Veterinary Practice Management Software: Features, Requirements, and Checklist for Selecting or Switching Systems

A medical record system for veterinary practices needs to support both clinical record-keeping and the clinic’s daily workflows. It should be possible to find the right patient information, write and review medical notes, track previous visits, and share information among different roles at the clinic.

The selection should therefore not be based solely on a list of features. The clinic also needs to test how the system performs during a typical workday, what integrations are available, and how the vendor handles data protection and information security.

What role does the medical record system play at a veterinary clinic?

The medical records system collects the information needed to track a patient over time. This includes, for example, patient and pet owner information, notes from consultations, past medical history, and scheduled follow-ups.

At the same time, the system affects more aspects of the operation than just the actual writing of medical records:

Patient Overview: The team needs to be able to find current information and relevant history without unnecessary search steps.
Medical Record Keeping: The veterinarian must be able to write, review, and finalize medical records related to the consultation.
Follow-up: The system should make it possible to see what has been done and what next steps have been planned.
Teamwork: Authorized employees need to be able to work with the right information based on their roles and responsibilities.
Patient and appointment workflows: Appointments, check-in, consultations, and follow-up must be integrated in a way that fits the clinic’s workflow.
Administrative Overview: Clinic management may need reports and supporting documentation to monitor the organization's processes.

How well these components work together is often more important than how many features the system has on paper.

Basic functions to evaluate

The clinic should develop its own list of requirements before comparing different medical record systems. The list can be divided into requirements that are essential from the start and features that are desirable but not essential.

Medical Record Templates and Medical Record Writing

Determine whether the system's medical record templates can be customized to fit the clinic's most common types of consultations. Try the following, among other things:

How to Create a New Medical Record Entry
whether templates can be customized for different workflows
How to Save and Resume Drafts
how the note is reviewed and finalized
if it is clearly stated who wrote or edited the content
how corrections and additions are handled

Templates should help veterinarians work consistently without making medical records unnecessarily rigid or generic.

Searchable Patient History

Test how quickly the user can find previous medical records and other relevant patient information. The search functionality must be evaluated using real patient cases and longer medical histories, not just the vendor’s demonstration data.

Questions to ask include:

What types of data can be searched?
Is it possible to filter or sort the history?
Is it easy to distinguish between different types of notes and events?
How is a comprehensive medical history presented?

Permissions and Access

Different roles at the clinic may require different levels of access. Ask the vendor to demonstrate how permissions are created, modified, and revoked.

Be sure to check the following in particular:

whether permissions can be controlled based on role
how new users are added
how access is revoked when someone leaves
whether access and changes can be tracked
How administrator permissions are managed

Reporting and Administrative Overview

Determine which reports the clinic actually uses or needs. Then ask the vendor to demonstrate these during a demo.

Determine whether the reports can be filtered, exported, and understood without extensive manual processing. Also, verify which users are allowed to create or view reports.

Appointment and Patient Workflows

Track an entire workflow from booking to the end of the visit. This may include registration, arrival, consultation, medical record entry, review, and follow-up.

Document every instance in which staff need to:

enter the same information more than once
switch between multiple systems
copy and paste text
search for information in separate views
submit a workflow to perform an administrative task

Export and Access to Clinic Data

The ability to export data is important both for day-to-day operations and in preparation for a future system change. Please request written responses to:

what data can be exported
in what formats the data is exported
whether attachments and history are included
how the structure of the information is preserved
Who can initiate an export
how long a full export takes
if the export involves any cost

Test usability using a real medical record workflow

A general product demonstration provides limited insight into how the system works during a typical day at the clinic. Instead, ask the vendor to run through a scenario that reflects the clinic’s actual workflow.

The test can follow these steps:

Open the correct patient and appointment.
Gather relevant background information.
Create a new medical record entry.
Use an appropriate journal template.
Add or edit the content.
Verify the information against the patient's medical history.
Review and finalize the medical record entry.
Schedule or record a follow-up.
Find the completed note from another authorized user's view.

Don't just count the number of clicks. Also note interruptions, system switches, duplicate entries, and instances where the user has to recall information instead of having it visible.

Feel free to have veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and administrative staff test the features that pertain to their own job duties. A system can be perceived differently depending on one’s role and workflow.

AI-Based Dictation and Medical Record Generation as a Complement

AI-based consultation transcription and the generation of medical records can be used to complement an existing medical record system. The idea is not to shift clinical responsibility away from the veterinarian, but rather to provide a draft that the veterinarian reviews and takes responsibility for before the content is entered into the medical record system.

One possible workflow is:

The consultation is transcribed using an AI-based tool.
The tool generates a draft medical record entry.
The veterinarian checks the draft against the consultation notes and the patient's information.
Errors, ambiguities, and irrelevant content are corrected or removed.
The veterinarian approves the final medical record entry.
The note is transferred to the medical records system according to the integration or procedure used by the clinic.

Review is a key part of the workflow. AI-generated text should not be treated as a final medical record entry without the veterinarian’s review.

Vetz.ai provides AI-based consultation transcription and medical record note generation for veterinary clinics. An introduction to how the service works can be found in “What is an AI Scribe?”, while the product’s features are described on the Vetz Features page.

For further reading on how AI can be used in medical record-keeping, see the article “Save Time with AI for Veterinarians.” Any potential time savings must be assessed within the clinic’s own workflows and should not be assumed without a practical test.

Integration Issues to Verify Before Purchase

The fact that two products are described as integrated does not in itself indicate how much manual work is eliminated. The clinic needs to have the integration workflow demonstrated and documented.

