Shining a Light on Paper Lite
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April 19, 2022
As we celebrate Earth Day this month, it is a great time to check in on VetCor’s paper lite efforts. Being paper lite at the practice level means taking advantage of existing practice software to replace paper records with electronic ones. That task can seem daunting on paper (pun intended!), but the team behind helping practices transition to paper lite has already helped 16 practices in 2022 alone, and it's only the beginning of the spring!
The benefits are simply astounding:
- Increased efficiency
- Saves time
- More cost effective than paper
- Appealing to prospective employees
- Improved client and staff communication
The paper lite efforts at VetCor have been going strong for nearly two years. A survey in 2021 showed that about 50% of our practices were paper heavy, which means they were using paper charts. The goal is to bring that down to 25% of our practices by the end of 2022. There are currently 14 practices on the schedule to make the switch to paper lite and four making the transition already.
The whole process takes about six weeks and includes weekly calls that cover everything from specific practice software details to how to engage the whole team in the process. “The training calls we had as a team were a great help. It made the process much more manageable by getting ready in steps. It also gave you a support group that was going through the process at the same time.” recalls Maggie Kuhn, HM at Ridgeville Animal Hospital.
The team is headed up by Jennifer Weitzel and she has a group of champions alongside her to make every practice’s transition as smooth as possible. Since each of our practices are unique, these champions help with ongoing support and advice. As Dr. Prada, DVM, COS at Animal Medical Centre of Medina put it, “We still needed to problem solve many things and work to find the way for our practice model. But the calls and seeing their clinic's glossaries helped me start the building blocks of paper light. My hospital manager and I were able to have productive dialogues and begin to grow our database for paper light. It started to become exciting.”
Amy Klotz, RVT, HM at Douds Veterinary Hospital is one of the champions on the paper lite team, “I absolutely love helping other practices with the process and helping them see that it isn’t as scary of a process as what they may be expecting. The beauty of being part of the VetCor team is that there is always someone to help guide you along the way!”
Once a skeptic after practicing with paper records for over a decade, Dr. Prada shares that she, “...can already see the time it will save and the ease of reading through the previous exams. I feel we look more professional and organized.” Maggie also mentions the huge benefit of time savings, “The time being paper lite saves for the front desk staff is amazing. They aren't wasting time pulling files for the day and then having to rush at the end of the day refiling those same files. The front desk staff also has so much more information on patients when they are answering phones because all communication by hospital staff is entered into Avimark. They don't have to hunt down a paper chart or a doctor to get the information they need.”
If you want to learn more about going paper lite at your practice talk to your Regional Manager about getting in touch with Jennifer Weitzel. They will also be able to connect you to others like Dr. Prada, Maggie, and Amy who are happy to share their experiences.
