17 Sept 2024
Beverley Ho and Mary-Anne Frank share some top tips to improve the process of completing these.
Image by freepik
How does your practice feel about animal health certificates (AHCs)? Does the mention of them fill your team with dread?
AHCs can be stressful and time consuming, but they don’t have to be.
It turns out, there’s a lot more going on than filling in the form accurately. We surveyed various practices to get more information about their AHC processes. The results allowed us to identify common problems and challenges, and put together some actionable steps to combat them.
It often feels like there is not enough time during the day-to-day rhythms of life in practice. Sixty-two per cent of practices that responded to our survey reported it takes more than 30 minutes for them to complete an AHC form.
This is time taken away from attending to other patients or finishing ever-mounting admin work. We recommend assessing your current process and checking if there are ways to speed things up and increase efficiency. Efficiency directly affects profitability of this service because the cost of issuing AHCs is mostly staff time.
Here are some time-saving tips you can implement:
Good communication is key, as it is with other areas of veterinary practice. Our survey highlighted that practice complaints regarding AHCs were mostly due to gaps in communication or wrong information being conveyed.
Receptionists are the first point of contact in the practice for clients. They should be trained to confidently handle travel-related enquiries and requests, as well as have an awareness of the appropriate information to gather. Keeping a travel requirement summary at the front desk gives receptionists something they can easily refer to when clients call in.
If it isn’t practical to train all your receptionists to deal with travel matters, it is worth designating one or two people for the task. That way, clients can be referred to them for correct advice and information. Around 40% of our respondents have a dedicated AHC person.
No room for error exists with AHCs. By providing clarity and minimising uncertainty from the outset when communicating with clients, you can avoid misunderstandings and misinformation. In turn, your clients’ confidence in your service will increase.
Your practice might offer the following booking options for clients: with reception over the phone, a dedicated AHC coordinator or through your website. Check in with your receptionists and if their comfort levels with AHCs are not high, consider designating one or two people, as discussed previously.
You may be wondering how to streamline your process, so that things can go smoothly from booking to getting the client and pet into the consult room. Here is an example of a streamlined process that seems to work well for some practices:
A checklist can be used to track where the client is in the process, so that follow-ups can be sent if needed. This ensures that you are as prepared as possible for the appointment by having the right information in the right place in advance.
Once you’ve decided what will work well within your team and practice, it is best to draw up a standard operating procedure (SOP) that outlines what needs to be done and by whom. This keeps all members of staff on the same page and helps with your practice flow and organisation.
Spending time investing in client education will help to take some of the stress off your team. Clients are usually reminded that it is their responsibility to meet the requirements for pet travel, but they will often direct their complaints to the practice if things go wrong.
Set yourself up for success by ensuring your clients are well-informed from the beginning.
Putting together leaflets or guidelines for clients to read when they ask about pet travel will clarify what is expected from them, the AHC rules and how the process works. Remind clients that travel requirements can change at any time and point them to the right resources for up-to-date guidelines. The aim is to prevent any misinformation and help the client feel prepared.
Our survey revealed that errors with rabies vaccine administration led to complaints in some practices. It is important to clarify the requirements with your vets – especially those without OV qualifications – so that everyone is aware of what is expected.
There needs to be a written record that a pet’s microchip is scanned at the time that a rabies vaccine is administered. The rabies vaccines should not be given off-licence, that is, administered with the L4 or kennel cough vaccines on the same day.
We all know vets are often in back-to-back consults, and rabies vaccines are not given routinely in the UK. To prevent the requirements from slipping their mind during a busy moment, set up helpful reminders that cannot be missed.
This could take the form of a laminated note attached to the rabies vaccine tray. Or you may be able to set alerts on your practice management software when the rabies vaccine is added to the invoice.
Getting the rabies vaccine administration right is key for travel, so minimising errors will save you trouble further down the line.
At certain times in the year practices will receive an influx of AHC requests, and it may feel impossible to meet the demand. If reaching capacity, 33 per cent of respondents said they would refer, outsource or decline AHC appointments. Not only does this turn revenue away from the practice, but it also causes client dissatisfaction.
To tackle this problem, some practices have opted to dedicate extra time for AHC appointments, so they can meet demand at busy times of year.
Another solution is to bring in a peripatetic OV who can assist with your AHC workload. Clients are likely to be happier that the service can be delivered in a timely manner and kept in house. Other practices may also then refer their clients to your peripatetic OV if they are unable to complete AHCs.
As we have demonstrated, AHCs don’t have to be stressful and time-consuming. Assessing what your practice is doing and whether you can implement some of the tips outlined will make a difference in how you approach AHCs. Small changes may be all that is needed to increase efficiency.
Keeping your team happy with the process keeps your clients happy, so that pets can get to their destination without any fuss.
We would love to hear more about your practice process. In return for answering a few short questions, we will deliver a customised report for your practice and free resources including a customisable SOP, reception information summary and FAQ, so staff can feel confident and happy speaking to clients about AHCs. Use the QR code to link to the quiz or visit www.ovform.com
