Main image courtesy of Banfield Exchange.

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It takes a special doctor to help care for our furry (or scaly, or feathered) friends. These animals are a part of our family, and there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with being a veterinarian. But not all vets see our household pets, some work on larger animals on farms or ranches, caring for cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and more. Their patients are not able to speak about what’s bothering them, that’s why vets have to be very observant, and rely on their extensive years of studying and practice to help diagnose and treat animals. But just because they get to work with animals everyday, doesn’t mean veterinarians aren’t also susceptible to burnout. They are still responsible for the care of their patients, and keeping up with the administrative medical records. As many as 50% of veterinarians are facing significant burnout at work, citing heavy workloads and long working hours as major reasons why.

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But what if there was a way to help vets keep caring for their patients and reduce their administrative load?

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• Topics we’re covering:
  
  • Are there AI scribes for veterinarians?
  • What are some of the benefits of an AI scribe for veterinarians’ notes?
  • The best AI scribes for vets right now

Are there AI scribes for veterinarians?

Can veterinarians use AI scribes like practitioners in other fields?

The short answer to this question is yes, there are scribes for veterinarians! And that’s great news because most vets work in a busy practice and see a lot of patients throughout the day. In fact at a busy practice, vets can expect to care for between 15-30 animals, with little to no break in between for a long stretch at a time. In addition to spending time examining the animal and determining the best course of action, a vet will also need to complete the appropriate note to ensure that the encounter is in the patient’s file. This task is either done during the appointment, causing vets to divert their attention, after it, or at the end of the day. 

Because they see so many patients back to back, it’s easy to see how notes may get pushed to the end of the day, which can lead to veterinarians staying past their shift. AI scribes can help veterinarians lighten their administrative load a little, by making note taking and uploading information to PIMS seamless. Instead of worrying about creating a note and evaluating a patient at the same time, vets can now rely on the power of natural language processing and machine learning to ensure no details of the encounter are missed. Vets can use an AI medical scribe when they:

• Are evaluating a patient. AI scribes are useful to veterinarians when they are evaluating a patient during an encounter. Often they need to have both hands on the patient (depending on the animal), and are using their observations to see what the problem is. Even if it is a routine wellness exam, vets have to rely on how the animal looks, feels, and reacts in order to understand what exactly is going on. After all, it’s not like the patient can just tell the veterinarian what ails them! 

Having an AI pick up all the information exchanged between themselves and the animal’s owner is crucial if they don’t want to miss important details that should be in the record. A hands-free application like an AI scribe will record, transcribe, and format the information into a note form, so that the vet can just approve and be on their way to the next patient. 

• Planning treatment. Another way veterinarians can use AI medical scribes is when they are planning treatment or care instructions. Having all the patient’s medical information right in front of them makes it easy to sift through previous notes from other visits, as well as documentation about prior treatment. This way, they can make a determination about what was working, and what might need to be adjusted. 

• Need easy access to additional documents, forms, or information. Having an AI scribe that responds to voice commands is a time saving way to find pertinent information. Whether it’s looking for additional information about the animal, or researching potential treatment plans based on the data of other patients with similar symptoms, AI can help vets access this quickly. Many AI scribes also offer dictation features so that the vet can easily add addendums or other information to notes without having to type it in. 

Benefits of using an AI scribe for veterinarian notes

There are lots of ways AI medical scribes can improve the workflow of a veterinary office

AI scribes are benefiting healthcare practitioners of all specialties, including veterinarians. Providers who have already started using these tools have noted that they can save around 3-5 minutes per patient, and while that doesn’t sound like a lot up front, it can add up to an additional 45-60 minutes saved at the end of the day. Plus the added benefit of not having to worry about typing up notes after hours from scratch and having more detailed, better organized notes. 

A vet in South Carolina had this to say about AI for veterinarians’ notes:

“I also enjoy being in the exam room more because I’m not trying to remember everything and am giving the client and patient my full attention, and my client communication is better because I’m getting an AI generated summary email…” -Dr. Andy Roark, DVM MS

There are a lot of benefits to including an AI scribe in your veterinarian practice, including:

• Alleviating burnout. One of the best ways that AI scribes can make a huge impact on veterinarians’ every day schedules is by taking away time-consuming and repetitive tasks like note creation. Vets want to concentrate on the clinical part of their jobs, which is ensuring that their animal patients receive the best care possible. Just like human counterparts, for each patient that a vet sees, they also need to create a note documenting the encounter. 

