Veterinary Intranets: Improve Your Bottom Line With A Cloud Intranet

Like most industries, veterinary clinics are increasingly relying on technology to get the daily job done. And in an industry that is also more business-focused than ever, getting the daily job done in a cost-effective way is very much a key consideration. Cloud intranets offer veterinary clinics the possibility of more effective and efficient practice management plus a significant return on investment. Carry on reading to find out how an intranet could help your veterinary practice.

What Is An Intranet?

Instead of being customer facing, an intranet is an internal website that can only be accessed by staff or authorized personnel. Cloud intranets are hosted by specialized providers and include a number of pre-built features and tools that can be customized to meet the requirements of your practice. They are, therefore, easy to setup and manage so that even a relative novice can have a professional and fully functional intranet up and running in a matter of hours. This is a distinct advantage for vets that may not be particularly technology minded and that would prefer to spend their time treating pets and animals.

And the template nature of the cloud intranet means that the technology is tried and tested – there will already be a great many vet clinics as well as a wide range of other businesses using the software. And so you can have complete confidence in the intranet’s fitness for purpose and functionality.

The exact features will vary from business to business but many veterinary practices have found the following tools particularly helpful:

• Document and file storage and management
• Practice calendar
• News feeds
• Staff directory with specialisms and areas of expertise
• Embedded iframes and widgets
• Quizzes and surveys
• Automated paper-based processes using fully customizable drag and drop business forms
• Social features such as activity walls and ‘follow me’.

So now that we have a common understanding of what a cloud intranet is and how it works, let’s look in detail at what a difference it can make to your veterinary practice.

Improved Communications

The days of sole veterinary practices are numbered. More often than not veterinary clinics nowadays consist of multiple partners and support personnel, often across a number of different locations. Keeping everyone in the loop and engaged is a challenge. A cloud intranet, however, can change all that.

The news feed on the cloud intranet is a great vehicle for delivering important messages and updates. Visible to all staff on logging in, it means that the same timely message is being delivered to everyone. No longer will you need to get team members together in a practice meeting or send out those all-staff-type emails to keep everyone updated on key veterinary practice or industry news. What’s more, the intranet’s search function and intuitive navigation mean that staff members will be able to easily find that update from last month that they need to double check. What’s more, news pages can be set up at the team level or for practices in different locations.

The cloud intranet also comes with a number of social features that can be utilized to improve communication. These include user profiles, follow me and individual or site activity walls.  These social features can help to connect employees – especially staff members that work in different locations – and are an all-round aid to communication.

More Efficient Practice Administration

Managing the practice more efficiently and effectively is of course a key objective for all clinics and once again the intranet will be of assistance.

Business processes can be automated on the cloud intranet using easily customizable, drag and drop forms or by utilizing Google Forms from the embedded Google Apps suite. Such automated processes eliminate the need for paper- or email-based systems. And so a staff member that is looking to book some annual leave can simply complete an online form which is automatically routed by the intranet to the manager for authorization. Likewise, ordering new stationery, supplies of drugs, rostering for staff members or making appointments become much faster and more streamlined processes.  Not only is this a great time saver, it will also help your practice to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Better Knowledge Management

Keeping staff on top of changes in veterinary practice as well as government regulations is an important aspect of operating your practice. The cloud intranet is the perfect central hub for managing all the knowledge the practice needs to have at the fingertips of staff. So the latest guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, is located on the intranet’s knowledge management database alongside internal protocols around animal desexing. So rather than the likely multiple databases, filing systems or libraries that currently exist in your practice, staff members will only have one central source to refer to.  What’s more, staff can be confident that the very latest information is on the intranet.

Furthermore, those websites that staff members might need to refer to on a regular basis – such as the FDA’s animal drug approvals information or a link to the Veterinary Practice News website can be embedded in the intranet via a widget or iframe for easy access.

And when it comes to sharing expertise within the practice the cloud intranet is a great facilitator. The intranet’s staff directory can include a biography or short summary of expertise and skills for employees. This means that using a self-service approach, staff can contact colleagues with particular knowledge for advice and support on a problematic case.

Veterinary Intranets – Cost-Effective Solutions

A cloud intranet is a very cost-effective solution which means that you will soon be enjoying a significant return on your investment. For a modest monthly fee you will receive unlimited data storage and an unlimited number of users. There are no hidden extras, thus providing you with greater cost certainty.

Add to this the dependability and reliability of cloud intranets – typically 99.9% uptime – as well as the guaranteed latest security features and you begin to see the multiple advantages that cloud intranets offer.

If you’re after a technological solution that will enhance the efficiency and productivity of your veterinary practice then get in touch with us at MyHub. Book a demonstration or take advantage of our free 14-day trial today.