AniCura reduces admin work and improves customer satisfaction with Vetstoria online booking

The demand for pet care has sky-rocketed across Europe. To ensure individual AniCura practices could maintain their 3-point strategy of a ‘high level of medical care’ and ‘excellent customer service’ delivered by ‘passionate employees,’ implementing appropriate technological solutions was a necessity.

AniCura recognised that saving time spent manually booking appointments at the front desk was an area where technology could help, in particular through online booking. However, the intricate integration with a practice’s PMS (Practice Management Software) is a concern, since AniCura practices use a wide range of systems across their European locations.

During their search for a solution the AniCura team became aware of Vetstoria, the industry-leading appointment booking platform that connects with more veterinary practice management systems than any other, and signed up in 2018.

Vetstoria’s implementation team then worked with AniCura’s management to map out a practice roll-out plan. Following that, Vetstoria’s onboarding agents worked with each individual practice to ensure they were ready to go live with online booking, helping them customise the platform to meet their needs.

Vetstoria is customisable enough to replicate each practice’s existing workflow, allowing specific days and times to be excluded, or only allowing certain appointments to be booked during set hours or with specific clinicians. The automation rules work in the background, triaging patients in the same way a receptionist would over the phone, so precious time is saved for the front desk.

Furthermore, on an ongoing basis, AniCura practices have 24/7 access to support and a dedicated customer success manager who is responsible for their success. On a quarterly basis, the Vetstoria team meets with AniCura management to review progress across the portfolio of locations and provide key actionable insights that benefit the business.

Pet owners booking routine appointments online has a direct impact on reducing inbound call volume. One of the key obstacles to providing a more intimate, caring service is lack of time. Even if it is an extra 10-minutes spent reassuring a worried pet owner without pausing to answer the phone it makes a difference.

Brigit Voshaar, Clinical Director at AniCura Dierenziekenhuis Oldenzaal in the Netherlands knows this well. This is what she had to say:

The admin time saved for AniCura clinics has already been great. Calculated based on the total number of appointments booked and the average time to book a phone appointment, many hours are saved for admin teams across the locations each month.

One of the key objectives for Michaela Wickman, Group Digital Project Manager, Customer Experience at AniCura is to help increase the implementation and usage of Vetstoria across territories.

The time-saving benefit is particularly felt during Covid times at the front desk. Receptionist Sofia Berg from AniCura Djurdoktorn i Linköping in Sweden told us:

AniCura conducts bi-annual customer satisfaction surveys which conduct in-depth investigations into how clinics are performing across the continent. There is a clear trend according to Michaela:

Prior to using online booking, many AniCura clinics expressed concerns about losing control if their practice’s schedule was opened up to the public. They saw, however, that this was not the case. 

Appointment types, duration, clinician preference, time-slot blocking, and many parameters on which a clinic’s actual workflow is based can all be replicated on Vetstoria’s platform. For example, this is how Libbe Soelbeck a Veterinary Nurse at AniCura Varde in Denmark sets up the rules:

Sofia at Djurdoktorn i Linköping in Sweden has her own way of setting up rules:

Brigit utilises a very targeted and controlled feature on Vetstoria – direct booking links that take the pet owner straight to booking the specific promotion, with known details pre-filled.

By adding a “book appointment” button, new clients are captured and a practice’s marketing efforts are enhanced.

As of today, Vetstoria integrates with close to 30 practice management software (PMS) globally and the list is growing. It’s important for AniCura to have one booking tool that works with the many systems their practices use, as it gives a uniformed approach to the digital experience they offer customers and makes monitoring of performance across the portfolio much easier.

Michaela supports these points:

And her colleague Martin is also an advocate of Vetstoria’s multiple integrations:

To learn more about Vetstoria, or to see how it can work for your business, book a personalised demo with one of our product specialists today.