Technology plays a central role in modern veterinary practice – from managing appointments and clinical records to imaging, payments, and client communication. But as practices grow, the IT systems that once worked perfectly can begin to struggle.

Many independent veterinary clinics continue using infrastructure designed for a much smaller team or lower patient volume. Over time this can lead to slower systems, operational disruption, and increased cybersecurity risk.

Here are five clear signs that your veterinary practice may have outgrown its current IT setup.

1. Your PMS Is Frequently Slow or Unresponsive

Practice Management Systems sit at the heart of veterinary operations. When they begin to lag, it affects almost every part of the day.

Common symptoms include:

• Slow loading patient records
• Delays when booking appointments
• Imaging systems taking longer to upload results
• Staff waiting for screens to respond

In many cases, the PMS itself isn’t the problem – the underlying infrastructure (servers, network equipment, or storage) simply hasn’t kept pace with the size of the practice.

2. You Experience Increasing Downtime or IT Issues

Occasional technical issues happen in every environment. However, when outages or disruptions become more frequent, it often indicates ageing infrastructure or poor system monitoring.

Signs include:

• Server crashes or unexpected reboots
• Network connectivity problems
• Systems needing regular “quick fixes”
• Staff reporting recurring technical problems

Frequent downtime doesn’t just frustrate the team – it can delay appointments, affect patient care, and reduce daily revenue.

3. Adding New Staff or Devices Causes Problems

Growing practices naturally add:

• New clinicians
• Additional reception staff
• Extra consulting rooms
• More devices such as laptops, tablets, or imaging equipment

If your systems struggle every time a new user or workstation is added, it may mean the original infrastructure was never designed for the current scale of the practice.

Modern veterinary IT environments should allow growth without constant reconfiguration.

4. Remote Access Is Difficult or Unreliable

Practice owners and clinicians increasingly expect to access systems remotely — whether reviewing records from home or supporting multi-site operations.

If your practice experiences issues such as:

• Complicated VPN logins
• Unstable remote connections
• Limited access outside the clinic

it may be a sign that the infrastructure was built for a different era of working.

Modern systems should allow secure, reliable remote access when needed.

5. Cybersecurity Feels Like an Afterthought

As veterinary practices handle increasing volumes of sensitive client data, cybersecurity becomes more important every year.

If your current setup lacks:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Proper backup and recovery systems
• Network monitoring
• Regular security updates

then the infrastructure may no longer meet modern security expectations.

Cyber insurance requirements are also becoming stricter, which can expose gaps in older systems.

What Growing Veterinary Practices Typically Need

As practices expand, IT environments often need to evolve to include:

• Business-grade network infrastructure
• Structured backup and disaster recovery
• Secure remote access
• Proactive monitoring
• Cybersecurity layers appropriate for handling sensitive data

The goal isn’t simply more technology – it’s building a stable foundation that supports the way your practice actually operates.

Final Thought

Many veterinary practices don’t realise they’ve outgrown their IT setup until systems begin to fail or slow down noticeably.

Recognising the warning signs early allows practices to upgrade infrastructure in a planned way rather than reacting to unexpected disruption.

For growing practices, a structured review of current systems can often reveal simple improvements that support smoother day-to-day operations and future expansion.

The post 5 Signs Your Veterinary Practice Has Outgrown Its IT Setup appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

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In this week’s episode:

• Culture Isn’t Fluffy – It’s a Business Strategy: If your team is burnt out, unwell, or leaving, your business model is unsustainable. Culture isn’t about “nice to have” values posters – it’s about protecting patient care, client experience, and long-term financial performance. A healthy team is your most important currency.
  
• Leadership Is Not Hierarchy – It’s Energy and Intent: Great leaders in veterinary practice aren’t the ones with all the answers. They create the conditions for others to thrive. That means moving beyond operational management into true leadership – shaping culture daily through behaviour, communication, and example.
  
• If It’s Crazy Every Day, the System Is Broken: Looney-tune days happen in veterinary medicine. But if chaos is the norm, not the exception, it’s not resilience that’s required – it’s redesign. Break the schedule, break the system if needed – but don’t break your people.
  
• Listening Is the Leadership Superpower We Were Never Taught: Most leaders listen to reply. The real shift happens when you listen to understand. Deep listening builds trust, reduces conflict, improves communication, and ultimately safeguards team wellbeing and patient care.

In this episode, Jack Peploe sits down with Debbie Robinson, from Vetnetics. Veterinary leadership isn’t about control, it’s about intentionally shaping a culture that protects people, strengthens performance, and sustains the practice long term.

Additional Guest Spotlights

• Next Episode Sneak Peak: Next episode, Jack is joined by Jason Spendelow, clinical psychologist and wellbeing specialist with a deep focus on the veterinary profession. Jump into how much pressure sharpens performance, and when does it start breaking your team? We unpack the tipping point for veterinary practices, and what truly sustainable leadership looks like long term.
  
• Recommended Resource: This week’s recommendation comes from Allison Thomas, who highlights Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal as a powerful reminder for veterinary professionals to prioritise quality of life over simply prolonging it, using thoughtful end-of-life questions to guide more humane and meaningful conversations with pet owners.

Show Notes

• Out every other week on your favourite podcast platform.
• Presented by Jack Peploe: Veterinary IT Expert, Certified Ethical Hacker, CEO of Veterinary IT Services and dog Dad to the adorable Puffin.

Transcription

Jack Peploe:

Coming up on modern veterinary practice podcast,

Debbie Robinson:

Some days are going to be crazy Looney tune days. It’s just that in veterinary. But if it’s like that, more often than not, it’s broken. And what we can’t afford to do is break people because people will become ill and they will potentially leave. And this is where leaders sometimes we think there is such a demand that we stack it so high that the team can’t possibly get through it all without burning out, without overwhelm.

Jack Peploe:

Welcome to the Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast. I’m your host and veterinary IT expert, Jack Peploe. In this episode, I’ll be welcoming Debbie Robinson, founder of Vetnetics to the podcast, we’ll be talking about what real leadership looks like in a modern veterinary practice, why culture is a strategic business rather than a nice to have, and how leaders can intentionally shape healthier, more fulfilling workplaces for their teams.

Debbie Robinson:

Hi, I’m Debbie and Debbie Robinson and I’m the founder of tics. I came to the veterinary sector in a bit of a squiggly way because I was surprisingly spent most of my career in information technology. And when my fellow directors and I sold the business, I was a bit of a loose end and I didn’t really know what to do with myself. So I decided to train as a coach because I used to bring coaches into help. My sales guys improved, so bringing in independence and I was always fascinated by it because they always had such a huge impact on their performance. So I thought I can have a go at that I did and studied for a couple of years, then qualified and set up a business called Salesnet, in which I helped people in leadership and communication in the sales within information technology. Then this is a squiggly bit, got involved with veterinary and I won’t bore you with how I got involved, but it was something to do with me being a local government approved consultant on business growth. And so I joined the veterinary profession and it’s been transformative for me. I absolutely love working in the veterinary profession. I teach leadership and communication in the veterinary profession. That’s what I do.

Jack Peploe:

Awesome. Debbie, it is such a pleasure to have you on the podcast. Now, am I right in thinking you’ve coached sort of over 75 practices through your metrics? 80. Wow, that’s awesome. And again, the focus has been helping those vaccines build not just sustainable businesses, but ones that people love being part of, which is amazing. Now, what I find fascinating is that your approach blends practical leadership training with a really deep understanding of culture, energy, and mindset. And today, if possible, I’d love to explore how that sort of plays out. So how leaders can start to see culture not as a fixed trait, but it’s something they’re shaping every day through their choices, habits and energy. So I suppose my first question is, you’ve worked with dozens of practices across the country. What do you think separates good leadership from great leadership in vet medicine right now,

Debbie Robinson:

Good leadership is it’s about people realising that they are not the ones in charge. They’re not the ones who have all the answers. It’s not a hierarchical thing. Good leadership is the understanding that the role is to bring the best out of other people. It is different from management. And I think this is one of the problems we have in the veterinary profession is that a lot of people are promoted to leadership roles because they are good operationally, they’ve been great at getting stuff done, organising the team, et cetera. But it’s different when we’re looking at leadership, which is more of the hearts and minds rather than the instruction and direction of individuals. And I think that’s the part that we’re missing in the veterinary profession is true leadership.

Jack Peploe:

Now many practice leaders feel like they’re stuck in survival mode. How do you begin to shift someone from managing chaos to leading with intention?

Debbie Robinson:

It’s awareness. First of all, it has to be awareness. And that desire that gosh, there’s got to be something. It can’t be this hard. It’s got to be something better than this. And there is no magic cure to culture. This is a long process. But a positive culture is if you want to take it away from the fluffy woowoo type of stuff, it needs to be more of a strategic approach. If your people are unhappy, if your people are getting ill through stress and overwhelm, if people are leaving, that is an unsustainable business. So if we take it from it being a soft and fluffy thing, it nice to have, it needs to be considered more of a business strategy strength and therefore it needs to be a deliberate focus. The focus is never ending. You never finish with culture. It will grow and ebb and adapt and adjust as people come and go.

And as you grow, particularly, particularly as you grow, it’s easy to have a very nice friendly culture. When there’s five of you, it gets a lot more difficult when there’s 35 of you or 45 of you or 65 of you, it gets harder. I think it’s moving away from a nice to have is what we need and for business owners and business people that are in the management of those practices. So if it’s corporate, it’s going to be more management. If it’s an independent practice, it’s going to be more of the owner. It tends to want to have that business to be financially and financially sustainable as well as being a nice environment or healthy, a healthy environment to work in a healthy workplace environment. So this isn’t about everybody skipping around like … with daisies in their hands and everything wonderful. Like you see on television, you know that, oh God, that me nuts, that perfume advert, Daisy, daisy, daisy.

It’s not about that. It’s about having a healthy workplace environment with a positive culture. And the way that you do that, first of all, focus, what can we do today to start making a difference? Okay, we’ll stop to focus on that. And funny, it’s a bit like when you do clinical stuff, focus on doing more subsequent consults. Guess what? You do more subsequent consults, focus on dentistry. Guess what? You do more on dentistry, focus more on reducing gossiping. Guess what? You are reduced gossiping. So it’s the same and little by little you can shape mould, adapt your culture to a more positive workplace environment.

