Benefits of Expanding Your Veterinary Practice With Mobile Services

Is mobile veterinary care the next step for your practice? Many clinics are taking the wheel on this growing trend and embracing mobile service to increase care access and revenue.

If you’re considering taking your practice on the road, here are some key insights to help you hit the ground running—or rolling—and drive you toward success with a mobile-friendly veterinary software like Shepherd.

Mobile veterinary services can expand your client base

Going mobile is a powerful way to connect with clients, including many you’d never otherwise meet. Bringing veterinary services to a client’s home eliminates many of the most common barriers to care, including time, transportation, patient or client physical limitations, and pet stress. In areas underserved by traditional veterinary clinics, simply having access to veterinary care is a game-changer for many pet parents.

Additionally, providing mobile services strengthens bonds with existing clients by providing a convenient and flexible care option.

Mobile services help diversify veterinary care options

Depending on your business goals and the needs of your community, mobile veterinary care can encompass a wide array of services. Offerings can range from essential preventive and wellness care to more specialized services, such as behavior consultations, physical rehabilitation, geriatric pet care, and end-of-life services. Whether you envision mobile veterinary care as an extension of your existing in-practice services or as a new and expanded offering, it provides flexibility and convenience for your practice and your patients and clients.

Mobile services can be a valuable revenue source for your practice

In addition to generating its own revenue, mobile veterinary services drive referrals back to your practice for on-site diagnostics, imaging, procedures, and care. You can price mobile visits to include travel or convenience fees that help offset costs like gas and vehicle maintenance. Mobile operations typically have low overhead costs, with limited space and equipment requirements, plus minimal staffing needs, allowing your practice to retain a larger portion of the revenue it generates while increasing efficiency and profitability.

Mobile services provide flexibility for your veterinary team

Offering mobile veterinary services can be an asset to your practice culture. Mobile care allows veterinarians and team members to step outside the clinic, providing them with a refreshing change of scenery and the opportunity to serve pets directly in their communities. Such variety can help prevent burnout and foster a stronger sense of purpose. Additionally, mobile services offer flexibility, allowing staff to create schedules that better accommodate personal needs or preferences, helping to support a healthier work-life balance and increasing job satisfaction.

Always connected: Go anywhere with cloud-based veterinary software

Staying connected to your brick-and-mortar practice is critical to providing a smooth mobile veterinary experience. Cloud-based platforms such as Shepherd are an ideal software solution for mobile veterinary practices due to their flexibility and versatility.

• Efficiently manage your schedule — Real-time updates and cloud-based syncing ensure you’ll never miss a last-minute add-on, cancellation, or change to your daily itinerary, helping your mobile team save time. 
• Take notes on the go — Cloud-based veterinary software ensures your field notes don’t stay in the field. Enter your SOAP notes and client communications from virtually anywhere and have them sync across all devices—including at your clinic—for greater accuracy and continuity of care.
• View any patient’s entire chart — Easy access to patient records is key to appointment preparation and workflow, helping the mobile team stay focused on patient care, not a screen or stack of papers.
• Stay in touch with clients — Automated client communications, including text, email, and online pet portal reminders, ensure pet parents know when to expect your mobile team. You can also add any specific preparation instructions (e.g., gathering their pet, setting up an area for the exam or treatment).
• Accept payment effortlessly — Built-in mobile payment processing makes it easy to receive payment at the time of service. Automated charge capture within the software ensures nothing is accidentally left off the final invoice.
• Manage inventory — Cloud-based software with inventory tracking ensures each syringe, medication, and can of pet food dispensed in the field is logged and accounted for, simplifying your ordering process and helping the mobile team stay well stocked.

Green means grow: Shepherd’s multi-location feature

The stress and hassle of managing multiple practice locations is a common hesitation when adding mobile services. Shepherd’s multi-location feature gives practice owners and managers the confidence they need to take the next move and scale their clinic for growth. As one of the only veterinary software programs that offer multi-location admin access with one login, Shepherd makes it easy to compare data across locations,  minimize redundant workflows, and ensure consistent settings and shared functions at each location. 

The road to mobile veterinary success starts with Shepherd

If the open road is calling, make sure you have the best veterinary software riding shotgun. Adding mobile services to your existing practice can help you and your team deliver more care to more animals in need. You’ll also enjoy the financial benefits of a high-demand, low-overhead revenue opportunity. With a detailed roadmap (business plan) and the right tools, a successful mobile service can put your practice in the express lane to long-term success. 

Ready to grow? So are we. Choose the veterinarian-designed practice management software that’s always evolving to meet your needs. Schedule your demo of Shepherd today and learn more about our multi-location management feature.