Practice management systems

RE: Practice management systems

J G Wray — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:47:33 GMT

[quote user="Edward Jones"]I believe this is an issue that needs consideration under the current regulations, but I can't say I know what is changing in this regard.[/quote]

Give the ICO a call, check out their website info, look at the Webinar.

On another note, user groups for the PMS have come and gone last century. There used to be one on Yahoogroups

RE: Practice management systems

Edward Jones — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:44:29 GMT

[quote user="J G Wray"]problems of securing data where the PMS is cloud based[/quote]

I believe this is an issue that needs consideration under the current regulations, but I can't say I know what is changing in this regard.

RE: Practice management systems

J G Wray — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 06:53:40 GMT

Addendum to previous- this should also include cloud storage for data and system backup

RE: Practice management systems

J G Wray — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:18:29 GMT

Interesting piece in the VPMA GDPR webinar on the problems of securing data where the PMS is cloud based, particularly if any information is held on a server outside the European economic area - beware!

RE: Practice management systems

carina palmer — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 19:58:16 GMT

Thanks for everyones input.Since starting this topic I have received a letter from Henry Schein (vet solutions) informing me that they will no longer give any support whatsoever for Ventana as of 31st of March 2018.What are all the other practices out there still using Ventana going to do?

Teleos seems to be the most popular system reported from private practitioners on this forum.I notice both directors of this company are more mature gentleman,should I worry about what will happen when they retire?

Anyone out there got any negatives about the teleos system?

RE: Practice management systems

Lindsey Edwards — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 18:25:43 GMT

vetscope is very intuitive and thorough but as a start up I went with new leaf vet - a bit clumsy but cheap, they adapted where required. after initial 12 months, optional servide contract or pay-per-fix

RE: Practice management systems

Anthony Todd — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 15:53:52 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]Clientrax, american but fine, cheap and one of the most highly rated US systems.[/quote]

I have been advised that Clientrax is only available now direct from the US developer:

http://www.clientraxtechnology.com/download-demo.html

RE: Practice management systems

Bob Russell — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 11:42:56 GMT

I did not realise that Merlin even existed! It looks as if it is linked to Centaur's owner.

A previous system via Centaur, 'Centurion' nearly broke the practice many, many years ago. We just stopped making money because it would not let us! The system was so complicated and clumsy that nobody could use it.

The system was pulled shortly after we gave up after three months.

Hopefully the new system is not based in any way on the old one!

RE: Practice management systems

Edward Jones — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 08:55:47 GMT

As a slight aside from the main topic - is there any interest in PMS user groups, one devoted to each system? Not only to share user tips, but maybe also to have get more weight behind bug reports and feature requests - it's not uncommon for PMS providers to be pretty lethargic in responding to individual requests and reports...

I have thought of starting one myself for our own, but may be vetsurgeon.org would be a better hub

RE: Practice management systems

nikki — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 23:24:00 GMT

Just don't go with Merlin whatever you do. This was our upgrade from previous jupiter system and it's cloud based and absolutely awful!

RE: Practice management systems

Anthony Todd — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 16:32:57 GMT

Recurrent theme...

Most of them are like wives; you learn to live with them, the key word is "learn".

We had Clientrax, american but fine, cheap and one of the most highly rated US systems.

You could do all your edits and upgrades instantly, yourself, and free...

I could never understand why people took the risk, cost and aggro of migrating data. You just need another PC, and any old screen, for the occasional need to refer back.

Best at reception so the receptionist can transfer relevant data if still relevant, which was much less often than you'd think. [also means you now have the current phone number and address for the puppy last seen 6 years ago!!]

Support is usually a ripoff; always have a live spare system with backup daily or hourly internally and externally.

PS We never favoured the linking of 8 branches. Sounds great in theory but actually need for records doesn't happen that often; you can attach notes to an email very easily and, at least, only one branch goes down at a time!!

The main thing with any form of data is that it must always be available, however slowly, and what's a nanosecond compared to a coffee break?

PPS Supply your own hardware!! Change over is 20 minutes; they're only plug and play.

RE: Practice management systems

Bob Russell — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:48:03 GMT

We have tried a number and stick with EzVetPro. Boring but rock solid.