Jack Peploe:

No, absolutely. Now, because sort of just extending on that, we often talk about sort of workplace culture like it’s sort of a poster on the wall, but your approach as something alive as what you were just saying now, other than the focus, what are some of the daily behaviours that actually build or break culture?

Debbie Robinson:

Oh gosh. Those that break culture are very easy. It is, and it seems a bit trivial on people think gossiping. Gossiping is not, people get confused about what gossiping is. There’s nothing wrong with standing around the proverbial water cooler and talking about what you watched on Netflix last night or what you did at the weekend. That’s absolutely fine. What gossiping is when it becomes vindictive and nasty and is that horrible hangs like talking about somebody gossiping leads to clicks. Clicks lead to exclusion. When we feel that we are maybe being gossiped about, somebody goes quiet when you walk in the room, they were talking about me or you are not included in discussions where there’s another four people that are actually involved in those meetings or something, trust gets broken, I don’t trust you. Therefore, when we don’t trust we, the communication levels breakdown. When communications breaks down patient care, client care and team care is at risk. So this isn’t the fluffy stuff, it is very serious business stuff. If we wanted just to start, we can actually start to talk about these things with our team. It’s about how we communicate. It’s about how we live to our values.

If we don’t know what our values are or the values aren’t relevant to the guys that are on the floor working, they’re just a waste of print. They’re just a waste of space on a website. It needs to be something that the team have built themselves. So they’re sharing it and then they live by that every day. For me, culture is the things that we do and don’t do every day. So if our culture is that we gossip and we exclude and et cetera, then that’s what your culture is. If you don’t want it to be that, then you make that as part of your value base about valuing each other. That may be we are kind, what does kind mean? We do not talk about each other, we talk to each other, we solve problems together. Those sort of things can start to make a huge difference to culture. But there’s no great big firework display with culture. It is a gradual iterative process.

Jack Peploe:

Nice. And I couldn’t agree more with regards to the values. It is really truly understanding what those values mean. It’s not just about having them. That’s really,

Debbie Robinson:

I’ve got a practice, I’m sorry, there is a practice, it is a vets for pet practice and one of their values is, and excuse me if I sort of semi swear, one of their values is don’t be a dick. And the team know what that means. What does that mean? Well, it means don’t talk about me behind my back. Don’t do this, don’t do that. So they defined what it is, but to be able to have on the wall then don’t be a dick, I think is a powerful thing. And when I work on values with the team, I said, don’t use words like integrity and professionalism and all that. Use words that you guys use probably as people. That’s why I love that value because it’s just that’s the way people talk. I think that’s right. Be truthful about it. When things are going wrong, people will say don’t be, be

Jack Peploe:

More fruitful. Yeah,

Debbie Robinson:

So moving away from, yeah, values incredibly powerful things. If they are defined properly, do not put a bunch of words on the wall because that is absolute nonsense. You may as well.

Jack Peploe:

Absolutely. So moving away from culture, you are very passionate about helping people feel fulfilled at work, but in such a high pressure industry, what does fulfilment really look like and how do we protect it?

Debbie Robinson:

Well, I think it’s all about giving people autonomy. We don’t want to be, none of us want to be micromanaged. None of us want to have to wait for the next stage so we can move on. And so people want autonomy. So that is some control over decisions that they make. Now, some obviously procedural clinical procedures obviously have to be to a particular standard. However, I would say there’s always that opportunity to lift the bar and change things. If we can see that, why do we do that? And I always bring to the fore, you’d still be stuffing a cat in a Wellington boot to castrate it if we hadn’t made improvements on clinical care over the years. Because people will come up with how are we doing that? We can do this now. So there’s always a way for your team, the people who are in the …, that’s Japanese for the real place, IE, the people on the floor, they know what works and what doesn’t work and what drives them nuts and what is cumbersome.

They know what works and what doesn’t. So giving the team a voice is incredibly powerful. And the way to do that is through a continuous improvement system. A system, please don’t try a suggestion box. All you’ll do is end up with a load of bitching notes in a box that you are left to solve. Whereas the team should be solving the problem. That’s what you employ them for. The other thing that makes people feel part of it is recognition is appreciation, genuine appreciation. And people want appreciation in different ways. We have preferences the same of our learning and communication preferences, but it’s important that we show appreciation in the right way. And with context, no more good job and a pat on the back that doesn’t. Or you standing up as a leader and saying at the end of the week, great job for everybody. Everything was you got through the week and this, that and the other. And three people weren’t even on rotor that were in there. There the sessions that really went the extra mile and you feel slightly shortchanged on the appreciation, showing contextualised appreciation is incredibly important.

Jack Peploe:

You’ve spoken about finding balance in slower mindful creative practices. Do you think leaders underestimate the importance of their own energy and how it impacts their teams?

Debbie Robinson:

Oh yes, but I think we’ve got to accept that people that own a leadership role are human beings. So one of the things that is now has come to be acceptable, although a lot of people still struggle with it, is vulnerability. It’s showing your vulnerability as a leader, whether or not you are a leader of the whole practice, either the owner or whether or not you are a team leader of the nurses, the reception or client care or of the vet or administrative staff. It’s being able to show vulnerability. But there is fine balance. As a leader. We don’t want to be dumping our problems on our team, but also we don’t want to put on this mask of being this thing that we’re not, we are human, so it’s okay to go, I don’t know the answer. This is going to be tough. I’m with you guys.

Let’s see when there is change in particular. And the team look to their leader being showing your vulnerability that you haven’t got all the answers is one thing. And that showing vulnerability then gives us the opportunity to be being human. That it can be that we have to make sure that we practice good practice, take breaks, encourage your team to take breaks, not muscle on through every day because the schedule is too much. If it’s breaking people, we break the schedule. We do not break the people. So there’s a lot of, we have to push, push, push on through on that should be the exception, not the norm. Some days are going to be crazy looney tune days. It’s just that in veterinary. But if it’s like that, more often than not, it’s broken. And what we can’t afford to do is break people because people will become ill and they will potentially leave.

This is where leaders, sometimes we think there is such a demand and we have a very short amount of time to do consultations and then do the clinical work thereafter, that we stack it so high that the team can’t possibly get through it all when it’s too much every day without burning out, without overwhelm. And therefore the system has to change. Whether or not that’s improving processes, the way that processes are managed, whether or not it’s improving technology, those sort of things. The leader has to recognise that their most valuable asset is the human beings. But the most important currency of any business is that you have a happy, healthy team. That is the most important currency. Branson, Richard Branson would say, look after your team, the team will look after the people. And that’s so true. If your team are totally burnt out, totally frazzled, how can they give good client care?

So how can they respond back to people if they’re so booked out with consults, so booked out with surgical procedures and then they’ve got to do lab results and there’s not enough time in the day and then they don’t do them and then the client gets upset and all those sorts of things. It’s the system that’s broken, don’t break the people. So that’s where leaders need to set an example and change the system. If the goals are to, if you can’t achieve the goals that you are setting, change the goals, they probably were unachievable in the first place. Does that make sense?

Jack Peploe:

Sense? No, it makes complete sense. I thought I went off one then. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head and I’ve got one question that I really want to ask, which is, if you could wave a magic wand and give every veterinary manager one superpower, what would it be and why?

Debbie Robinson:

Ah, gosh. One superpower the ability to listen with the intent to understand. It’s something none of us are taught. We’re taught how to talk, we’re taught how to read, we’re taught how to think. Nobody teaches us how to listen so that we understand generally we’re listening to create the answer back. But if we can listen and understand where people are coming from, it gives us much more empathetic leadership style.

Jack Peploe:

Absolutely. No what way to end the podcast. I can’t believe it’s hit that time already. But thank you very much. Yeah, it flies. I told you it was going to fly, but it really has been such a rich conversation. You really have taken us beyond the buzzwords that really helped reframe leadership as an act of energy, intention, and care. For those people who want to learn more about your work with tics or connect further, where’s the best place for them to find you?

Debbie Robinson:

Well, you can find me on LinkedIn, so Debbie Robinson Vetnetics, or you can pop on over to my website, which is Vetnetic.co.uk. So it’s dead easy on Instagram, on TikTok. I’m all over the place, so if anybody wants to find me, I’m dead easy to find

Jack Peploe:

And they’ll all be in the show notes. But Debbie, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. It’s been such a fun episode.

Jack Peploe:

Every episode we ask professionals and experts to suggest a best business resource for our listeners. This week’s recommendation is from Allison Thomas.

Allison Thomas:

For me, it is anything by Atul Gawande, who is an American surgeon, and he’s joined political campaigns in his capacity as being a surgeon, but he’s also written books on checklists. The value of checklists looks at the airline industry to see how they have created checklists and then mirrored that for the medical profession across the world. But I think the most meaningful book for me by him is one called Being Mortal, which is all about end of life care. And obviously he is focused on people and their end of life, but he has some really important things to say in it. And he talks about how the medical profession have been guilty of protecting and prolonging life at all costs. And that has come at the expense of quality of life. And we don’t tend to do that as vets, but there is a risk that we could be persuaded down that route.

And he really argues for a much more humane approach to death. So one that values meaningful living over just survival. And one of the most interesting things he says is, and this is a direct quote from the book, the odds are that the week a person is most likely to have surgery is the last week of life and the day they are most likely to have surgery is the last day of their life. And that’s quite a statistic because it just shows how incorrectly surgical procedures are being applied. So he focuses very much on medicalizing the end of life and just focusing on what’s achievable. He has a number of questions in his book that he asks people at the end of life, like, what’s your understanding of your condition and what are your hopes and what are your fears and what are your boundaries? And I’ve tried these questions with owners, and when you get them to actually voice that in their own words, it has a really powerful effect on them in bringing them to an understanding of what they really want for their pet.

Jack Peploe:

Coming up next week, we welcome Jason Spendelow, clinical psychologist, academic and workplace wellbeing specialist with a deep focus on the veterinary profession. Jason brings a refreshingly grounded perspective on burnout, performance pressure, and what wellbeing actually means beyond the buzzwords. We explore why burnout isn’t an individual failure, but a systems issue, how psychologically health practices are designed and the small changes that can make a big difference to team health and performance. Jason also shares insights from his work with veterinary students and practices, challenging how we think about resilience, leadership, and sustainable workloads.

