QUARTERLY BEAT
OCTOBER 2026
15% higher employee retention. Role clarity is part of that same picture. Defining who owns discharge during which hours is one of the simplest structural decisions a practice can make.
your staff their evenings back. The team satisfaction win is real, and so is the reduction in preventable ER visits.
Try this week: Write your post-discharge protocol on one page. Recheck the booked-at-discharge status, automated 24- to 48-hour check-in, the "when to call" section in every handout, and the named contact path for after-hours questions. Where to Start Tomorrow Morning Optimizing discharge is not about adding more work. It is about removing friction from the work you are already doing, so the last thing your client experiences is clarity rather than confusion. If you want a practical place to begin: 1. Audit your current discharge process. Map each step, time each step, and gather feedback from the team and clients. 2. Select one or two of the five fixes above. Standardized instructions and a named discharge owner are usually the highest-leverage starting points. 3. Pilot the change for two to four weeks. Gather feedback. Refine. 4. Then scale. Bake it into your software, formalize the roles, and train every new hire. Sitting in that vinyl chair next to my mom, I did not want more information. I wanted clarity, consistency, and the feeling that someone had thought this through before I arrived at the worst moment of my week. Our clients want the same thing for their pets. Discharge is where we either give it to them or we do not.
This does not require a new hire. It requires a small structural decision: who owns discharge during your busiest blocks and when does it happen? Try this week: Pick one or two technicians to be "on discharge duty" during your peak hours or carve out specific 15-minute discharge slots in your surgery and hospitalization schedule. Communicate it to the whole team so no one gets double-booked or interrupted. 4. Let Technology Carry the Repetitive Load Our industry has been slow to adopt tools, and I understand why. Change is hard, budgets are tight, and we have all been burned by software that promised the moon and delivered a slightly worse version of paper. But the data is now clear: integrated technology meaningfully reduces the burden of repetitive, documentation-heavy work, especially during discharge. Two-way communication tools, veterinary copilot platforms, templated digital workflows, e-signature for consents, automated text reminders, and shareable care plans all do the same thing. They take low-value tasks off your team's plate and give clients the consistent, accessible information they need to follow through at home. The Rohlf et al. 2025 study reinforces this from a different angle. The authors found that trauma-informed care principles, which they broke into five components (transparent and client-centered communication, client supports and strengths, emotional safety and empowerment, physical safety and comfort, and informed consent), significantly predicted both client satisfaction and reduced client disappointment. Integrated technology is one of the most practical ways to operationalize those principles at scale. Try this month: Audit your current PIMS or EMR for these features: templated discharge workflows, digital treatment sheets, a client communication portal, e-signature for consents, and automated post-visit messaging. If you are missing two or more, it is time to put an upgrade on the agenda.
It is worth the work.
RESOURCES: • Rohlf VI, Manfrenuzzi N, Rehman N, et al. Exploration of Client Experiences of Veterinary Care for Companion Animals (Dogs and Cats) and the Impact of Trauma-Informed Care on Client Outcomes. VetSci. 2025;12(8): 709. https://www.mdpi.com/2306- 7381/12/8/709 • American Animal Hospital Association. 2023 AAHA Technician Utilization Guidelines. See especially Table 5.2: Standardized Workflow for Optimal Utilization. https://www.aaha.org/ resources/2023-aaha-technician-utilization-guidelines/ • Instinct Science. The State of Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Care in 2023. Summary coverage: dvm360 and BusinessWire. • Flegel T, Dobersek K, Bayer S, et al. Client's understanding of instructions for small animals in a veterinary neurological referral center. J Vet Int Med. 2024;38(3):1639-50. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.17085. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.17085
5. Build a Post-Discharge Communication Protocol
Discharge is not the end of recovery. It is the beginning of recovery at home, where the doctor cannot see what is happening, and the client is doing their best with a notebook and a Google search. Follow-up is where you protect your medicine. The fix is a protocol, not a vibe. Schedule recheck appointments before the client leaves the building, then confirm them by text. Automate a 24- to 48-hour check-in for every medical and surgical discharge. Include a clear "when to call us" section in every discharge document. Give clients a consistent, low-friction way to reach you, whether that is a phone line, a secure chat, or a triage partner. Speaking of triage partners, if your hospital is not yet using one, now is the time to look. Several reputable veterinary triage services now serve as an extension of your team, handling pet parent questions 24/7 and giving
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