Reduce Burnout at the Clinic with AI-Supported Medical Record Keeping

It’s almost seven o’clock; the last pet owner has driven home, and six medical records are still unsigned. Many clinics recognize this scenario, and it reveals where the workload actually falls when there aren’t enough hours in the day. This page explores how AI-assisted medical record documentation can help alleviate some of the exhaustion, how it works in the day-to-day operations of a Swedish clinic, and what the clinic should consider before making a decision.

What causes burnout, and what can be automated

In its article on veterinary burnout, CoVet lists long workdays, emotional exhaustion from difficult cases, compassion fatigue, financial stress, demanding client interactions, staff shortages, and a lack of work-life balance as common causes. CoVet also notes that many veterinarians stay after hours specifically to finish their medical records.

Most of the items on that list are changed by decisions made by the management team. Staffing, scheduling, and how the team discusses difficult cases are not affected by a program. The administrative side is different. Medical records, discharge instructions, and billing are tasks that must be completed but do not require you specifically to sit down and write them in the evening. That is where AI support has a real role to play, and that is also where its impact should reasonably be measured.

How the industry describes the scope of the problem

On its page about veterinarian burnout, CoVet cites the Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study 2022, which reports that over 50% of veterinarians experience high levels of burnout, with younger veterinarians and support staff being the most vulnerable.

In its post on combating burnout with AI-powered writing tools, Scribenote cites the AVMA (JAVMA 2023) for the finding that veterinarians have a 155% higher rate of burnout than the general population, and Cornell University for an estimated annual cost of $2 billion to the industry.

Both sources are from North America, and the figures reflect conditions there. They do not provide specific information about a Swedish clinic, but they offer a frame of reference for management to consider when discussing why staff are leaving.

Early warning signs to discuss at the team meeting

CoVet describes a number of signs that may appear before someone raises a serious concern:

• exhaustion even before the workout has begun, sleep that doesn't feel restful
• cynicism, irritation, and emotional detachment toward patients and pet owners
• clinical details that are overlooked and declining work performance
• avoiding certain tasks, patients, or conversations
• withdrawal from colleagues and reduced cooperation
• decreased job satisfaction and doubts about staying in the profession

CoVet emphasizes that these signs can appear in anyone on the team. Veterinary technicians, receptionists, and clinic managers are just as vulnerable as veterinarians. For more on the connection between workload and recovery, see “From Burnout to Balance: How AI Can Reduce the Workload in the Clinic.”

How Writing Work Disappears in Practice

In the consultation room, you activate Vetz when the conversation with the pet owner begins. Vetz listens to and interprets the conversation in real time, understanding who is saying what and which information is important. The clinic’s own templates are used as a framework, so the draft follows the procedures you already have in place.

Within seconds of the call, a complete draft of the medical record is available, structured according to the clinic’s procedures and using correct medical terminology. You review it, make adjustments manually or with the help of AI, and sign it. You remain in control every step of the way. The steps are described in detail in the guide on how Vetz works in practice, and the basics of the technology can be found in “What Is an AI Scribe?” and on the page about AI medical record-keeping.

The relief doesn't end with the text

What remains as a mental burden at the end of the day is rarely just the text of the medical record itself. Vetz can identify missing information in the notes—such as the patient’s medical history or diagnosis—and suggest differential diagnoses. Reminders for follow-up visits and check-ins are handled within the same workflow.

In addition, Vetz generates personalized discharge instructions directly from the medical record, suggests relevant diagnosis codes based on the notes, and provides billing support based on the medical record’s content, which reduces the risk of missed billing. The discharge instructions are described in more detail on the page about discharge instructions for veterinarians, and an overview of all features is available under Features. How the time savings are distributed throughout the workday is discussed in Save Time with AI as a Veterinarian.

The evening work will only disappear once the draft no longer needs to be moved by hand

A completed draft in a separate window is of no use if someone still has to copy and paste it into the medical record system. Vetz integrates with Provet Cloud, Vettigo, and MHK FileMaker. Your appointments are automatically displayed in Vetz, and the completed medical record is transferred back to the medical record system with the click of a button—without any duplication of effort or manual steps.

Technically, the integration is based on APIs or export and import functions from your current system, and the draft medical record can be automatically transferred to the correct fields. According to Vetz, the transfer is encrypted and GDPR-compliant. This means the clinic does not need to switch medical record systems to get started. If your system is not currently supported, it is possible to build an integration with most systems, and it’s worth asking about this during your initial contact. Learn more about this in “How Vetz Integrates with Your Medical Record System.”

Measure the effect instead of relying on your gut feeling

Set a baseline before you implement anything. Simple metrics that can be tracked:

• number of minutes spent on record-keeping per visit, measured over a typical week
• Number of unsigned medical records at the end of the day
• how much work is done after closing, and by whom
• how many evenings a week someone logs in from home
• the percentage of medical records that are completed retroactively the next day

You can try Vetz for free for 14 days without providing credit card information, which is enough time to compare it to your baseline. The Analytics and Insights feature gives you an overview of workflows, productivity, and usage, and lets you see patterns in real time.

Ask the provider which of your metrics can be tracked directly in Analytics and Insights, and which ones you need to track manually in the medical records system—for example, the number of unsigned medical records at the end of the day.

Implementation is a process of change, not an installation

No download is required. Vetz runs in your web browser and is also available as an app for iPhone and Android. Most computers, cell phones, and tablets work right away, provided the device has a microphone.

Vetz supports more than 10 languages and handles various dialects and accents, which is important in teams where not everyone speaks Swedish as their first language. The system can handle conversations with multiple speakers and also works during video and phone consultations.

A practical way to get started is to have two or three veterinarians use Vetz during the trial period while the rest of the team continues to work as usual. Have the testers report what’s missing from the drafts, adjust the clinic’s medical record templates accordingly, and then expand use to more staff members. Vetz can be customized to fit your routines, templates, and workflows, and you’ll receive assistance with the setup. What to compare when evaluating different tools is discussed in “Choosing an AI Scribe as a Veterinarian.”

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Ask the supplier these questions and request written responses:

• Where is the personal data stored, geographically speaking?
• Which subprocessors are used, and how are you notified of changes?
• How long are audio recordings and transcripts retained, respectively?
• How does the clinic request deletion, and how long does it take?
• How are permissions managed among different roles at the clinic?
• What happens to the medical records if the agreement is terminated?

Information about security is available on the security page, and data protection issues specific to veterinary practice are addressed in “AI and the GDPR for Veterinarians.”

Obtaining the pet owner’s consent is part of the same preparation. Vetz recommends that you inform the pet owner that AI is being used as a support tool in the notes and can provide a ready-made phrase to use during the visit. Decide in advance who will say it and at what point during the visit it will be said, so that everyone on the team does the same.

What AI Doesn't Solve

A euthanasia consultation isn’t made any easier by the fact that the note writes itself. Staffing shortages, unfilled positions, and pet owners who question the cost remain even after the system is implemented. The veterinarian always reviews and signs the record personally, and responsibility for the contents of the medical record does not shift anywhere.

Therefore, medical record support should be combined with organizational efforts. In its article, CoVet proposes flexible scheduling, delegation, and cross-training; regular check-ins where the team can actually see that changes are taking effect; and access to support programs for employees. The time freed up from medical record-keeping is the space where such work can take place, provided the clinic actively decides to allocate it there.

Learn more about Vetz

If you’d like to see what the medical record workflow looks like with your own templates and your medical record system, book a demo. Feel free to bring your figures showing how much medical record work remains after closing time, so you can compare them to what a typical day looks like with Vetz.