Jason Spendelow:

So the research says that a bit of performance pressure is often a good thing. It can help people focus, but you get to a point where the pressure, the workload, et cetera, becomes so high that it starts to become counterproductive. So where everyone sits is going to differ from person to person, but everyone has a point at which the pressure, the expectation to perform becomes a negative rather than being a positive. And so in terms of leadership’s role in this, they really have to think about what’s a sustainable workload for people, not just over the next week or two, but over months and years and beyond.

Jack Peploe:

That’s it for this episode. All links and recommendations we talked about are in the show notes. Don’t forget to subscribe and share the podcast if you found it useful. In the meantime, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The post From Survival Mode to Intentional Leadership: Building Culture That Sustains Teams in Veterinary Practice appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

Independent veterinary practices rely heavily on technology – from PMS systems and imaging to payment processing and client communication. Yet many practices unknowingly operate with avoidable IT risks that affect performance, security, and long-term growth.

Below are the 10 most common IT mistakes we see in UK independent veterinary practices – and what to do instead.

1. Treating IT as a Reactive Expense

Many practices only call IT support when something breaks.

This leads to:

• Emergency repair costs
• Unplanned downtime
• Ageing infrastructure
• No long-term roadmap

Better approach: Implement structured lifecycle planning and quarterly IT reviews.

2. Running Ageing Servers or Workstations

It’s common to see:

• 6–8 year-old servers
• PCs struggling with modern PMS requirements
• Unsupported operating systems

Ageing hardware increases downtime risk and security exposure.

Better approach: Follow a 3–5 year workstation refresh and 4–5 year server lifecycle plan.

3. No Documented Downtime Protocol

When PMS systems fail, many teams:

• Panic
• Attempt ad-hoc fixes
• Lack manual workflow backups

Even minor outages can escalate without a plan.

Better approach: Maintain a written downtime response protocol with assigned roles.

4. Underestimating Cybersecurity Risk

Veterinary practices handle:

• Client personal data
• Payment details
• Insurance documentation
• Clinical history

Yet many lack:

• Enforced MFA
• Encrypted off-site backups
• Regular staff training

Cybersecurity is often seen as “extra” – until it isn’t.

Better approach: Implement layered security, not just antivirus software.

5. Using Consumer-Grade Network Equipment

We frequently see:

• Home-grade routers
• Unmanaged switches
• Flat networks without segmentation

This increases performance issues and security vulnerabilities.

Better approach: Deploy business-grade firewalls with network segmentation.

6. Ignoring Internet Redundancy

For cloud PMS users especially, internet is mission-critical.

Yet many practices operate without:

• Backup connectivity
• Automatic failover
• Monitoring

One fibre cut can stop operations entirely.

Better approach: Install business fibre with 4G/5G failover.

7. No Centralised Vendor Coordination

Independent practices often manage:

• PMS vendor
• Imaging supplier
• Telecom provider
• Payment processor
• IT support

Without coordination, issues bounce between vendors.

Better approach: Assign one accountable IT partner to coordinate suppliers.

8. Poor Access Control & Shared Credentials

Shared admin accounts are still common.

Risks include:

• Security breaches
• Accountability gaps
• Compliance exposure

Better approach: Enforce individual logins with least-privilege access.

9. Making Infrastructure Decisions Based Only on Cost

Choosing:

• Cheapest firewall
• Lowest PMS hosting tier
• Minimal support package

Can create larger long-term costs.

IT decisions should support:

• Growth
• Resilience
• Compliance
• Operational efficiency

Not just short-term savings.

10. No Long-Term IT Strategy

Many independent practices operate without:

• 3-year infrastructure roadmap
• Budget forecasting
• Scalability planning

This limits expansion and increases reactive spending.

Better approach: Align IT planning with business growth strategy.

The Bigger Pattern

Most IT mistakes aren’t dramatic.

They’re incremental.

Small compromises made over time – until a hardware failure, cyber incident, or growth milestone exposes the gaps.

Independent practices that move from reactive IT to structured infrastructure planning experience:

• Fewer outages
• Predictable budgeting
• Improved security posture
• Easier growth

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these mistakes common in small practices?

Yes. Smaller independent practices often prioritise clinical investment over infrastructure planning.

Is cloud PMS enough to solve these issues?

Cloud reduces certain risks, but infrastructure, security, and lifecycle planning still matter.

How often should veterinary practices review their IT setup?

At minimum, annually – ideally quarterly for growing practices.

Final Thought

Technology now underpins almost every aspect of veterinary care.

Independent practices that treat IT as strategic infrastructure – not just support – operate more efficiently, securely, and confidently.

Avoiding these 10 mistakes isn’t about spending more.

It’s about planning smarter.

The post Top 10 IT Mistakes Independent Veterinary Practices Make (And How to Avoid Them) appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

For UK veterinary practices, choosing between a cloud-based PMS and an on-premise server is one of the most important IT decisions you’ll make. A cloud PMS typically reduces upfront infrastructure costs and simplifies scalability, while an on-premise server offers greater local control and independence from internet outages.

For a 20–100 user practice, this decision affects downtime risk, cybersecurity exposure, GDPR compliance posture, long-term cost stability, and growth capability. Below is a structured comparison framework to help you evaluate both models properly.

The 8-Factor Veterinary PMS Infrastructure Comparison Framework

1. Upfront Cost vs Long-Term Investment

Cloud PMS

• Minimal upfront hardware investment
• Monthly subscription model
• Hosting and upgrades included

Typical cost range: £X0–£X00 per user/month depending on vendor and integrations.

On-Premise Server

• Significant upfront investment
• Server hardware + licensing + firewall
• Replacement cycle every 4–5 years

For a 20–30 user practice, a properly configured server environment can cost £X,000–£X0,000 upfront.

Cloud shifts cost to predictable operational expense. On-premise concentrates cost at installation and refresh.

2. Downtime & Resilience Risk

Cloud

• Hosted in enterprise-grade data centres
• Redundant infrastructure
• Vendor-managed uptime
• Dependent on reliable internet connectivity

If internet fails and no backup connection exists, system access stops.

On-Premise

• Continues functioning during internet outage
• Vulnerable to hardware failure
• Often a single point of failure without additional redundancy

Most independent practices underestimate server failure risk compared to internet failure.

3. Cybersecurity & GDPR Exposure

Under UK GDPR, certain personal data breaches must be reported within 72 hours.

Cloud

• Vendor-managed patching
• Enterprise-grade hosting security
• Centralised backup architecture

However, endpoint devices, passwords, and email security remain your responsibility.

On-Premise

• Full responsibility for:
  • Patching
  • Firewall configuration
  • Backup encryption
  • Access control
• Higher risk if updates lapse

Infrastructure choice directly affects your compliance posture and cyber insurance eligibility.

4. Remote Access & Flexibility

Cloud

• Secure access from any location
• Ideal for multi-site groups
• Simplifies leadership oversight
• No complex VPN infrastructure required

On-Premise

• Requires VPN or remote desktop
• Greater configuration complexity
• More maintenance overhead

For practices with remote working or multiple branches, cloud significantly reduces friction.

5. Scalability & Growth Planning

Cloud

• Add users instantly
• Simplified site expansion
• No physical hardware limits

On-Premise

• Limited by server capacity
• May require full hardware refresh to scale
• Longer deployment timelines

If acquisition or multi-site growth is planned, cloud often aligns better.

6. Internet Dependency

This is often the deciding factor.

Cloud PMS requires:

• Business-grade fibre
• Firewall with failover
• 4G/5G backup connectivity

Without redundancy, cloud becomes high-risk.

On-premise allows local operation during outages, although payment systems and cloud integrations may still stop functioning.

7. Lifecycle & Maintenance Burden

Cloud

• Updates included
• Infrastructure managed by vendor
• Lower in-house oversight

On-Premise

• Server refresh every 4–5 years
• Ongoing patch management
• Backup testing responsibility

Reactive maintenance increases downtime risk over time.

8. Energy & Physical Infrastructure

Cloud

• Minimal on-site equipment
• Lower energy consumption
• No dedicated server space required

On-Premise

• Rack space
• Cooling requirements
• UPS protection
• Higher power costs

Smaller practices often underestimate physical infrastructure requirements.

Real Scenario: 3-Site Independent Veterinary Group (UK)

A growing 3-site veterinary group running on ageing on-premise servers experienced:

• Increasing hardware instability
• Complex remote access
• Limited scalability
• Fragmented vendor coordination

After migrating to a cloud-hosted PMS model with redundant fibre and 4G backup:

• Reduced hardware dependency
• Simplified cross-site operations
• Improved resilience
• Centralised management visibility

The infrastructure model aligned with their growth strategy.

Decision Summary: Which Model Suits Your Practice?

Cloud PMS is typically better for:

• Multi-site groups
• Practices planning expansion
• Teams needing secure remote access
• Practices wanting predictable monthly cost

On-premise may suit:

• Single-site practices
• Locations with unstable internet
• Practices preferring capital investment over subscription

There is no universal answer – but the wrong choice can limit growth or increase risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cloud PMS safer than an on-premise server?

Cloud hosting environments often benefit from enterprise-level security investment. However, overall security depends on how endpoints, access controls, and backups are managed within your practice.

What happens if internet goes down with cloud PMS?

Without backup connectivity, access to PMS will stop. A properly configured failover connection significantly reduces this risk.

How often should an on-premise server be replaced?

Most veterinary practices should plan for a 4–5 year server lifecycle, depending on workload and vendor requirements.

Is cloud cheaper than on-premise long term?

Cloud reduces upfront capital expense but increases recurring operational cost. Over a 5-year period, total cost depends on user count, growth, and maintenance needs.

Final Thought

Your PMS infrastructure decision impacts operational resilience, cybersecurity exposure, compliance posture, and long-term scalability.

If your current setup was chosen years ago – or without structured evaluation – it may be time for a review.

