"We should look at those teeth"
In a vaccination consult, the vet notices dental disease and recommends a dental under anaesthetic. The owner says they will think about it. The vet writes it in the notes. The owner goes home. Nothing happens.
A year later, at the next vaccination, the same vet or a different one finds the teeth are worse. The recommendation was never followed up because nobody had a list of recommendations waiting.
Why recommendations disappear
A recommendation is in the notes, not in the diary or on anyone's task list. Owners often need time to think, or to budget, and the practice has no process for coming back to them.
Estimates may be given verbally, or not at all. Without a written estimate, the owner has nothing to consider at home.
Consults are short and the recommendation often comes at the end, after the reason for the visit has been dealt with. The owner came in for a booster and leaves with a lot to think about. By the time they are home, the details have blurred, and there is no prompt from the practice to bring them back.
Different vets also handle it differently. One books the dental there and then, another suggests the owner rings when ready, a third mentions it in passing. Without a common process, the follow-through depends on who the owner happened to see.
What forgotten recommendations cost
| Gap | Effect |
|---|---|
| Recommendation not followed up | The patient does not get the care the vet advised |
| No written estimate | Owners cannot plan or budget |
| Inconsistent follow-up | Some owners contacted, most not |
| Lost work | Procedures that would have been booked are not |
| Vet frustration | The same problem is found again next year |
What is recommended is a clinical decision. We make sure the recommendation is followed up in the way your practice chooses.
Turning recommendations into tracked items
- A recommendation record added at the end of the consult with a tick box or template: what was recommended and how soon.
- An estimate sent to the owner by email with the recommendation, using your price list.
- A follow-up message after a period you set, with a link to book or ask a question, in wording written by your vets.
- A follow-up list for nurses showing recommendations not yet booked, oldest first, for a phone call where appropriate.
- Booking link that connects straight to the right appointment type.
- A report of recommendations made, followed up and booked, by type.
Recommendations that are acted on
Owners go home with a written estimate. A gentle follow-up arrives when they have had time to think. Nurses have a list to work from. More recommended procedures are booked, and those that are not have at least been discussed.
Owners who need time to budget can do so with a written figure in front of them, and some will ask about payment options or a health plan, which is a better conversation than silence. The nurse making follow-up calls has the vet's recommendation and the estimate on screen, so the call is informed.
The report is useful to the clinical team too. It shows which recommendations are most often declined, which may point to how they are explained, or to pricing that puts owners off.
Do recommendations go unfollowed at your practice?
- Recommendations are only written in the clinical notes
- Owners are rarely given a written estimate
- Nobody follows up recommendations that are not booked
- The same problem is found at the next annual visit
- You cannot see how many recommendations are outstanding