10 ways to save time with technology

Too many team members work overtime, but they don't have to. The solution? Technology. Of course, the uses for technology are endless, so where do you begin? Start by creating a list of the 10 tasks at your practice that suck up the most time. Then examine each of these items to identify the aspects that could be completed by technology such as your practice management software, e-mail, and text messages.

The team at Seaside Animal Care in Calabash, N.C., created its own top 10 list. Gina Toman, a veterinary assistant and the staff training coordinator at the practice, said she and her team members have saved hundreds of dollars and even more time by converting these items to technology. Check our their top 10 time-busters list below.

1. Callbacks for patient follow ups

2. Boarder check-in

3. Drop-off patient history

4. Callbacks for procedure estimates

5. Lab work updates

6. Patient status updates (Toman said that mid-day and evening updates ranked higher than morning updates.)

7. Client and patient registration

8. Appointment reminders

9. Postcard reminders (Even though this is near the end of the list, Toman said converting postcards to e-mail reminders was the first conversion she and her team tackled. Why? Simply because it was the easiest.)

10. Prescription refills and phone-in product orders (Toman and her team came up with the ultimate solution for this time buster: They started an online store just for their clinic.)