PMS Systems

Re: PMS Systems

Bob Russell — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 09:22:04 GMT

I think that anything 'Ez' should be banned!

I also think the best people to write software probably are a bit OCD.

Still odd that an animal can be 8yrs 12mths old!

Re: PMS Systems

Bob Russell — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 09:19:31 GMT

[quote user="Andrew Henfrey"]

[quote user="Bob Russell"]I still think EzVet Pro is expensive for licence and support but I keep telling myself that everyone has to make a living![/quote]

I think their support cost per site is much better than support cost per machine from other suppliers. The licence does include updates as well, even if some seem just cosmetic. I would rather have a higher cost and a solid system that doesn't crash on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. Life is too short to frequently re-install Windows, etc.

[/quote]

Our support cost is per machine and having tried so many systems over the years I would be very reluctant to change. We have replaced our hardware once in a decade and have had a single hard disc failure in the same period. Not bad considering all the machines we have.

None of the issues have been software related!

Re: PMS Systems

Jo Dyer — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 08:23:48 GMT

We used EZVet (even though the name makes me cringe!) and found it massively cheaper than our previous Space-related system in every way, also intuitive to use and with brilliant support. Yes, the guys are a bit 'different' but I think that's probably what spending your life with computers does to you (or is it a chicken/egg situation?). Anyway, having used many other systems I would put them top of the list, unless things have changed in the couple of years since I last used EZVet.

Re: PMS Systems

karen jones — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 22:19:52 GMT

We have ezoffice too and wouldn't change it , easy to use quite intuitive and any problems sorted quickly even if office staff say they are " a bit up themselves" !!

Re: PMS Systems

Richard Carter — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 18:06:54 GMT

to be honest most of our issues in the last couple of years using Teleos haven't been the PMS but rather trying to attach an elderly Vettest, re-arrange servers and consult computers when Microsoft decided to kill off Windows XP, replacing computers that have died (and you don't need to buy from Teleos - can go to PC world or equivalent). Always find the support staff pretty much on the ball and it is small enough to contact the boss if you think otherwise.

The actual network with various computers adding work seems to work fine and I find it very stable.

Re: PMS Systems

Andrew Henfrey — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 17:24:52 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]I still think EzVet Pro is expensive for licence and support but I keep telling myself that everyone has to make a living![/quote]

Re: PMS Systems

Bob Russell — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 15:27:02 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]The beauty of Teleos is the practice owns the hardware.[/quote]

If it's time for a little thread wandering now....

I appreciate not everyone will wish to write their own software with Filemaker or something, but rather purchase or rent a licence, but why do people want to buy (or rent) all the hardware from the same company in one big package?

Genuine question.

[/quote]

We had hardware from our Jupiter days. Was converted fine by EzVet. When the boxes reached time to meet the knackerman, I bought a cancelled order of very smart looking Dell machines for a fraction of the cost of those supplied by EzVet. They charged a small amount to load the software up and check things over plus it took hours for the computers to update Windows.

We have always owned our machines and it may not please EzVet that much but it has never caused a problem.

I still think EzVet Pro is expensive for licence and support but I keep telling myself that everyone has to make a living!

Re: PMS Systems

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 15:05:17 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]The beauty of Teleos is the practice owns the hardware.[/quote]

If it's time for a little thread wandering now....

Genuine question.

Re: PMS Systems

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:25:00 GMT

The beauty of Teleos is the practice owns the hardware. It's less good for extracting information, but the IT fairies will write little programmes to let you extract most of what you need.

Re: PMS Systems

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:13:43 GMT

[quote user="Yantha Smyth"]perhaps midshires the original?[/quote]

My practice still uses Midshires. Terribly difficult to learn how to use, and crashes all the time. Luckily we're switching to Teleos, and my branch is doing the trial run.

Anything is better than midshires!!!

Re: PMS Systems

Bob Russell — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:09:23 GMT

All the companies are pretty good at trying to sell new hardware. One of our machines had a hard disc failure a couple of weeks outside Dell warranty! New machine suggested but ended up buying a new hard drive for £35 on Amazon.

Amazingly simple to reinstall Windows and a bit of time to set it up ready for EzVet to reinstall. I don't think they mean to be rude, a bit 'academic' perhaps and lacking in social graces.

I would still prefer a system that is almost bomb proof than one that gets fixed quickly!

Re: PMS Systems

Gareth C. — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:50:54 GMT

robovet good system easy to pick up. reliable. our main gripe is every time something goes wrong they try and sell you new hardware. eg server failure recently £7k quote from robovet or in the end about £100 for local computer guy to fix it. to be fair our computers do run on steam though...!