It is getting pricey with licence and support fees but I suspect this may be unavoidable as the choice of systems widens. They have to make a living!

RE: Practice management systems

Edward Jones — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 10:20:45 GMT

I've been using Animana for the last 12 months. It suited us as a start-up due to the way it's priced, and we were given our login for free 2 months before opening so we had plenty of time to get the initial set up done.

It does most things okay, but there are several silly quirks which make it awkward to use at times.

Initially I was leery of a cloud-based system because of its dependency on the stability of the broadband connection. But having seen the instability of previous practices' internal networks and the dedicate server, I think the availability of a cloud based system is better. And it doesn't need any investment in server hardware.

RE: Practice management systems

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 09:31:35 GMT

I'd second the Black Dog, with Dr Robert Badderly, it's very straight forward for all staff to use, has all the bells and whistles you could want, and the customer service is excellent.

RE: Practice management systems

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 09:27:46 GMT

I used Teleos for 13 years and thought it was the bee's knees. It certainly was very good. However, have recently had to change to Robovet. It is a bit less 'user friendly' but, having had it nearly 6 months, I do think it has the edge. The functionality is very good and although the screens initially all seem very complicated, you can do multiple tasks with fewer commands. Just takes a bit of getting used to.

RE: Practice management systems

Dinu Catilina — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 01:06:57 GMT

[quote user="carina palmer"] have you worked with Assisi at all?[/quote]

I am. It is easy to use and very intuitive. I don't like it as it has a few glitches. Freezes at times, closes down when Open office documents are open, like a consent form, and it's very annoying to log in again, search for the client and open the file. One computer freezes occasionally, I don't understand why as they are all networked together.

Their list of breeds is the worst I ever seen and a child would have done a better job. Not intuitive, breeds missing and has fictional breeds on it. Like 6 different types of Bull Terrier. Which you can't find under Bull Terrier because they are "Terrier-Bull". Won't allow you to add breeds, I've seen upset customers because of it. Mixbreed is "Mongrel" lol, funny for me but not so funny for some owners.

RE: Practice management systems

carina palmer — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 23:07:08 GMT

Hi Richard.I'm glad to hear you are still happy with teleos after 17 years.Do you feel the system is still evolving to cope with some newer requirements that we perhaps didn't expect or want 10 years ago? I am all for something tried and tested but some of the older sytems don't appear to cope with the newer requirements that we are told we should have now.

RE: Practice management systems

carina palmer — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:54:16 GMT

Hi Clive,Thanks for your input.As a locum you probably have more experience of a variety of systems in their day to day running than most.If my practice was to continue running as it is and there was still appropriate back up for Ventana I would not change.However I understand the system will basically be illegal next year.The replacement Vet Solutions are peddling is not a route I want to take.We are a small, non corporate practice,looking for a straight forward solution for a PMS.If you can give me any more info on your experience of more up to date systems I would be grateful, have you worked with Assisi at all?

Thanks

RE: Practice management systems

ola jankowska — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 21:15:36 GMT

Black Dog. Created by Dr Robert Baddely. Great , cost effective and user friendly software based o Word.

RE: Practice management systems

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 18:41:01 GMT

We've had Teleos for 3 years, and have just switched over to Jupiter with being an IVC practice. I liked Teleos, easy to use as a clinician and easy to navigate.

Jupiter seems ok, only been using it for a couple of weeks but so far fairly straightforward. Only issue is replication - we're a multiple branch practice and sometimes notes from other branches can take up to 24 hours to be seen at other branches.

RE: Practice management systems

Clive Ansell — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 18:38:30 GMT

I work across many different practices, and prefer Teleos with Jupiter running a close second.

Teleos seems easy to use, and it seems reliable from a clinicians viewpoint. I don't how it stands up as a management and analysis tool though, (given I'm just a locum)?

One of my regular practices had Robovet across 2 branches, but had endless problems with it syncing recors. Now been ditched for Teleos and much better.

RE: Practice management systems

rhmrcvs — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 18:26:06 GMT

Vet it, a cloud based system. So far so good. Have ventana a few years then robovet. Costs were becoming crazy , adding users , new server etc also sadly great service initially then went downhill.

RE: Practice management systems

Richard Carter — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 18:04:12 GMT

been on teleos 17 years and no change required