dealing with clients at the front desk.
Some customisation possibilities are aimed at organising data in a way that suits the individual user, for example choosing which columns are shown in a frequently used table and what order they appear in.
Summary panels that show client information can be similarly customisable so that a practice manager could choose to see details such as the account balance and outstanding invoices first, a receptionist could choose to have the client’s contact details, but a vet could opt to have a view of the animal’s details. This can make it much easier to keep an eye on key metrics or ensure that basic information needed for a consult is immediately to hand.
These developments are a recognition that in a system that is the backbone of a vet practice’s organisation, different people will need to use it in different ways. Now it’s possible to really make the system work for users individually, rather than everyone having to stick within pre-determined boundaries.
Accessibility is an area that has been transformed. Modern PMS systems can now be customised for light or dark screens, brightness and background highlighting of colours, with fluid font sizes that adapt the layout of screens automatically if a user wants to see details in larger type. This is all aimed at making information easier to read and navigate.
To further improve accessibility for those with visual impairments, software can also work with screen readers, including providing a full description of controls when the mouse hovers over them, including the function and a description of the screen.
Multilingual systems are also available now, instantly translating buttons and functions into a different language with the click of a switch. Developments in tech are making it easier for practices to support and benefit from a diverse workforce.
In the back end, refinements to the way the software is structured is improving its performance. Functionality and software updates can be more quickly and regularly integrated, and certain areas of the system can be scaled up for times of high demand, such as the end of the month when businesses are running all of their invoicing.
The area of development for veterinary PMS systems that promises the furthest-reaching benefits for practices is artificial intelligence (AI). One of the greatest strengths of AI is its efficiency in interrogating and analysing data, finding patterns, trends, correlations and anomalies and providing insights.
PMS systems are starting to use large language Model (LLM) AI systems, which are trained to understand and generate human language, allowing us to ask questions as if we were talking to another person. This, after tuning with veterinary-specific data, is a much more intuitive way for us to seek out the information we need quickly and effectively.
This holds a lot of promise for revolutionising areas such as the reporting capability of a PMS, making it easier, for example, for a practice manager to quickly find the best report to deliver specific information on VAT to answer a business question, forecast a trend or make a data-driven decision.
In a vet practice, the beauty of AI for this function is that it augments the team’s skill set. It takes the pressure off a busy professional to need to also be an expert on how to use complex software and fills the gap of the specialist skills needed for crunching data. Practice teams can get on with their day jobs and ask the software conversationally for what they need, when they need it – whether that’s information they use regularly, a new function they’ve never used before or solution to a novel challenge.
AI will allow the PMS to make interesting insights and smart suggestions based on the practice’s dataset, which can be used to meet business challenges. The practical applications of these insights can be powerful for efficiency and profitability. For example, if trends can be identified around the practice’s peak demand for a certain type of medication, stock can be ordered ahead of time to ensure supply or pricing can be addressed for a promotion.
Insights into client behaviour or practice operations can provide intelligence to improve the client journey or address developing operational issues, for example, a rise in client waiting time, so that measures can be put in place swiftly to remedy it.
PMS systems utilising AI will allow access to data insights that standard reports wouldn’t reveal and that previously would have required specialist skills and hours spent trawling spreadsheets to discover.
Similar benefits are on their way for clinical staff to make use of in consults. Rather than looking through a clinical history manually or running a report, a vet or RVN will be able to search instantly by asking questions like “How much was spent last year by this client on Fluffy?” or “How frequently has Fluffy been prescribed this medication and has the frequency increased over time?”
Also in development is the ability for the PMS to record a consultation, and not just transcribe the conversation, but structure the notes into relevant sections like diagnosis notes and prescriptions, and provide a summary of the consult or notes for a referral that can either be edited as preferred or sent straight over.
One of the big challenges in veterinary medicine is the increasing need to document so much more. It’s an area that’s often a concern for new graduates who are under a lot of scrutiny and may not have the confidence that older vets have gained. This is something that the PMS can help with – capturing and documenting information without increasing the burden on the vet.
Tools such as voice dictation, or capturing imagery of wounds on a mobile device to instantly add to patient records, can smooth the flow of consults. This sort of PMS mobility – having the functionality of a mobile app on the main practice PMS – also means a nurse will be able to walk around the hospital with a smart phone or tablet checking details and updating notes on the spot, freeing them from the need to be at a static console.
The way that a receptionist will interact with clients will also change. They won’t need to be sat behind a desk, but can grab their tablet and go and sit next to a frail patient with their dog to book them in, check their records and see if anything else is needed. It can offer a much more customer focused experience.
There are many ways that this technology is going to help in very practical terms, making consults a nicer experience, supporting an ageing client demographic and freeing up vets from time spent on mundane tasks.
New PMS interfaces are going to become fully touch screen compatible, so everything can be done with swipes and gestures on a mobile device, making it simple to interact on the go. Moving forward, PMS mobility will increase and release staff from being behind a desk to allow them to be with people and patients.
The way technologies are developing means it shouldn’t be a chore to adopt new ways of doing things. The onus is on PMS developers to use AI and other tools to make it quicker and easier for vet teams to use the software, so that they can get on with the most important thing – looking after their clients and patients.