The post Cloud vs On-Premise PMS for Veterinary Practices: Which Is Better in 2026? appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

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In this week’s episode:

• Change Management Isn’t Optional – It’s a Core Leadership Skill: Great ideas fail when teams don’t understand the why. Without clear communication, realistic timelines, and shared evaluation, even the best initiatives can create resentment and disengagement. Managing change properly protects culture, morale, and results.
• We’re Measuring the Wrong Things: Veterinary practices obsess over clinical metrics – but rarely track non-clinical time. What are vets, nurses and reception teams actually doing all day? Without that visibility, inefficiency hides in plain sight, and burnout follows.
• Efficiency Isn’t Corporate – It’s Compassionate: Operational efficiency isn’t about squeezing more out of people. Done well, it removes low-value tasks, reduces cognitive load, and allows professionals to focus on stimulating, meaningful clinical work. That improves wellbeing and performance.
• “Start With Why” Applies to Veterinary Medicine: Whether introducing new tech, changing systems, or reshaping workflow, leaders must define the benefit clearly. If a change doesn’t create value – for patients, clients, or teams – why are you do

In this episode, Jack Peploe speaks with David McDonald, director of PureVet. This episode is a practical, thought-provoking conversation on how better leadership, smarter measurement, and thoughtful change management can build sustainable veterinary practices where people thrive.

Additional Guest Spotlights

• Next Episode Sneak Peak: Next episode, Jack is joined by Debbie Robinson, founder of Vetnetics and one of the UK’s leading voices in veterinary leadership and culture. Debbie brings a powerful message: busy is normal – broken is not. If you’re leading a team – or hoping to – this is an episode that may challenge you in all the right ways.
  
• Recommended Resource: This week’s recommendation come from Clary Clarke, and highlights the power of clarity in leadership. The book introduces the “The Golden Circle – Simon Sinek” framework – why, how, what – and challenges leaders to communicate from the inside out. For veterinary practices, the message is simple but powerful: don’t chase the next shiny solution without first defining its purpose. When teams understand why something matters, engagement and alignment follow. It’s a foundational leadership read for anyone shaping strategy in practice.

Show Notes

• Out every other week on your favourite podcast platform.
• Presented by Jack Peploe: Veterinary IT Expert, Certified Ethical Hacker, CEO of Veterinary IT Services and dog Dad to the adorable Puffin.

Transcription

Jack Peploe:

Coming up on Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast

David McDonald:

I think it’s change management, being able to manage change. It sounds really basic. That’s why I’m kind of questioning myself, but I genuinely, I can think of so many examples where I didn’t practice that in practice. And I see it a lot now as well, that we’ve got great ideas and maybe these are ideas that we as a practice owner have been sitting on for years even. And then we implement it because it’s amazing. And we have this massive fallout with our team leaving interiors, whatever. Because they didn’t understand. They didn’t understand the why, why was it going to benefit? How we’re going to evaluate its success. And yeah, I can think of several examples of what I’ve done in the past that I just hadn’t managed that change. Therefore, I hadn’t managed team expectation. Everybody had a slightly different idea of what was going to happen or what it meant for them.

And actually the impact that could have happened maybe wasn’t as great as it should have been.

Jack Peploe:

Welcome to the Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast. I’m your host and veterinary IT expert, Jack Peploe. In this episode, I’ll be welcoming David McDonald, veterinary surgeon and director at PureVet. We’ll be talking about how operational efficiency, leadership, and technology can work together to create more sustainable veterinary practices while measuring the right non-clinical data matters and how smarter systems can improve both team wellbeing and patient care.

David McDonald:

Thanks, Jack. Yeah. So I’m David McDonald. I’m a veterinary surgeon, graduated from Edinburgh in 1999. And like everybody else, went into practice, happily worked away, became a partner at a clinic in Sussex and Kent. And that’s what I thought I’d do until I retired. 2017 came along. One of my fellow directors was retiring and we joined Linas, which was then a private equity owned company. Subsequently acquired by Mars. And as the Linneaus organisation grew, I joined the medical team as a field medical director and then the operations team managing the London clinics. And then two years ago, I had an opportunity to join a company called VetSource, which is a US tech company. And I joined them to help them internationalise their product as the market lead in the UK. And that’s where I’m going to

Jack Peploe:

Move. That’s so exciting. Well, look, David, thanks so much for joining me today. Now you’ve had quite sort of an epic journey from sort of clinical practice through to leadership at Linneaus, as you said, and obviously now to launching VetSource in the UK, which is super exciting. Now, what I love about your story is that it’s not just about scaling systems or boosting metrics. It’s clear your drive is rooted in people. So helping teams enjoy the profession, making work smoother and creating environments where sort of good medicine is sustainable. So today, if it’s all right with you, I want to talk about that interception where leadership meets operations, meets wellbeing, and how we can move beyond the tick boxes to build veterinary businesses that actually work for the people inside them. Does that sound okay? Sounds great.

David McDonald:

Yeah.

Jack Peploe:

Awesome. All right. So I suppose starting with, you sort of said you want people to enjoy the profession as much as you do. What do you think are the biggest reasons so many no longer actually do?

David McDonald:

Yeah, it’s something I think about a lot. I love our profession and I don’t really subscribe to the stress that I see around me a lot of the time. And I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that firstly, I guess there’s maybe a kind of unrealistic expectation that people set out with. There’s a number of factors that that may come from, but I think one of the big ones is that there’s a lack of mentoring. And I think that’s what I had when I was a student and a new graduate, is I had people working alongside me. They’d been in the profession for a long time and reassured me. I definitely had wobbles. And I kind of see that as something that we’re lacking now, maybe because older members of the profession like me who maybe exited clinical practice, and also because I think there’s a lot of people working not really as part of a larger team.

So I think it’s people, again, I think people play a massive part in that expectation.

Jack Peploe:

No, absolutely. And operational efficiency is often sort of talked about like it’s a code or corporate sort of model, but do you think it can actually improve team wellbeing and how?

David McDonald:

Yeah, look, so this is something I’m super focused on. I mean, I guess I’ve forgotten my intro that back in COVID I did an MBA as well, so I had a bit of time on my hands and did an MBA and that kind of really opened my mind to efficiencies or inefficiencies in vet practice. So I’m passionate about that. And I hear what you’re saying, we think efficiency, corporate, people with a whip. I don’t think that at all. I think if I took my practice as it was seven sites, 30 bets, I actually think we could have delivered the same financial results with maybe five less bets because I looked at it now and think we were really inefficient.

I think that veterinary practice is possibly inherently inefficient by the variety of work that we do every day. So we can be vaccinating an animal one minute and then dealing with an RTA the next, and that doesn’t help us with efficiency. But I think the more I’ve done through my MBA and then the work in a corporate environment and now in VetSource, I think there’s a lot we can learn from the human healthcare field. And I believe that we are becoming obsessed with gathering clinical data to make us more efficient. And I challenge that. I think it’s helpful, but there’s a massive lack of non-clinical data. So we don’t actually know what our people are doing. And that’s where I’ve started, trying to understand what are people doing. And if I take VetSource as an example, we’re looking at managing prescriptions, repeat medication, chronic medications.

We know from what we’ve done and from independent work, around about half our veterinary receptionist time is spent managing repeat prescriptions. And that’s just one part of what we do every day in clinical practice. There’s lots of other examples. Work, you take five or six common procedures that RVNs are very capable of doing and maybe arguably better than vets at doing. Most of these procedures, like 60% of them are done by vets. So I think there are inefficiencies in practice. And I think then when you put that out to how does that engage us as a profession, I think that if we could become more efficient, we can … It’s not all about working harder or more complex cases by actually being stimulated in your work. I think if we’re doing work that a lower level qualification could do or even technology could do, actually, is that something that really engages you?

And I think probably not. So it contributes to that.

Jack Peploe:

Well, I’ve kind of got two sort of follow-on questions to that, but I want to go back to your MBA. If more practice owners had access to this kind of business education, what would you expect to change in the industry?

David McDonald:

I 100% would think we would just become more open-minded. And I don’t say that as a good or a bad thing, but I think that I was a fairly typical vet. We’re by and large similar personality types and we’re data-driven and there’s sort of a right and a wrong way of doing things. And I know that my MBA was definitely a kind of tipping point on me being very comfortable with not knowing everything. I don’t need to be the master of everything. I need to be open-minded. I need to challenge myself and others constantly, not just do things because I’ve been told that’s how we do it. Actually, does it create a value? And I think I come back to that every time.

If something doesn’t create value, and to me, that means a benefit. It doesn’t need to be financial value. But if we do something that doesn’t create a benefit for ourselves or our customers or the pets we treat, why are we doing it? And I think that’s really what I took from the MBA, is challenge everything. There’s not necessarily a right or a wrong change. The way we will change, I believe, is through constraints. So I think when we’re faced with challenges, that’s what helps us innovate. I seem to think we’ve been talking about a vet shortage for pretty much as long as I can remember. And I don’t think anything’s changing, so we need to change. And I think that’s where the efficiency comes in. So yeah, I think that’s …

Jack Peploe:

Yeah. No, that’s cool. And kind of going back to the other question I wanted to ask, so you mentioned obviously running teams across multiple sites. What’s one sort of leadership lesson you wish you’d learned earlier?

David McDonald:

I hope this is a good answer. I don’t know if it’s a lesson, but I think it’s change management, being able to manage change. It sounds really basic. That’s why I’m kind of questioning myself. But I genuinely, I can think of so many examples where I didn’t practice that in practice, and I see it a lot now as well, that we’ve got great ideas, and maybe these are ideas that we as a practice owner have been sitting on for years even. And then we implement it because it’s amazing. And we have this massive fallout with our team leading interiors, whatever, because they didn’t understand. They didn’t understand the why, why was it going to benefit, how are we going to evaluate its success? And I can think of several examples of what I’ve done in the past that I just hadn’t managed that change. Therefore, hadn’t managed team expectation, everybody had a slightly different idea of what was going to happen or what it meant for them.

And actually the impact that could have happened maybe wasn’t as great as it should have

Jack Peploe:

Been. No, I think to be honest, it’s a really, really strong answer because it is a big problem within the industry at the moment, especially with so much change. Ever since COVID, it seems like there’s been 10 times the change that we are accustomed to and used to. And you see it reflected within practices and how they struggle. And again, if you don’t have that flow of change management, that structure, it all goes probably wrong quite quickly. So how do you coach local leaders to lead beyond say the rotor? So to move from firefighting to truly shaping culture?

David McDonald:

Guess my approach in leadership is a very collaborative one, and that’s what I really want to try and instil in others. And I think it can be quite powerful given examples of where you’ve been in the past. And I would’ve been rather directional in the past, if this is what we’re doing and this is SOP and this is what we’ve got to do. And if you’ve got a problem, come to me because I’m the senior vet here or the practice owner. And it kind of worked a degree for me, but I look back and I think it could have been so much better. So it’s very much, I guess my whole ethos and leadership is to promote a relational business, not just a transactional one.

