Case study: Enhancing workflows and patient care with the equipment health solution

AcutePet Urgent Care is a growing network of five dynamic acute-care veterinary hospitals that provides compassionate, state-of-the-art care to pets in need. The organization places a high priority on operational efficiency and ensuring its facilities are equipped to handle the demands of urgent care, delivering a seamless experience for both pets and their owners.

To maintain this high standard of service, they have signed onto MWI Animal Health’s equipment health solution. This partnership has helped the organization streamline its equipment maintenance processes, reduce downtime, and improve patient care outcomes.

Challenge: Unreliable equipment maintenance

In the fast-paced environment of veterinary urgent care, reliable equipment is critical for making accurate diagnoses and providing timely treatment. Equipment failures or delays in repair can disrupt operations and compromise patient care. AcutePet Urgent Care faced the challenge of maintaining consistency and oversight across geographically dispersed clinics.

Before implementing MWI’s equipment health solutions, AcutePet Urgent Care relied on a fragmented approach to maintenance. Local clinic managers were responsible for managing equipment maintenance and repairs, relying on local vendors and navigating complex manufacturer warranties. This fragmented approach led to inconsistencies, delays, and confusion about who to contact for support.

“One of the big time commitments when something breaks is figuring out who to call,” said Michael Parks, Director of Operations at AcutePet Urgent Care. “You might have ten different companies to contact, and even then, it’s rarely resolved the same day.”

This disjointed process placed additional administrative burdens on clinic staff, taking time away from patient care. Staff spent hours troubleshooting issues, coordinating service calls, or waiting days to weeks for repairs. These delays not only disrupted workflows but also diminished morale.  As Parks noted, even minor malfunctions, like a faulty autoclave or a broken otoscope, could halt critical services, forcing the clinic to turn patients away or refer them elsewhere. These disruptions can create stress and frustration for both staff and clients, as malfunctioning devices directly impacted the clinic’s ability to deliver timely, high-quality care. The lack of a streamlined support system also meant that broken equipment often sat unused, further compounding inefficiencies and eroding clients’ confidence in the clinic’s reliability.

Action: Streamlining the process

AcutePet Urgent Care sought a solution to centralize and streamline its equipment maintenance processes. The team decided to partner with MWI for its comprehensive support for managing, maintaining, and repairing veterinary equipment.

“It checked a lot of boxes for our support team,” said Parks. “Tracking equipment across locations, logging repair histories, and getting timely service were all things we needed, and MWI delivered.”

The equipment health solution program began with asset tagging and tracking, ensuring that every piece of equipment was accounted for and its maintenance history recorded. Parks emphasized the importance of this step, explaining that each hospital had roughly 50 to 60 items tagged, and the process took about half a day per site. Once completed, the system provided a centralized inventory and enabled proactive scheduling of routine maintenance—an essential capability for a fast-growing, multi-site organization.

Additionally, the program provided live technical support to help resolve many issues over the phone, eliminating the need for in-person technician visits in most cases.

“A big time commitment when an item isn’t working is figuring out who to call and coordinating a service visit,” Parks explained. “Now, with the QR code system, our staff can launch a support request in seconds, and the tech on the other end already knows what equipment they’re dealing with.”

For example, when a carbon dioxide sensor on a patient monitor needed recalibration, the team was able to resolve the issue immediately with step-by-step guidance from the support team. “I estimate that 80 to 85 percent of day-to-day issues can be resolved with live tech support,” Parks noted.

Result: Timely patient care

Implementing MWI’s equipment health solution had a significant impact on AcutePet Urgent Care’s operations. The centralized system has saved staff hours of time previously spent coordinating repairs and contacting multiple vendors. Live technical support has resolved most equipment issues quickly, reducing downtime and ensuring that critical devices remain operational.

This improved efficiency has also had a direct, positive effect on patient care. Reliable equipment allows the team to provide timely and accurate diagnoses and treatments. “When equipment doesn’t work, it can cause delays in treatment, which is frustrating for clients and staff alike,” said Parks. With fewer interruptions and faster repairs, the team has been able to maintain clients’ trust and satisfaction in the quality of care their pets receive. 

The solution has also empowered staff by giving them the tools and knowledge to resolve many issues independently. “Before, equipment malfunctions created stress for our managers,” Parks explained. “Now, they can resolve many issues themselves with live support. It’s been a morale boost to know they have control over these situations.”

Partnering with MWI Animal Health’s equipment health solution program has been transformative for AcutePet Urgent Care. By streamlining equipment maintenance and providing centralized support, the program has improved operational efficiency, enhanced patient care, and empowered staff.

“The convenience of this program has been tremendous,” Parks summarized. “It’s saved us time, reduced headaches, and given us confidence that our equipment is in good hands.”