Client Education That Doesn’t Slow You Down

Improving efficiency has become a defining focus for veterinary practices in 2026. 

Against staffing challenges, changing client expectations, and the current economic climate, practices are understandably looking for ways to streamline operations, reduce staff pressure, and protect both time and revenue without compromising patient care. 

Or, as the AVMA recently wrote, “Removing bottlenecks will result in greater efficiency and increase gross revenue.” Yet even as practices adopt new tools to support efficiency, a common challenge remains.

Efficiency often breaks down because individual tools operate in isolation.

Two systems, for example, may each improve workflow on their own. Yet if they require manual or cumbersome steps to connect, whether switching between platforms, re-entering information, or bridging process gaps, small inefficiencies accumulate. Day by day, they create friction and obstacles that slow teams down.

True efficiency emerges when obstacles disappear. When systems are designed to work as one (rather than alongside each other), a more seamless workflow emerges, where processes support each other in ways that feel easier and more intuitive for practices and help support team well-being.

Or, as a recent JAVMA study notes in relation to several things already mentioned, optimizing efficiency helps practices “meet demands for their services without necessarily needing to hire more staff,” which can translate to “higher revenues and profits and greater employee engagement and well-being.”

In practical terms, this often comes down to how well systems integrate to function as a cohesive whole.

SOAP notes software and client education are a good example

The field of veterinary medicine is currently witnessing a“pivotal transformation,” write Dr. Aaron Smiley and Dr. Jason Szumski in a recent wrote for Trends, and “at the heart of this revolution is the strategic implementation of AI technologies to improve medical documentation processes, particularly through the crafting of detailed SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) notes,” which isn’t surprising. 

Against the greater need for efficiency, “this innovation,” write the authors, “has led to a significant enhancement in the efficiency of communication between veterinarians and pet owners, streamlining the exchange of crucial health information and facilitating better care outcomes for pets.”

Linked to the subject of “better care outcomes,” practices also understand the importance of pet health education information to accomplish three main things:

• Reinforce the overall value of veterinary care, which helps propel appointments.
• Clarify the “why” behind specific veterinary recommendations and treatments.
• Empower clients with the knowledge and understanding they need to follow through.

Clients want pet health information.

For example, Today’s Veterinary Business recently noted that 80% of dog owners “preferred getting preventive health information directly from their veterinarian over any source,” commonly in a shareable format because pet care at home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. 

Many clients also need to be able to share information with relatives who were not at the appointment.

To this end, there are certainly different client education resources available, just as there are different SOAP note options. But when client education lives outside your SOAP note software, workflow friction and inefficiencies can creep in.

A veterinarian may finish an appointment, for example, complete their SOAP notes, and know it would be helpful to send a client home with clear information. However, if the veterinarian must step outside the software to get information to attach to discharge instructions or other client communications, the following happens:

• The separate search process slows things down.
• Separate processes present the risk of important information being missed.
• Clients may not get all the information they need to follow through.

Moreover, if clients don’t get the information they need, they may have to call back for clarification (which affects front desk staff) or search online, where quality and accuracy can vary.

What begins as a minor workflow inefficiency can ripple outward, affecting both client experience and patient outcomes.

None of this reflects a lack of commitment.

It reflects the realities of competing demands in the practice environment.

What integrated efficiency looks like

When simplified SOAP notes are integrated with trusted client education, providing clients with pet health information becomes an efficient part of the clinical process, rather than a variable depending on time, friction, and memory.

• Documentation and client education are connected at the point of care.
• Relevant materials are surfaced automatically or with minimal effort.
• Discharge instructions and supporting resources are aligned and consistent.

From concept to practice: a point of reference for evaluation

Given the importance of efficiency, careful evaluation is essential when considering integrated SOAP notes and client education systems, as not all solutions deliver true point-of-care integration.

As a reference point for evaluation, here’s what the Shepherd SOAP notes integration looks like in practice, using the client education resource ClientEd by Shepherd’s partner, LifeLearn.

As a cloud-based system, Shepherd centers its approach on intuitive SOAP medical records that align closely with how veterinary teams already work, meaning documentation, decision-making, and communication happen in a more connected flow.

At the documentation level, Shepherd is designed to simplify and accelerate SOAP notes. With tools like TranscribeAI, notes can be generated automatically within the system. This keeps clinical flow intact by eliminating the need for dictation tools, copy-and-paste workflows, or third-party platforms.

Additional tools like DiagnoseAI support clinical decision-making. Trained on real clinical cases, DiagnoseAI can provide evidence-backed treatment suggestions directly within the workflow, rather than stepping outside the system to validate options.

Such capabilities are part of a broader system to reduce repetition and time interruptions.

Information entered once (whether related to a diagnosis, treatment, or medication) can carry forward automatically into invoices, discharge instructions, dosage calculations, and future reminders. Tasks such as follow-up calls or room turnover can also be triggered automatically to help ensure consistency without manual tracking.

Within the SOAP workflow, this creates a more connected experience. Completing a SOAP note doesn’t just finalize documentation. It can simultaneously update the medical record, generate an invoice, and prepare discharge instructions.

On its own, all this supports improved practice efficiency. 

Yet within the context of patient health and client education that doesn’t slow you down, the integration of ClientEd as part of the Shepherd SOAP notes workflow makes it simple to clarify the “why” behind recommendations and treatments and empower clients to follow through.

For example, if a patient is diagnosed with heartworm disease, a veterinarian doesn’t need to step outside the system to include a relevant client education handout. A veterinarian can move directly into discharge instructions that include a veterinary-approved resource that explains the condition in clear, accessible language to support recommendations and follow-through.

If automation isn’t set up to include relevant client education for a particular case, a veterinarian can use the “Import ClientEd Article” function to search for and add content from the ClientEd library. Containing more than 2,100 DVM-approved articles (including 600+ medication and supplement handouts), the ClientEd library covers a wide range of topics and species.

 Handouts can be customized to reflect your practice, and the library is updated monthly by a team of veterinarians, editorial experts, and biomedical communicators.

Integration that extends beyond documentation

Once discharge instructions and supporting client education are in place, they can be delivered through multiple channels without additional steps. 

• Information can be printed alongside invoices and handed to clients directly.
• Information can be sent via text, with client education accessible as a link.
• Everything can be emailed together as a single client communication.

Taken together, AI-supported documentation, workflow automation, integrated client education, and flexible communications create a more cohesive system and experience for both veterinary teams and clients. 

The small, disconnected steps that typically slow things down are reduced or removed and replaced with a system that supports consistency and efficiency.

Optimal efficiency doesn’t happen in silos.

Whatever efficiency systems you choose to evaluate, well-functioning practices don’t involve team members working in silos. Team members support each other. They communicate clearly, and they’re connected, all in alignment with optimal patient care, naturally, but also in support of a healthy workplace.

SOAP notes and client education systems, or any efficiency solution, should be evaluated against the same dynamic.

Some efficiency solutions can certainly look right on the surface, but when they’re disconnected, don’t fully serve workflows, and require costly adjustments down the line, they can cause disruption, and given the current landscape, practices can use far less disruption.

When systems are fully integrated and working more like team members, workflows feel more stable. Communications become more consistent, and the day-to-day runs smoother, and in today’s environment, smoother and stable count for a lot.

To see the Shepherd SOAP notes system in action, schedule a demo with Shepherd.

This guest blog was authored by our partners at LifeLearn Animal Health. To find out more about adding ClientEd to your Shepherd software, schedule a no-obligation consultation.