I want to encourage people to surround themselves with people that know more than they do, and that’s exactly what I do now. I look at me and VetSource is leading the team and helping formulate a strategy, but I’m surrounded by people that are much better at selling things or marketing or finance than I ever will be. And I’m very comfortable with that. Yeah. I think to really keep an open mind is so important. We all ultimately want the same thing, want to deliver the best service. We want pets to be healthy, protect the welfare, our pet owners to be happy with the service we provide. And yet there’s so much conflict within our profession often. And I think ultimately, it’s not that somebody wants to do damage to a pet or the business, but we’ve got to work on keeping an open mind and maybe we’ll come onto that later, but there’s a great book out there that I read and I reread and it’s a very simple book, but it’s good to kind of helping us understand how conflict sometimes happens in the workplace and how we can kind of break that down again.

So yeah, I think real collaboration keeps going back to that value creation. Is it creating a benefit? If you’re going to implement something that just creates challenges, why? Maybe sometimes there’s a regulatory need, but it’s pretty uncommon.

Jack Peploe:

Yeah, no, absolutely. And going back to the change management side of things, how do you approach systems change without overwhelming people? So

David McDonald:

Again, I’m repeating myself, but it’s always a why. Why are we doing this? What is the benefit it’s going to bring? I then want to have a clear plan of how we’re going to do it. So what does that mean? And I think that’s got to be realistic. Well, I can implement a change in a week for it to be successful. I mean, it depends what it is, but I’d call often say, “Oh, we’re going to do this. This is how we’re going to roll it out over three months and we’re going to evaluate this and we’re going to talk about it every month.” And we’re not going to be afraid to say it didn’t work or we need to change something. And I think that’s probably really important as well. We obviously want a change to be successful, but actually recognise that, hey, there might be some challenges there.

I guess the biggest one I can think of is always, everyone talks about practice management systems and I hear every day people say, “Oh, the PIMS doesn’t work or the platform that we’ve adopted doesn’t work.” I’d say the majority of times what I see is people don’t know how to use it. They do work. They’re very effective, but people haven’t taken the time or haven’t been trained to do it. So the change has not been managed. We’ve created an amazing system and then everybody says it doesn’t work.

So I think it’s recognising that and communicating that to people. We recognise this is different for you, but this is a way in which it will create a bigger benefit for you, work through it and it actually will help you in the long run.

Jack Peploe:

Yeah, no, I completely agree. And I mean, the practice management system is a really interesting one being that it is such a beast of a platform. And in comparison to most other industries, they don’t have what we’ve got within our industry. So it’s an overwhelming thing to sort of take on board. And I think the other challenge regarding that PMS tends to be the fact that they’re constantly evolving and changing these solutions, but obviously it’s the practice not sometimes taking the time to understand what those changes are and how it could benefit their business. That’s kind of from my side, probably shot for saying that. The other thing I want to talk about is obviously we often hear you can’t improve what you don’t measure, but what are the right things to measure in a veterinary business?

David McDonald:

Well, I guess the context is in who you’re asking. I mean, okay, so if you’re asking me as a practice owner, I guess what am I looking at? I’m looking at my cost of goods and my salaries. That’s what’s in my mind anyway. That’s what’s going to really make or break my P&L. But actually, if I take my position now and how I believe our profession can thrive, what do I want to measure right now and what I would love to encourage people to measure, it is that non-clinical data. What are people doing with the time? So we’ve got increasingly lots of data. I’m not saying we’re very good at collecting it. It’s pretty dirty data, I’d suggest a lot of the time. It’s difficult to compare apples with apples, but we really have a lack of a lack/almost no non-clinical data. So we don’t know what our vets are actually doing every day, and the same for our nurses and for our reception teams.

And I believe that is a real key in unlocking efficiencies, which then go back to engagement of our team because there’s a lot of fear out there just now with the CMA activity. And I speak to a lot of vets that are saying, “God, this is difficult. The only way we can survive is to put prices up so much we worry we’re going to lose our customers.” Well, no, I don’t believe that. I actually think you can have lunch and go home on time and make more money by being more efficient. But I think the key to that is identifying what are vets doing that they don’t need to do every day. And that encompasses, okay, dispensing drugs that VetSource can help with, but it’s so much more than that. It’s writing reports. It’s how we communicate with our pet owners. There’s so many tools out there, how we capture our clinical notes.

There are just so many factors out there that I believe can really make a difference. And there’s so much we can learn from human healthcare. They’ve done it, it’s out there and they’ve done it because they’ve been forced to do it. They’ve been forced. They need to make money, and that has been the driver in a lot of these cases in the US. But I believe we’re in that situation in the UK now where whether it’s lack of vets or pressures from what’s happening in CMA, who knows what outcome will be there. But I believe that it is through these worries and pressures that we will adopt innovation and will change and it’ll be for the better. We’re going to survive. The vet industry’s growing. It will be fine, but it won’t be fine just to keep doing what we did 20 years ago.

Jack Peploe:

No, absolutely. And what did I say to you at the start, David? I said to you, we’re going to run out of time in no time, and that is exactly what’s happened. But thank you so much. It’s been such a valuable conversation. It’s clear you care deeply about how practices feel to work in, not just how they perform on paper. And I really think holistic will appreciate that lens, especially a time when pressure on Teams has never been greater. Now, for anyone that wants us to connect with you or follow the VetSource journey in the UK, where is the best place for them to find you?

David McDonald:

So they can find us on our LinkedIn page, which kind of regular updates there, our website is vetsource.co.uk. Or I’m super happy to engage with anybody personally.

Jack Peploe:

Cool. Amazing. And they will be in the show notes, but David, thank you so much. It’s been a really fun episode. Thanks,

Jack Peploe:

Every episode, we ask professionals and experts to suggest a best business resource for our listeners. This week’s recommendation is from Carly Clark.

Carly Clarke:

There’s a book that I have read, I read many years ago, and it’s something I go back to every now and then, and I recommend it to all of my product team at Covetrus or anybody who’s wanting to get into product. It’s called Start With Why by Simon Sinek. And it really is a great book. It’s a great insight into how businesses really can help transform what they’re doing by defining your why clearly and communicating it consistently. It talks a lot about the Golden Circle framework where a lot of companies, and this can be absolutely true to the veterinary industry as well. They really focus on communicating from the outside in, so what, how, and then why, rather than really thinking from an inspired leader, an organisation perspective where you’re communicating inside out. Why are you wanting to do what you’re doing? How are you going to do it?

And then what is it that you’re actually doing? And for me, I embed that into everything that we’re looking at from a delivery roadmap strategic perspective, but it is absolutely something that can be true to the veterinary industry as well. Think about why. Don’t just jump to the new shiny gadget. What is it? Think back to why it is that something might be of benefit to help drive that strategy. So it’s a great resource. Start with why by Simon Sinek.

Jack Peploe:

Coming up next week, we welcome Debbie Robinson, founder of Vetnetics and a leading voice in veterinary leadership and culture. Debbie shares her journey from a career in IT to coaching over 80 veterinary practices across the UK, helping leaders move beyond survival mode and build workplaces where people genuinely thrive. We dive into what real leadership looks like in a modern vet practice, why culture is a daily behaviour rather than a poster on the wall, and how energy, communication, and trust shape everything from team wellbeing to patient care. Debbie also challenges some uncomfortable truths around gossip, burnout, and broken systems, and offers practical ways to lead with intention and humanity.

Debbie Robinson:

Some days are going to be crazy loony tune days. It’s just that in veterinary, but if it’s like that more often than not, it’s broken. And what we can’t afford to do is break people because people will become ill and they will potentially leave. And this is where leaders, sometimes we think there is such a demand that we stack it so high that the team can’t possibly get through it all without burning out, without overwhelm.

Jack Peploe:

That’s it for this episode. All links and recommendations we talked about are in the show notes. Don’t forget to subscribe and share the podcast if you found it useful. In the meantime, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The post Beyond the Rota: Leadership, Efficiency & Change Management in Modern Vet Practice – Episode 50 appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

“1 in 2 UK small businesses identified a cyber attack last year. Around 1 in 4 UK small businesses experienced a cyber crime “

– Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 2025

According to the UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, 43% of UK businesses experienced a cyber breach in the past 12 months, with 67% of medium-sized organisations affected. Phishing remains the most common attack vector, accounting for 84% of reported breaches, while ransomware incidents have increased by 70% year-on-year.

For UK veterinary practices relying on real-time access to Practice Management Systems (PMS), imaging platforms, and payment systems, even a short disruption can halt clinical operations. A serious cyber incident can result in 2–7 days of downtime, potential GDPR reporting obligations within 72 hours, and thousands of pounds in direct and indirect costs.

Why Veterinary Practices Are Increasingly Targeted

Veterinary clinics are attractive targets because they combine:

• Sensitive client personal data
• Insurance documentation
• Clinical medical records
• Often ageing on-premise infrastructure

Unlike some sectors, veterinary practices cannot “pause” operations. When systems go down, clinical workflow stops.

That urgency makes them vulnerable to ransom demands.

The 5 Biggest Cyber Threats Facing UK Veterinary Practices in 2026

1. Phishing & Credential Theft

84% of UK businesses experiencing breaches reported phishing as the initial cause.

In veterinary environments this often appears as:

Once attackers access email accounts, they often move laterally into shared drives and PMS credentials.

Without enforced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), compromise risk increases significantly.

2. Ransomware Targeting PMS & Imaging Systems

Ransomware incidents have increased by 70% year-on-year.

For a veterinary practice, this can mean:

• Encrypted PMS databases
• Locked imaging servers
• Inaccessible booking systems
• Disabled payment terminals

For a 20-user practice turning over £1m+, even 2–3 days of disruption can exceed £8,000–£15,000 in lost revenue, before remediation or reputational damage is factored in.

3. Outdated Infrastructure Exploits

Common weaknesses we see in independent practices:

• Servers 6–8 years old
• Unsupported Windows versions
• Consumer-grade firewalls
• No network segmentation
• No formal patching schedule

Cybercriminals routinely exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated systems.