Instead of worrying about creating a new note from scratch each time, why not like an ambient medical scribe transcribe the encounter instead and format the information in a note? This takes away the burden of ensuring notes are complete and include all the necessary medical information. So instead of completing bare bones notes between patients that might leave out important details, or doing notes after hours, AI can create them in real time. Being overworked is one of the major factors contributing to vet burn out, and letting an AI scribe take over some tasks seems like a great way to alleviate that.

• Create more detailed notes. When a vet is seeing a lot of patients and their schedule is booked, they may not have the time they need to create a quality, detailed note. This means that the notes they do create are often lacking information or are just simple sentences jotted down. AI scribes capture the entire conversation between vets and pet parents, ensuring no information is left out. Veterinarians can also dictate to the AI application additional information they want to include. The result is a very organized and detail-specific note that benefits not only the vet, but makes the jobs of the vet techs and other staff that much easier. 

• Improves care. Vets want to focus their time on animals, they don’t want to worry about creating a note from scratch while they’re with patients. This is a very touch-focused specialty, (much like physical therapy) and it’s impossible to be examining an animal and typing or writing at the same time. Animals at the vet are often stressed and scared, and sometimes need to be held in place while the provider does an evaluation. It seems like a hands-off solution to notes like an AI scribe would definitely be the right choice in this situation. That way, vets don’t have to worry about splitting their attention between notes and patients—and information is not accidently left out of the note.

• Streamlines workflows. In addition to helping reduce the administrative tasks of veterinarians, AI scribes also make the flow of information, documents, and records much more seamless. You can sync the AI application with the office’s PIMS system, making it easier for all members of the team to have access to the latest information about the patients. Instead of searching for physical files, or having someone fill in the missing information, AI scribes help to make the flow of information in the office more efficient. 

• Reduces errors. There’s always room for human error when it comes to charting notes. Sometimes it’s accidentally leaving important information off the note, and other times is misremembering something from hours before. When vets have an AI scribe to create notes in real time, they can also be checked and reviewed immediately as well. That way errors can be fixed before they enter the medical record, ensuring the right information goes in the first time.

• Easy to use. AI scribes are created to be useful and have an easy to understand user experience. Once they’re downloaded to a smart device, veterinarians just need to seek permission from pet parents, then hit record. Once the note is complete and approved (depending on the AI scribe) you will just copy/paste to the PIMS file or it will sync automatically. An AI scribe does not require extensive training or onboarding either, making them useful tools for clinicians of all levels of technological expertise. 

Best AI scribe for veterinarians’ notes

Which medical scribe should veterinarians choose?

If this all sounds good to you, you’ll be happy to know there are a variety of AI scribes available right now for vets. But what is the best AI scribe for veterinarians? That choice is up to you, but we have a few stand-out options.

Playback Health

Playback Health is an AI scribe that works well for all healthcare specialties, including veterinarians. This application offers ambient AI listening, patient journey automation, and 99% accurate transcriptions. It’s simple to use, and has proven to increase productivity in users by 20% as well as reduce feelings of burnout thanks to a lighter administrative load. There are a lot of reasons you should consider this scribe for your practice including:

• Easy to use and secure
• Very customizable
• Includes templates
• Has a 2 week free trial
• Competitively priced at $99/month
• Onboarding support

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ScribbleVet

There are AI scribes that are designed with vets specifically in mind, including ScribbleVet. The goal of this application is to ensure vets have their notes approved and done by the end of their shift, ensuring that they can offer their patients the best care possible while also documenting important information. With ScribbleVet you can expect:

• To dictate or directly record notes
• Customizable interface that works with templates
• A two week free trial
• Automated emails to clients after visits

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VetSOAP

VetSOAP is another AI scribe option that is built specifically with vets in mind. With this application you can say goodbye to typing notes manually, and hello to accurate notes that include all the details from the encounter. Some top benefits include:

• Provides a comprehensive note in real time
• Easy to use
• Simplifies office workflow
• Free trial
• Onboarding support

Could an AI scribe for your veterinarian practice be just what you need?

Veterinarians see a lot of furry patients each day, and the need to keep up with charting notes is essential. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and burned out, why not turn to the assistance of an AI scribe? Vets all over the country have found that they’re easy to use, can save time, and help them give greater care to our animal friends. 

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