Re: PMS Systems

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 08:54:05 GMT

[quote user="Yantha Smyth"]As a locum I have always found robovet and Jupiter the easiest to pick up and run with. I have had some absolute shockers too, but the names escape me- perhaps midshires the original? With any system the pricing codes are what has caught me out the most. Vaccines may start with anything from vaccination, cat..., first/1st, annual, health, booster, nobivac etc; my most memorable was taking a few minutes to clip the nails of a dog, only to spend three times as long trying to find the charge on the computer! Clip, trim, cut, nails, claws...no....pedicure!

[/quote]

Ah, good old PremVet :)

Re: PMS Systems

Nicola Lawlor — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:39:41 GMT

I used Robovet in my last practice and found it very good. Simple to use, easy to find things, a lot of things can be done with it though you don't have to use all of them to make the system work. We did occasionally have to ring for support but it was generally very quickly forthcoming and they could do things remotely for us in most cases. I wouldn't be unhappy to use the system again. Can't comment on the other systems well enough.

Re: PMS Systems

Yantha Smyth — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 12:12:13 GMT

As a locum I have always found robovet and Jupiter the easiest to pick up and run with. I have had some absolute shockers too, but the names escape me- perhaps midshires the original? With any system the pricing codes are what has caught me out the most. Vaccines may start with anything from vaccination, cat..., first/1st, annual, health, booster, nobivac etc; my most memorable was taking a few minutes to clip the nails of a dog, only to spend three times as long trying to find the charge on the computer! Clip, trim, cut, nails, claws...no....pedicure!

Re: PMS Systems

CatherineThomas — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 09:02:50 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]If you have a few locums or lots of staff, then Robovet is really good. Relatively quick to pick up. My biggest frustration with computer systems is 1) Finding the codes for charging 2) Completing the consult and getting it to reception. Robovet has a simple search function, you may think that catvac1 is a good code for a booster, but can anyone else find it? in this respect Robovet is great and a series of missed charges will add up over time simply because the system is so hard to use. In comparison Rx works is frankly unfathomable when you start to use it. I'm working with Jupiter at the moment which works fine but again trying to guess those codes is really hard and as I joke to clients as I stare at the screen, 'The vetting is the easy bit' Neil

[/quote]

I agree, as a locum it's such a relief when you go into a new practice and find that they have Robovet. I found the Teleos system really tricky to pick up and kept having to ask how to do things whereas it's generally quite obvious with Robovet. But I think the worst one i've had to use was Ventana.

Re: PMS Systems

Neil Wheadon — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:28:42 GMT

If you have a few locums or lots of staff, then Robovet is really good. Relatively quick to pick up. My biggest frustration with computer systems is 1) Finding the codes for charging 2) Completing the consult and getting it to reception. Robovet has a simple search function, you may think that catvac1 is a good code for a booster, but can anyone else find it? in this respect Robovet is great and a series of missed charges will add up over time simply because the system is so hard to use. In comparison Rx works is frankly unfathomable when you start to use it. I'm working with Jupiter at the moment which works fine but again trying to guess those codes is really hard and as I joke to clients as I stare at the screen, 'The vetting is the easy bit' Neil

Re: PMS Systems

John Flynn — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:12:44 GMT

Past experience of EzVet in a small, small animal clinic was decent, reliable, bomb-proof system and probably my favourite of the windows-based systems I'd used (and I found the support efficient and helpful though the support staff considered them arrogant and patronizing - required twice, once for hardware issue when hardrive died and once when a nurse opened an email with a rather nasty virus in it).

(c.f. teleos which regularly crashed)

I have no experience of robovet and no experience of ezvet in a larger clinic scenario that may have been more demanding.

Re: PMS Systems

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 17:30:04 GMT

[quote user="Richard Carter"]

teleos (10 years and not going to change) - they just launched a mobile phone app so you can be connected with the real data on visits.

[/quote]

Just started using Teleos. Marvellous!

Re: PMS Systems

Bob Russell — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 17:11:26 GMT

Ezvetpro very boring but absolutely rock solid. (Almost) never fails. Limited sense of humour so come over as a bit dour!

Quite expensive for support considering it is hardly ever needed!

Unexciting, new upgrade look is not an improvement but having tried many systems in the past, I will stick with it!

Robovet (some time ago) - we often had to phone for help but things were fixed immediately.

Re: PMS Systems

Richard Carter — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 16:20:11 GMT

teleos (10 years and not going to change) - they just launched a mobile phone app so you can be connected with the real data on visits.