4. Supply Chain & Vendor Exposure

Supply chain attacks now account for approximately 15% of small business breaches.

For veterinary practices, this includes:

• PMS vendors
• Imaging software providers
• Telecom suppliers
• Third-party remote access tools

If one vendor is compromised, practices without proper network segmentation may inherit that risk.

5. AI-Generated Attacks

35% of UK SMEs now identify AI-driven attacks as a top concern.

AI-generated phishing emails are:

• Grammatically flawless
• Highly personalised
• Difficult for staff to detect

This increases the importance of ongoing training and layered defence.

GDPR Exposure for Veterinary Practices

Under UK GDPR, organisations must report certain personal data breaches to the ICO within 72 hours.

Veterinary practices process:

Failure to demonstrate appropriate safeguards can result in:

• Client names and addresses
• Payment card details
• Insurance information
• Clinical history records

• Regulatory scrutiny
• Significant fines (up to €10m or 2% of turnover for lower-tier breaches)
• Increased cyber insurance premiums
• Reputational damage within local communities

Cybersecurity is therefore both an IT and compliance responsibility.

The 5-Layer Cybersecurity Model for Veterinary Practices

Effective protection requires layered defence.

1. Enforce MFA Everywhere

Email, remote access, admin accounts, PMS logins.

2. Deploy Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

Advanced threat monitoring across all workstations and servers.

3. Implement Encrypted 3-2-1 Backups

Three copies of data, two different media types, one off-site and encrypted. Regular recovery testing is essential.

4. Segment the Network

Separate clinical systems, admin devices, and guest Wi-Fi to prevent lateral movement during breaches.

5. Ongoing Staff Security Training

Only 19% of UK businesses provided cybersecurity training in the past year. Staff awareness remains one of the strongest risk reducers.

No single tool prevents breaches. Layering is critical.

What Should a Veterinary Practice Budget for Cybersecurity?

Industry guidance suggests organisations allocate 7–12% of their IT budget to cybersecurity measures.

For veterinary practices, this typically includes:

• Managed firewall and monitoring
• Endpoint security
• Email protection
• Backup and disaster recovery
• Staff awareness training
• Ongoing vulnerability management

Practices investing at the lower end often implement only reactive protection. Those investing in proactive, monitored security significantly reduce operational risk and insurance exposure.

The cost of prevention is consistently lower than the cost of recovery.

Real Scenario: 24-User Independent Veterinary Practice

A 24-user UK practice underwent a structured cybersecurity review.

Findings included:

• No enforced MFA
• Shared administrator credentials
• Ageing firewall firmware
• Backups not regularly tested

Improvements implemented:

• MFA across all accounts
• Endpoint Detection & Response
• Encrypted cloud backup solution
• Firewall replacement and segmentation
• Quarterly staff phishing simulations

Outcome:

• Reduced vulnerability exposure
• Improved cyber insurance compliance
• Strengthened resilience against phishing and ransomware attempts
• No major security incidents since implementation

Final Thought

43% of UK businesses experienced a cyber incident last year.

Veterinary practices are not exempt – and often carry higher operational risk due to real-time system dependency.

Cybersecurity in 2026 is not about antivirus software.
It is about structured, layered protection that safeguards clinical continuity, client trust, and regulatory compliance.

If your practice has not undergone a formal cybersecurity review in the past 12 months, it may be time to reassess your risk exposure.

All figures taken from Eclarity, and Cyber security breaches survey 2025 – GOV.UK

The post Cybersecurity for UK Veterinary Practices: What Are the Real Risks in 2026? appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to a single corner of veterinary medicine. AI-driven tools are now being used to support diagnostics, triage, imaging interpretation, workflow prioritisation, and clinical decision-making across a growing range of settings.

As adoption accelerates, a fundamental question becomes increasingly difficult to avoid:
how should veterinarians evaluate the tools they are being asked to trust?

At the core of that question sits transparency.

AI in Clinical Practice Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

AI diagnostic and clinical support tools do not perform uniformly across all scenarios. Performance varies by condition, species, prevalence, data quality, and clinical context. Yet many products are still presented using high-level claims that offer little insight into how a system behaves in day-to-day practice.

For clinicians, this creates risk. Without clear, condition-specific performance data, it becomes difficult to judge:

• When AI outputs can meaningfully support decision-making
• When uncertainty is high and additional validation is required
• How much weight AI results should carry in clinical conversations with clients

In medicine, opacity does not protect clinicians – it leaves them exposed.

Transparency Is a Professional Obligation, Not a Marketing Choice

Professional bodies such as the ACVR and ECVDI have already articulated this clearly in the context of imaging AI, highlighting the lack of transparency and validation as a key challenge in the current market. While their guidance focuses on imaging, the underlying principle applies far more broadly.

Any AI tool that influences clinical decisions – whether diagnostic, prognostic, or triage-based – carries an ethical responsibility to demonstrate how it performs, where it works well, and where its limitations lie.

Publishing performance data:

• Supports evidence-based adoption
• Enables independent evaluation and peer-review
• Reduces over-reliance and misuse
• Reinforces the clinician’s role as the accountable decision-maker

This is not about slowing innovation. It is about ensuring innovation earns its place in clinical practice.

Setting an Example of What “Good” Looks Like

Against this backdrop, Vetology AI’s recent decision to publicly release detailed performance metrics across its diagnostic classifiers is a useful reference point. While the data relates to imaging, the principle it demonstrates – open disclosure of condition-level performance, including limitations – is relevant to all clinical AI tools.

By making sensitivity, specificity, and sample sizes publicly available across a wide range of applications, the company has shown that transparency at scale is achievable. Importantly, the data does not present AI as infallible, but as a decision-support tool that must be interpreted within a clinician-led workflow.

That framing is critical. AI does not replace professional judgement; it depends on it.

Why This Matters Beyond Individual Products

For veterinarians, transparent AI performance data supports safer, more confident clinical decision-making.

For researchers, it provides the foundation for independent validation and meaningful comparison between tools.

For regulators and professional bodies, it enables proportionate, evidence-based oversight rather than reactive governance driven by uncertainty.

And for AI developers, transparency builds long-term trust – the currency that ultimately determines whether tools are adopted, rejected, or regulated out of relevance.

Raising the Bar for the Entire Market

Acknowledging companies that take transparency seriously is important. But it is equally important to recognise that this should not remain exceptional.

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in veterinary clinical workflows, performance transparency must become a baseline expectation, regardless of whether a tool supports imaging, diagnostics, triage, or clinical decision-making.

Veterinary medicine has always demanded accountability, evidence, and professional judgement. AI should be held to the same standard.

Because when clinical decisions are involved, transparency is not optional – it is essential.

The post Why Transparency Matters for AI Diagnostic Tools in Veterinary Medicine appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

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In this week’s episode:

• Automation and AI can remove admin pain from practices: From speech-to-text clinical notes to automated claims, the tools already exist to give vets time back.
• Insurance shouldn’t feel like the ‘big bad wolf‘: Better communication, real-time data sharing and modern channels (text, WhatsApp, digital claims) can transform trust and experience.
• The Swedish model shows what’s possible: Real-time claims, instant payment, and connected systems prove that seamless insurance workflows aren’t futuristic – they’re achievable now.
• Pet insurance is harder than human healthcare – but it doesn’t have to be: Lack of standardisation across breeds, treatments and pricing makes claims complex, but technology can bring order to the chaos.

In this episode, Jack Peploe speaks with Garry Nelson of Wisentic Pets UK about how AI, automation and connected systems can radically simplify insurance, reduce admin, and improve life for veterinary teams and pet owners alike.

Additional Guest Spotlights

• Next Episode Sneak Peak: Coming up next week, David MacDonald, Vetsource, explores effective change management and why aligning teams around the rationale, impact, and measures of success is critical to turning good ideas into sustainable progress without unintended disruption.
  
• Recommended Resource: Our recommended resource this week comes from Dr Phil Richmond, highlighting The Culture Code and The Four Agreements as powerful reads for leaders, offering practical insights into psychological safety, empathy, and the importance of not taking things personally or making assumptions when leading teams.

Show Notes

• Out every other week on your favourite podcast platform.
• Presented by Jack Peploe: Veterinary IT Expert, Certified Ethical Hacker, CEO of Veterinary IT Services and dog Dad to the adorable Puffin.
• Find out more about Wisentic here!

Transcription

Jack Peploe:

Coming up on Modern Veterinary Practice.

Garry Nelson:

Sometimes the insurer is seen as the big black wolf, and I think that’s unfair as well. So with modern technology now, there is no reason why using text, WhatsApps, and every other media that is available done well, done properly. I think it was Isaac Asimov said that IT works beautifully. I think when it’s simple, it looks like magic. Well, that’s what we need to do, is have some magic involved.

Jack Peploe:

Welcome to the Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast. I’m your host and veterinary IT expert, Jack Peploe. In this episode, I’ll be welcoming Garry Nelson, managing director of Wisentic Pets UK to the podcast. We’ll be talking about how insurance automation and AI can radically simplify life inside veterinary practices, why claims and admin are still far more complex than they need to be, and how a smarter, more connected systems can improve experience for vets, teams, and pet owners alike.

Garry Nelson:

Yeah. My name is Garry Nelson. I’m the managing director of Wisentic Pets UK. A little bit about my background. I actually originally from Liverpool. I suppose you’d call me an old rocker. I collect guitars. I used to play in a band many, many years ago. I won’t tell you the name of the band because everybody would Google it and then I’d be a little bit embarrassed. I have got eight guitars and my wife has said that if I buy another one, then there will be a divorce on the table. I’m not too sure which is going to be the cheapest option really. But I do love guitars. I’ve sort of fell into the insurance business after working for my father for about seven years and worked my way up to quite some senior roles in Prudential. I was a main board director. I was sales director of Bupa and then moved into my own company, which I had for about 13 years in design.

And then just sort of found myself in the software business. Often look back into wonder why the hell that happened, but it did. But the software business in particular, dealing with insurance companies and helping them with their efficiencies on insurance claims. So a very, very much a game keeper turned poacher. So having a keen and a good understanding of the insurance industry and how it makes money and how it needs to be efficient, there I was on the other side of the coin, coming with solutions and ideas and software that would help that happen.

And hence, I’m now in, I suppose, the pet ecosystem as they call it. So there’s a brief introduction to me, Jack.

