Veterinary referral partnerships are crucial for providing advanced patient care, and these relationships require that the necessary information flows easily in both directions. When a general practitioner refers a pet patient to your specialty practice, an open line of communication is key to ensure the pet gets the care they need. In addition, the pet owner must be continuously informed so they are aware of their pet’s status and know how to properly care for their pet after discharge. StringSoft understands the critical need for excellent client communication, and our practice management software includes easy-to-use referral and client portals to facilitate referral management.

Veterinary referral portal

Veterinarians refer their patients for many reasons, and an accessible veterinary practice management software (PMS) referral portal makes this process easy and convenient for the referring and the receiving veterinarians. This feature facilitates many tasks, including:

  • Making a referral — The referring veterinarian can use the portal to submit cases electronically.
  • Submitting records — The referring veterinarian can use the portal to submit client and patient information, including client contact details, patient history, clinical signs, lab results, and diagnostic images, and to specify the documentation sequence. Once the client makes an appointment, this information is automatically attached to the patient’s medical record.
  • Reviewing the case — The receiving veterinarian can view the submitted case information prior to the patient’s appointment and request additional information or documents, if needed.
  • Providing an estimate — The receiving veterinarian can use the portal to provide the estimated costs for the referral procedure, which allows the referring veterinarian to inform the pet owner, so he or she is not surprised when they receive the attending veterinarian’s bill.
  • Updating the record — The receiving veterinarian can easily update the patient’s record as their case progresses.
  • Receiving updates — The referring veterinarian can view case details from the web portal, and the veterinary specialist can decide which information is accessible to each referring veterinarian.
  • Maintaining communication — The referring veterinarian can ask questions or convey additional information through the website, and the receiving veterinarian can send messages and updates.
  • Viewing cases — The referring veterinarian can view all of their referred cases on a single screen, and easily receive status updates for each case.
  • Downloading cases — The referring veterinarian can use the portal to download a patient’s entire record as a single pdf file.
  • Viewing referrals — The receiving veterinarian can view all communications from a referring veterinarian on a single screen, and can respond from the portal.
  • Reporting on referrals — The portal helps track referring cases, including year-to-date cases, monetary values, and who is sending referrals.
  • Managing multiple referrals — For patients needing several specialty services, the portal keeps their medical information and documents in one convenient place.
  • Personalizing the site — The website belongs only to the referral practice and can reflect their practice’s image.

Veterinary client portal

a woman sitting on a bed with a cat and a laptop

Good communication with pet owners provides better clinical outcomes, improves client satisfaction, and increases client compliance in response to veterinary recommendations. An easily accessible veterinary PMS client portal helps facilitate veterinary team-pet owner communication, to ensure the pet owner can perform the necessary tasks. Benefits for pet owners include:

  • Viewing appointments — Pet owners can log in to their account through the client portal and view their pet’s upcoming appointments.
  • Requesting appointments — Pet owners can request appointments through the portal, instead of making multiple phone calls or playing phone tag with a busy CSR.
  • Refilling prescriptions — Pet owners can request prescription refills through the portal, and conveniently receive their pet’s medications.
  • Viewing invoices and estimates — Pet owners can use the portal to view past invoices and estimates for upcoming procedures.
  • Making payments — Pet owners can conveniently make payments through the portal.
  • Messaging — Pet owners can ask questions and provide updates on their pet, and veterinary team members can respond through the portal.

General practices and referral hospitals are extremely busy, and communicating clearly and efficiently is necessary to ensure everyone remains informed and the patient is cared for appropriately. Exceptional pet owner communication can also help ensure clients are satisfied and understand the information that is relayed.

Veterinary PMS referral and client portals greatly facilitate referral management and client communication and will improve your team’s ability to provide optimal patient care. If you would like to learn how excellent communication can benefit your practice, and more ways our veterinary software can help, contact StringSoft, and help your practice thrive.