Apps for veterinary clients: 'Why can't I just do it on my smartphone?'

March 27, 2017

Brendan Howard, Business Channel Director

Brendan Howard oversees veterinary business, practice management and life-balance content for dvm360.com, dvm360 magazine, Firstline and Vetted, and plans the Practice Management track at all three Fetch dvm360 conferences.Brendan has proudly served under the Veterinary Economics and dvm360 banners for more than 10 years. Before that, he worked as a journalist, writer and editor at Entrepreneur magazine and a top filmed entertainment magazine in Southern California. Brendan received a Masters in English Literature from University of California, Riverside, in 1999.

Pet owners every day are asking that questionor thinking itwhen it comes to your veterinary practice. Consider this new survey from a veterinary smartphone app company.

This cat is disappointed she can't schedule her next visit with you on your app. Why are you disappointing this cat? (Getty Images)Some people have so many app icons on their iPhone screen, you wonder how they ever remember if an app is on page one or page one-hundred-and-one. But apps continue to be a meaningful way for consumers to connect to businesses. Not surprisingly, perhaps, data from Vet2Pet (a veterinary-app maker) shows that pet owners overwhelmingly prefer using apps to making phone calls.

Here's what you probably guessed already:

86% of pet owners are comfortable with most apps

74% use at least one app daily.

And here's what these pet owners would want to do on a veterinary-practice app:

Check clinic hours: 73%

Make appointments: 69%

Use their veterinarian's loyalty program (if offered): 69%

Look at their pet's medical record: 57%

Look for veterinary articles: 53%

Order medication: 42%

Dive deeper and you get a sense for how much smartphone app tapping is beating smartphone mouth yapping for client interactions outside a veterinary practice:

Like app better than phone call

Like app equal to phone call

Like app less than phone call

Don't use/

Don't know

Make appointments

50% 34% 12% 3%

Order medication

40% 30% 13% 17%

Order pet food

34% 23% 14% 29%

Check clinic hours

67% 22% 6% 5%

Look for veterinary info

57% 23% 7% 14%

Access pet's medical record

55% 27% 5% 13%

*NOTE: Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.

The survey was conducted by Colorado State University associate professor Lori Kogan, PhD, in partnership with Vet2Pet. The sample included 610 respondents who lived in the United States, had at least one dog or cat, and had a regular veterinarian they'd seen in the past 12 months.

Click the related links below for more content on veterinary apps and veterinary client apps, and click here for a listing of some of the latest apps available for inside and outside the veterinary practice.