Jack Peploe:

No, that’s fantastic. Well, Garry, it’s great to have you on the Modern Veterinary Practice podcast. Now I’ve got to say what I find fascinating about your journey is that you are not just talking about innovation in abstract terms. You’ve actually lived at the intersection of tech, veterinary, admin and insurance for a while now, as you say, now you’ve seen how clunky systems can really wear down a team, but you’ve also clearly someone who brings a very human, even joyful approach to solving these problems. So I want to get into some of these bigger ideas today, not just about insurance tech, but about how we make work feel better and where automation fits into that. So you’ve said your mission is to simplify the lives of veterinary professionals. When you look at the day-to-day and practice, where do you think we’re overcomplicating things at the moment?

Garry Nelson:

Well, it’s a great question, Jack. I think perhaps not over complicating, but particularly the pet insurance industry and the claims process is a much more complicated one than the human claims process having worked for Bupa. I understand that. And many years ago, and I won’t say which year, but many years ago there was something called the Big Red Book. And the Big Red book was exactly what it suggests. It was like the telephone book with very thin pieces of paper in it. And in that book was every episode that a human being could actually have presented to it, bypass to it, on you name it. And within that book, and within that episode was a price, and there was a price for every little bit the drugs used, the bandages used the theatre time, the an, I can’t ever say that, but anesthetic, the surgeon’s prices.

And in fact, I do recall when I first joined Bupa, there was a row between an atheists and the surgeons on who should be paid more for a tonsillectomy because, and anesthetic side is more prevalent than the surgery side. Anyway, that makes life very much easier when it comes to insurance because there’s a lower limit and there’s a higher limit. And the insurer would say, well, we’re not paying above that. And if you want above that, the insured pays for the excess. In the pet industry, it’s really complicated much more because you’ve got all different animals, all different breeds and different methodologies, and there’s no standardisation in the uk. It’s a little bit like the wild West to be honest with you. And that makes the whole landscape really, really complicated. And where I believe the company that I work with and my reason to be is to try and standardise the way of working, standardise the information, make sense of that information using AI and all of the other tools that we can bring to bear to make life simpler and to make sure that an episode of a particular pet in Truro as opposed to Penrith, if the same episode or the same treatment has been made, then really it should be the same sort of pricing.

Does that sort of make sense, Jack?

Jack Peploe:

No, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. And I mean insurance is often seen as this necessary evil in practice life. Do you think that perception can ever shift and should it

Garry Nelson:

Well, I think most people think insurance is a bit dry as a subject, but trust me, it’s going through some really big changes at the moment. One of the changes I’ve seen this year is there is a price war going on, there’s a race to the bottom. And I think that is, from a consumer point of view, you might think that that’s a good thing, but quite frankly, I’m not quite sure because when profits are being squeezed, it puts transformation a little bit on hold and we don’t really want to see that transformation or the IT transformation being delayed. I guess making insurance claims smoother, a more friendly to the consumer is really important. I dunno about you, Jack, but when I have to phone any large large institution for any reason at all, whether it be my gas provider, my electric provider, my car insurer, or my pet insurer, my heart sinks because you know that it’s 45 minutes waiting for the music to stop and us being told we’re on hold and your call is valuable to us.

Well, it bloody well isn’t is it if you’re having to sit there for 45 minutes. So again, another thing that I truly believe is how do we bring technology into that equation to make the parents’ life easier and the insurer their lives easier? And also to make sure that the insurer is seen as providing a really great service to the policy holder because sometimes the insurer is seen as the big black wolf, and I think that’s unfair as well. So with modern technology now, there is no reason why using text WhatsApps and every other media that is available done, well, done properly. I think it was Isaac MOV said that it works beautifully. I think when it’s simple, it looks like magic. Well, that’s what we need to do is have some magic involved.

Jack Peploe:

Absolutely. And on that, because obviously you’ve worked on claims for years, why do you think paper still dominates so many clinics? Is it culture fear or tech barrier or something else?

Garry Nelson:

Well, I think sometimes people don’t like change, even though it’s painful. But there’s a number of wonderful PMSs around at the moment. I won’t mention any brands because I don’t want to sort of be two partisan, but there’s a number of PMSs that are using AI

To even turn voice into text. It’s been around for many years. A company that I used to work for used to speech analytics to identify next best actions actually in real time when a customer was talking on the phone. This has been around for quite some time, but in terms of the vet actually doing some treatment and talking about that treatment, if you ask Yvette what takes most of their lives up, they’ll say is doing the bloody notes at the end of some treatment, having to upload all of that and type them into the ps. If that could be done automatically using speech analytics actually uses AI to significantly upgrade the intel that’s going into that PMs and then automatically make a claim on behalf of the customer. Wow. Again, it’s that magic again, it’s that technical magic that helps. I also think I’m going to get into real trouble on my next comment now. I think it could be an age thing as well, a demographic age thing. I’m of an age where my kids think I’m a little bit decrepit and typical middle aged, angry old man type thing. I’d like to think that when it comes to technology, I’m still wide-eyed and bushy tailed and in awe of what technology can do. I do think that seems to be in some areas the province of younger people, and I think that’s wrong. I think everybody should embrace the technology. So those oldies out there that think that it’s all newfangled and it’s not worthy, take that hat off, give it a go, give it a whir, play around with it, and embrace the magic of what particularly AI in veterinary practice can do. Yeah,

Jack Peploe:

Absolutely. Now obviously Wisentic is Swedish. In Sweden, the pet insurance model is way more embedded. What could the UK learn or maybe even indeed unlearn from that?

Garry Nelson:

Wisentic is, it’s a fabulous company actually. I feel very privileged and honored to be heading up the UK side. It’s a dream come true for me in Sweden. You’re absolutely right. The adoption of insurance is over 90%. That’s grown up through a period of trust between the insurer, the pet parent, and the claims processing side. It doesn’t seem to be the abrasive issues between insurer and claimant and vet group in Sweden, as there is in the uk, the Swedish connections in terms of, what should we say, communications is smooth and it’s in real time. Data flows around and around and it’s shared, and that makes queries about a claim much quicker.

I remember being hauled on a call by an organisation that should remain nameless, but it was a large vet group who wanted to show me what in their eyes, what good looked like it was in a previous company. Those who want to look on my LinkedIn would know exactly who that is. So have a look, but my previous company, so I was basically asked to come along and see what they believed was what good looked like. And it was the Swedish model and it was a pet being brought group into a vet being worked upon and the claim being made in real time and the claim was paid before the pet left the practice.

Jack Peploe:

That’s awesome.

Garry Nelson:

That is awesome. I must admit, I sat there in awe and thought, wow, that is light years away from where we are in the uk. The company that was involved in that was Vient, and that’s why I’m so excited to, I think we’ve got a long way to go because it’s not just us bringing that technology to the UK and saying, there we go, use it. There’s an element of connecting all the pieces together, PMSs, tech groups, insurers, but that technology exists. It’s available now using ai. It can support extremely swift analysis of claims and identify even elements of fraudulent activity, but more so just make it smoother for everybody. Make sure the vets get paid quicker. The pet parents are looked after, and I think I’m going into a slight rant now, Jack, but one of the things that I think is really important is that at the point of care or just before the point of care, the vet and the pet parent are cognitive of the policy that is held by the parents details. So from the vet’s point of view, will they get paid?

Is the policy live? Has the direct debit stopped? Is there an excess? If there’s an excess, who’s going to pay it? How’s it going to be paid? All of these things, if that information is available, will stop. A lot of the issues that I’m sure have ended up on the CMAs investigation panel of complaints that have come in with pet parents saying, I didn’t know. Nobody told me was they did this work. It was 3000 pounds. I didn’t know that I had, et cetera, et cetera. So I think again, using technology to communicate seamlessly and smoothly and in a friendly way is absolutely paramount.

Jack Peploe:

No, absolutely. Now, you mentioned some really interesting ideas there, especially sort of this concept around the practise getting paid before the client even leaves the building, which is very exciting and that’s kind of the here and now to a point, not necessarily in the uk, but it is kind. The technology’s there. Now, if we were to zoom out, what the veterinary clinic of 20, when insurance, what do hope like work there?

Garry Nelson:

Oh, what a great question that is, Jack. I love that question. Going back to that IT and solutions being like magic, I think it’s about a connected ecosystem, a connected world where if you move house, I’m in the process of moving house, hopefully you’re going to exchange today, but God only knows, but moving house, so you move out the area and you take your pets with you. It’s hit and miss today, whether that history would actually, of your pets would actually be moved to your new vet, not a guarantee. Same with your own doctor. Actually, sometimes that doesn’t happen. But wouldn’t it be nice to know that if you moved from London down to the west country and you went to a new vet that you could with a pet passport on your mobile picture of your pets, the obligatory barcode or what have you, go into your vet, sorry, they take a scan and immediately all of the pet’s history with everything that’s involved in that is immediately moved to that new vet. Why should that not be the case that technology exists today? So there’s one thing, the ability to make an appointment by just using Siri or Alexa with a diagnostic bot

That actually will give the vet a little bit of forward information about what’s going on with Fluffy the dog or what have you. The ability to automatically order a prescription using Alexa or Siri rather than pay sometimes inflated prices from dispensaries and have it delivered within four hours. At the moment, you buy something on Amazon, same day, it turns up you buy something from Tesco and Swoosh, it’s 20 minutes. Why not with prescriptions? I think as well, the veterinary industry, again, going back to that age thing, has got to adopt this new way of working. I’m just trying to think of 2030. I’m struggling Jack sometimes to think about what I’m going to eat at lunchtime, nevermind his life. Does that give a sort of a flavour?

Jack Peploe:

I think it absolutely does. I think that there’s so many exciting things and I get very excited about predictive care, but I mean, that’s another conversation to be had for another day. I knew this would be the case. We would literally hit that 20 minute mark, which is typical. But Gary, thank you so much. It’s honestly so rare to find someone who can talk about the insurance technology, but also the human connection in the same breath. And may I add not to lose someone along the way? Now, if people wanted to get in touch with you, how can they go about and reach out to you?