Ask each supplier:

Which medical record systems are currently supported?
Does the support apply to the version and configuration used by the clinic?
What types of information can be transmitted?
In which direction does the information flow?
Can information be re-entered into the medical records system?
Where does a transferred draft medical record end up?
Does any step require copying and pasting?
Does the user have to select a patient or appointment again?
How do you ensure that the information is assigned to the correct patient?
What happens if the transfer fails?
How are errors or interrupted transfers indicated?
Which parts of the workflow are still done manually?
Who is responsible for support when the systems of two vendors are involved?

Ask the vendor to demonstrate the workflow from a completed consultation to a finished, reviewed medical record entry in the correct patient record. Document which steps occur automatically and which require an active decision by the user.

Vetz provides a separate description of the integration between Vetz and medical record systems. The supported medical record systems, transfer methods, and data reversal options must be verified directly against current product information before purchase.

Vetz currently offers integrations with Provet Cloud, Vettigo, and MHK. In all cases, a reviewed medical record entry can be saved back to the patient’s medical record, so the veterinarian does not need to copy the text manually. Which versions and configurations are supported, and which steps still require an active choice by the user, must be verified against current product information before purchase.

Data Protection and Information Security

The clinic should request documented responses regarding how patient, pet owner, and user data are handled. Verbal explanations provided during a demonstration are not sufficient as a basis for assessing data protection and information security.

Personal Information and Liability

Ask the supplier to explain:

what personal data is processed
the purposes for which the data is used
the roles of the clinic and the provider in the treatment
if subcontractors are used
in which countries data is processed or stored
how long different types of data are retained
how data is deleted or returned when the agreement ends

Data Processor Agreement

Ensure that the clinic is given the opportunity to review a data processing agreement before signing it. The agreement must reflect the actual data flow and the subcontractors used.

Also ask how the provider notifies you of changes in the processing, such as when a new subcontractor is added.

Access Control

The supplier should be able to describe how access is restricted and monitored. Questions to be answered include:

How are users authenticated?
Can access be controlled based on role?
How are administrator accounts managed?
Are access and changes logged?
How long are logs stored?
How do you revoke access for former employees?
What level of access do the provider's own employees have?

Storage and Technical Protection

Request documentation that describes:

where data is stored
how data is protected during storage and transmission
how backups and restores are handled
how vulnerabilities and security updates are handled
how incidents are detected, handled, and reported
how the clinic can access its information in the event of operational disruptions or when the contract is terminated

AI and the Use of Data

If the system uses AI, the clinic also needs to ask:

if the clinic's data is used to train or improve models
if such use can be opted out of
which subcontractors or model providers are granted access to the data
how audio recordings, transcriptions, and generated journal drafts are stored and deleted
how long intermediate materials remain
how the provider prevents information from being linked to the wrong patient

See also “AI and the GDPR for Veterinarians” as a basis for discussions with vendors. The clinic’s own assessment must be based on the specific service, the agreements, and the actual data flow.

Vetz describes its security procedures on the security page. Among other things, it states that a data processing agreement is available to all customers, that data is stored on servers within the EU, that data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, that each clinic’s data is kept separate, and that system activity is logged. A clinic conducting a vendor audit should request this documentation in writing and verify it against the actual data flow in its own operations.

Checklist for Changing Medical Record Systems

1. Map current processes and data

Describe how the process works today, from booking to the completed medical record and follow-up. Identify which systems, manual lists, templates, and integrations are used.

Also survey:

what types of data are available
how far back the history goes
which attachments and formats are used
which reports the business needs
where duplicate entries occur
what dependencies exist with other systems

2. Define and prioritize requirements

Break down the requirements into, for example:

mandatory requirements
important but not essential requirements
suggestions for future development

Include requirements for record-keeping, workflows, access permissions, export, integrations, support, data protection, and information security. Also specify how each requirement is to be verified.

3. Conduct a demo using real-world workflows

Provide the vendor with specific scenarios in advance. Ask to see the entire workflow rather than a presentation of selected features.

Involve multiple professional roles and document the process:

number of manual transfers
duplicate registration
switches between systems
wait times or interruptions
concepts that are difficult to understand
functions that require local contingency procedures

4. Plan the migration

Determine what information should be transferred, how its quality should be ensured, and how the clinic should verify the results.

The plan should include:

test migration
Verification of patient connections and history
handling of attachments
Division of responsibilities between the clinic and the provider
contingency plan in case of problems
access to the previous system
transition date

5. Plan training and local procedures

Training should be based on the actual work performed by each professional role. Develop local guidelines for standard workflows, access management, error handling, and contingency procedures.

Appoint individuals who can collect questions and report issues during the implementation. Also, ensure that there is a clear path to the vendor's support.

6. Follow up after launch

Conduct a structured follow-up after implementation. Compare the results with the requirements and workflows that were documented prior to the change.

For example, follow up on:

whether the medical record workflow is functioning as intended
which manual steps remain
whether users can find the right information
whether the permissions are set correctly
whether the integrations are running smoothly
whether reports and exports provide the correct data
what training needs remain

Questions to Bring to the Supplier Meeting

Can you show the complete workflow from consultation to a reviewed medical record entry?
Which steps require manual entry, copying, or a system change?
Which medical record systems and versions do you currently support?
Can information be overwritten, and where does it end up in the medical records system?
How does the clinic export all of its data?
How is user access managed and monitored?
Where is the data processed and stored?
Which subcontractors are used?
How is data handled when the agreement ends?
What does the migration, training, and support plan look like?

If the clinic would like to see how AI-based consultation transcription and medical record generation work in a real-world workflow, it can schedule a demo of Vetz.