Running a veterinary office is about much more than simply scheduling appointments and seeing patients. It’s also about keeping enough equipment and inventory on hand to provide the best possible care. Fortunately, when it comes to providing such care, there is some technology that can make things simpler.
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Things You Should Track
Being successful as a veterinarian is about providing great quality care to your patients and their owners. As such, you’ll have to make sure that you have enough inventory and equipment on hand to do the job to the best of your ability. Some of the things you should track include:
- Drugs and medicines;
- Ointment;
- Consumable supplies like gauze and bandages;
- Pet food;
- Medical implements such as scalpels and IV-line equipment;
- Surgical equipment; and
- X-ray and MRI machinery, if applicable.
Without these things in stock or in good working order, it’s all but impossible to provide the right level of care to animals.
Tracking Consumables and Medicines
Consumables and medicines are things that you’ll use regularly and will therefore need to replenish regularly. Rather than physically counting your stock once per week, which can provide a significant margin for human error, consider using QR codes and smartphone technology.
You could place QR codes on shelves where you store your consumables, and each time you receive a new shipment, simply count the addition, scan the code, and update your information. To track outgoing consumables, simply keep track of what you use throughout the day and update it through the software at the end of the day. When it comes time to reorder, all you must do is scan the code to see how much you have on hand and how much you should order. It simplifies things and does away with the need to manually count your supplies each day.
QR Codes for Major Equipment
When it comes to tracking things like IV pumps, x-ray machines, and other major expenses, things are a bit different. After all, you won’t be replacing these as often as consumables, so your orders will be few and far between. However, to maximize the life of that expensive equipment, it’s important to make sure it’s maintained on a schedule.
By affixing QR codes to this equipment, you can get all the information you need with a simple scan. You can learn the value of that equipment, its depreciation rate, and even discover the last time it was inspected or serviced – all in real time. If you need to schedule maintenance or an inspection, things become much simpler. With the touch of a button, you can make sure that you’re getting the most out of your expensive equipment.
Providing the best customer service in a veterinary clinic is about much more than your bedside manner and your expertise. In fact, without the right supplies and equipment, providing quality care is all but impossible. Fortunately, QR codes and smartphones offer up an affordable solution to inventory and equipment management that will serve you well for many years to come.