Garry Nelson:

Pretty simple. Really go on to our website, and I better spell this because I was at the best UK Awards lunch. I was very privileged to be able to give an award out. It was wonderful. But I sat on a table with 10 people and I said, look, I’m s from, or Vient or I dunno. And everybody, I said, let’s have a bit of a challenge to see who can say it the right way. I have no idea how one says it. And even in Sweden, the folks in my own company say the brand in a different way as well. So it’s WISENTIC. So go onto linkedin and you’ll find me on there, send me a note or Gary with two rss Nelson, N-E-L-S-O-N. Go onto LinkedIn. You’ll find me on LinkedIn or Gary Nelson com. So send me an email. I’d love to hear from you. I’m a great believer in learning by people’s comments and thoughts, and when I put my posts out, I always ask for, let me know. And people do. It’s fascinating. So that’s how people can get ahold of me.

Jack Peploe:

Yeah, cool. No, that’s perfect. And they will all be in the show notes. But Gary, thank you so much. That’s been so much fun. You are very welcome.

Speaker 3:

Recommended resources.

Jack Peploe:

Every episode we ask professionals and experts to suggest a best business resource for our listeners. This speech recommendation is from Dr. Phil Richmond.

Dr Phil Richmond:

The book is called The Culture Code. I read that that book is essentially client services, psychological safety, all that. I read the whole thing. I’ve read it three or four times. And as a book in a leader, I think there’s so many great books out there. But for me that was a really great one from a spiritual aspect, just something that was a relatively easy read. The first book that I read that wasn’t directly recovery related was the four agreements and the second and third agreement, and I’ll get ’em mixed up, but one is don’t take anything personally, which is easy to say. But when you realise that it has so much more to do with the other person and the spiritual and emotional condition that other person is in, it allows me to give grace to that person. And not that I’m taking vitriol or aggression or anything, but if they’re just upset or something like that, I can say, oh wow, that’s where that person is.

And then don’t make assumptions as my father used to colourfully, tell me. And so I was telling you about that journey and recovery going through my whole life. And when I realised all of these things that I spent so much time going over in my head, and by the way, there’s an 88% overlap in what we imagine to be real and what we see with our senses. So my brain can’t tell the difference. If I imagine something, I’m going to have the same emotional response as if it’s actually happening. So I went through all those emotions or nothing because I assumed that, oh, they did this because of this. I filled in the blanks with that. And those two principles are really, really powerful.

Jack Peploe:

Coming up next week, we welcome David MacDonald, veterinary surgeon and UK market Lead at Vet Source. David shares his journey from clinical practice and partnership through senior leadership roles at LAN AEUs to now helping international veterinary technology scale in the uk. We explore why so many vets are struggling to enjoy the profession, their hidden inefficiencies, draining time at energy from practices and how better use of nonclinical data could transform wellbeing as well as performance. David also challenges how we think about efficiency leadership and change management, arguing that smarter systems should exist to support people not squeeze them.

David MacDonald:

I think it’s some change management, being able to manage change. It sounds really basic, that’s why I’m questioning myself, but I genuinely, I can think of so many examples where I didn’t practice that in practice, and I see it a lot now as well, that we’ve got great ideas and maybe these are ideas that we as a practice owner have been sitting on for years even. And then we implement it because it’s amazing and we have this massive fallout with our team leaving interiors, whatever, because they didn’t understand. They didn’t understand the why or why was it going to benefit, how we going to evaluate its success. And yeah, I can think of several examples of what I’ve done in the past that I just hadn’t managed that change. Therefore, I hadn’t managed team expectation. Everybody had a slightly different idea of what was going to happen or what it meant for them. And actually the impact that could have happened maybe wasn’t as great as it should have been.

Jack Peploe:

That’s it for this episode. All links and recommendations we talked about are in the show notes. Don’t forget to subscribe and share the podcast if you found it useful. In the meantime, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The post Insurance, AI & a Little Bit of Magic: Simplifying Veterinary Practice for the Next Decade – Episode 49 appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

This article draws on themes discussed in a recent conversation with Carly Clark on the Modern Veterinary Practice podcast; you can find the episode here: Futureproofing Practice Technology, AI & Avoiding Digital Regret | Episode 43 – Veterinary IT Services

There’s no shortage of conversation in veterinary medicine about AI.

It’s often presented as the next big leap forward – smarter, faster, transformative. And while AI absolutely has a role to play, that focus can quietly push something far more important into the background.

Automation.

It’s not flashy. It doesn’t get headlines. But done properly, it removes friction, reduces error, and gives teams back time – which is ultimately what most practices are trying to achieve.

The difference between practices that thrive with tech – and those buried by it

The practices that get real value from technology tend to share one thing in common.

They aren’t chasing every new tool.

Instead, they focus on building systems that are:

• Scalable
• Secure
• Integrated
• Designed to support how people actually work

Future-proofing isn’t about stacking more software on top of existing problems. It’s about choosing infrastructure that can grow, adapt, and connect – whether that’s cloud-based systems, integrated payments, client communications, or diagnostic tools that talk to each other.

Where practices struggle is often not because the technology isn’t available, but because:

• Capabilities aren’t fully understood
• Tools are adopted in isolation
• Manual workarounds become “just how we do things”

Over time, that creates friction that teams barely notice – until it starts costing them time and energy every day.

Automation: the unglamorous workhorse

Automation rarely gets the attention AI does, but it solves some of the most persistent pain points in practice.

Things like:

• Appointment reminders
• Preventive care communications
• Prescription refill prompts
• Routine client messaging

These are all essential, repetitive, and time-consuming. Left manual, they introduce inconsistency, missed opportunities, and unnecessary workload.

Automated communication within a practice management system quietly removes hours of admin each week – without reducing care quality or human interaction.

It doesn’t feel revolutionary.
But it works.

Reducing clicks matters more than adding features

Good automation isn’t just about doing things for people – it’s also about designing workflows that make sense.

In practice management systems, that means:

• Surfacing the next logical step at the right moment
• Reducing unnecessary clicks
• Making workflows intuitive for both long-term staff and locums

This kind of design doesn’t automate decision-making – it supports it. And the result is a smoother experience for teams and more time spent with clients and patients, rather than screens.

Sometimes the biggest gains come not from adding new tools, but from removing friction in the ones you already use.

Where AI fits – practically, not hypothetically

AI absolutely has a place in modern practice – but its value comes when it supports existing workflows, not when it tries to replace them.

Right now, the most practical applications are:

• AI scribes to reduce time spent writing clinical notes
• Patient history summarisation to give clinicians a clear overview before consultations

These tools don’t eliminate responsibility or judgement. They reduce cognitive load and administrative drag, allowing teams to stay focused on care.

The real opportunity comes when AI is properly integrated into the practice management system – not bolted on – so that data, workflows, and automation all work together.

Looking back to move forward

Five years ago, much of the profession was still heavily reliant on on-premise systems, with understandable reluctance to change. Technology felt risky. Familiarity felt safer.

What’s shifted since then isn’t just the tools – it’s the mindset.

There’s now greater openness to:

• Cloud-based systems
• Integrated partners
• Automation as a way to improve work-life balance
• Technology as an enabler, not a disruption

That change in attitude may be the most important development of all.

A quieter definition of future-proofing

Future-proofing a practice doesn’t mean adopting everything new.

It means:

• Choosing systems that integrate
• Automating the boring, repetitive work
• Designing workflows around people
• Using AI where it genuinely saves time

Automation may not be exciting – but it’s often the difference between technology that looks impressive and technology that actually helps.

And in a busy practice, help matters far more than hype.

This article draws on themes discussed in a recent conversation with Carly Clark on the Modern Veterinary Practice podcast; you can find the episode here: Futureproofing Practice Technology, AI & Avoiding Digital Regret | Episode 43 – Veterinary IT Services

The post Automation Isn’t Exciting – But It’s What Actually Makes Practices Work appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.

Over recent episodes of the Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with a range of clinicians, practice owners, and leaders from across the profession.

While each conversation has been shaped by individual experience, background, and context, a number of shared themes have begun to emerge. These aren’t definitive conclusions, nor universal truths – but they are patterns that feel worth pausing on and reflecting upon.

Below are four themes that have surfaced repeatedly in recent discussions, including our latest conversation with Ian Stroud and Francesca Verney of Pet People Vets.

1. An increasing focus on people as the foundation of practice culture

Many veterinary leaders are placing greater emphasis on how teams experience their working environment, recognising that culture plays a meaningful role in the sustainability of a practice.

This does not replace the need for robust systems or clinical standards, but rather highlights the importance of intentionally shaping how people work together, how values are communicated, and how behaviours are supported over time.

In practices where this approach is embedded, culture tends to be treated as something that is actively maintained and revisited, rather than assumed.

2. A more nuanced understanding of burnout and wellbeing

Conversations around wellbeing continue to evolve, with increasing recognition that burnout is influenced by multiple factors.

Alongside workload and time pressure, some leaders have highlighted the role that limited variety, reduced clinical challenge, or lack of development opportunities can play in long-term disengagement.

As a result, some practices are exploring ways to balance appropriate challenge with meaningful support, while also maintaining clear boundaries, recovery time, and flexibility where possible.

3. The consult room as a focal point for connection and communication

Across multiple discussions, the consult room has been identified as a central space for building trust and alignment between veterinary teams and clients.

When clinicians feel supported in developing communication skills and reflecting on consult experiences, this can strengthen confidence, collaboration, and shared decision-making.

As a result, many practices are increasingly viewing the consult as a relational space, recognising its wider influence on practice outcomes, client experience, and team satisfaction.

4. Leadership that remains visible, consistent, and connected

Leadership has emerged as another important theme, particularly the value of being present and accessible within practice environments.

Leaders who remain connected to day-to-day practice life – whether through clinical involvement, regular team engagement, or open communication – can help foster clarity and trust within teams.

Alongside this, consistency between stated values and everyday actions has been highlighted as a key factor in supporting stable and supportive working environments.

Reflecting on the direction of the profession

Taken together, these themes suggest a profession that is actively reflecting on how veterinary practice is structured, led, and experienced.

There is no single approach that will suit every setting. However, these conversations point towards a shared interest in creating environments that are thoughtful, sustainable, and supportive – for the people within them, as well as for the animals and clients they serve.

As these discussions continue, they offer valuable opportunities for reflection, learning, and ongoing development across the profession.

You can listen to our Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast episodes on all streaming platforms, and catch all old episodes here!

The post Four Themes Emerging from Recent Conversations Across the Veterinary Profession appeared first on Veterinary IT Services.