Three Ways Banfield is Harnessing Technology to Make Associates’ Lives Better
Veterinary care is on the cusp of a new era. Major technology advances coupled with a global pandemic and higher-than-ever rates of pet ownership will usher in the kind of digital transformation that many other industries have benefited from. One where veterinary professionals are empowered to broaden their care through virtual visits; where digital health records support improved productivity and continuity of care; and where access to care and critical resources accomplished through an intelligent, user-friendly experience.
Here, we will explore three key ways Banfield is investing in tech innovation to make Associates’ work experience easier, more productive and all-around better. Imagine digital-forward, next-generation work environments!
1. Optimizing the work experience through a connected ecosystem.
Consider how smart phone users can seamlessly access their photos and data across different devices, eliminating the need for clunky, time-intensive transfers. This is an example of why a connected ecosystem works—when our systems can talk to each other, work gets done faster and teams are happier.
Now, Banfield Associates enjoy a connected ecosystem, too. We’ve bridged Mars Petcare systems with Banfield’s practice management system to help our Associates work more efficiently. How does our connected ecosystem provide value? This year Banfield implemented a new image sharing system, Antech Sound PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems), which is providing a seamless and efficient way for our hospital teams to view, share and manage diagnostic images such as x-ray and ultrasound for specialty consultation across all of our hospitals.
Our systems are also connected with HR systems, an inventory management system, a workforce management platform, and a learning and development hub. This allows our Associates to be aware of potential new opportunities to build their career across the Mars Veterinary Health ecosystem, digitally track critical inventory and drive mutual and responsible learning and onboarding plans with easy tracking in our digital learning centers.
Additionally, every Banfield Associate has access to a suite of collaboration tools to seamlessly share critical information and resources to best enable our dispersed workforce to stay connected.
2. Modernizing our platforms to give you time back.
We haven’t just connected our systems; we’ve also made them better. Our hospitals now have five times the bandwidth that they did just two years ago, and we’ve hardened our security technology to minimize risk to patient or clinic data. Banfield Associates can also now more easily provide quality care by digitally capturing patient documents. Other ongoing upgrades to our pet records system unlocked the ability to add photos to records, making in-clinic connections easier and allowing our Associates to deliver a more personalized care experience.
“We’ve been thoughtful with our technology investments to really think through how we can best support our Associates to help them operate at their highest potential,” said Dan Regalado, Banfield’s chief information officer. “For example, scheduling has often been a common headache at veterinary clinics, so we’re working to apply technology to eliminate the major pain points. The scheduling system is becoming ever more flexible to maximize the skills of individual teams and improve hospital productivity. We know that not all hospitals, doctors or pets are the same, so we are driving improved configurations in our scheduling system to personalize the connections for each visit. Access to care is also a major pain point in all of the veterinary industry today. To best support timely care if a clinic is booked, our Associates will be able to check availability of nearby locations with the push of a button rather than make calls. These are the kinds of seemingly small improvements that can add up to really make a difference in the efficiency and workflow of a practice. We’re not done yet and we continue to make improvements to our scheduling platform to support new modes of care and optimize efficiency so we can see more pets who needs us.”
3. Empowering the virtual vet.
Remember the days when pets could only receive care inside the four walls of a clinic? Banfield is making that a thing of the past by enabling our Associates to provide care through technology. We’ve done it by bringing our work environments into the cloud, so everything from our intranet to our productivity software and telehealth technology is accessible on mobile devices and outside of our hospitals.
“Although there will always be a need for in-office services, the world is becoming increasingly comfortable with virtual care, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Regalado. “In migrating our systems and data to the cloud, we’ve made a big investment in positioning our Associates to be able to have the flexibility to work where they like in line with their local regulations.”
The next era of veterinary care is here, and Banfield is leading the way. Are you interested in a veterinary career at a technology-enabled practice? Check out our open roles and apply today!