AI scribe helps vets save time & improve care for millions of pets

Greencross Vets and the Animal Referral & Emergency Network have introduced an AI medical scribe to over 140 GP clinics and 24 specialist and emergency hospitals across Australia.

This development comes as the veterinary sector faces significant strain caused by the country's high rate of pet ownership and a shortage of veterinary professionals. With approximately 28.7 million pets and only around 15,000 vets, Australia averages one vet for every 2,000 pets, creating pressure on clinics, increased workloads for veterinarians, and long waiting times for pet owners.

The partnership between Greencross Vets, the Animal Referral & Emergency Network (AREN), and Australian health tech firm Heidi Health aims to ease these burdens through the integration of an AI-powered medical scribe. This tool automatically generates structured medical records from consultations, reducing the need for manual note-taking and administrative work by veterinary staff.

AI in action

Since its rollout, the Heidi Health AI scribe has supported more than 5,000 consultations each week. Some veterinarians have reportedly saved up to nine hours per week that would ordinarily be spent on paperwork, allowing for more focus on patient care and shorter waiting periods for pet owners.

The scribe technology has been adopted in over 35 per cent of total consultations nationwide across Greencross Vets and AREN's network, with some clinics and hospitals utilising it in over 60 per cent of consultations. There are plans to expand the application of the technology even further over the coming months.

The AI scribe was selected based on its compatibility with the veterinary profession, including its specialist terminology and clinical templates, and its ease of integration into existing workflows.

Industry response

Dr Magdoline Awad, Chief Veterinary Officer, Greencross Pet Wellness Company says "As Australia's largest pet wellness company, we are constantly looking for ways to embrace innovation to enhance the client experience both in our GP clinics and our network of speciality & emergency hospitals. The implementation of Heidi Health for our teams has been revolutionary as it takes care of the behind-the-scenes tasks, refines the day-to-day work and gives our vets and specialists more time to do what they are trained for: providing quality care to pets and connecting with the families who trust us "The uptake of and feedback from our teams on Heidi Health in such a short space of time has been fantastic. Hundreds of our GP and speciality & emergency vets are using Heidi Health to streamline thousands of consultations a week – with some clinics and hospitals utilising it in over 60 per cent of consultations. "The benefits are numerous, but the most important one is now that our teams' are using Heidi Health, less time is spent on admin and more time is spent connecting with clients and treating patients. Over the coming months, we believe the impact it can drive for both our GP and specialists and our patients will grow exponentially."

The integration of AI transcription also aims to enhance veterinarians' work-life balance, with time saved on administrative tasks translating to more availability for patients, clients, and family. Greencross and AREN indicate that vets are saving nearly a full working day each week as a result of the new system.

Heidi Health was created to provide solutions for clinicians by clinicians, an approach the company believes resonates particularly well with veterinary teams contending with rising clinical and administrative demand.

From the technology provider

Dr Thomas Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of Heidi Health added: "We're thrilled to partner with the leading veterinary businesses in Australia, Greencross Vets and the Animal Referral & Emergency Network to help their GPs and specialists free up their time with less admin and focus on what they're trained for. As a business created by clinicians for clinicians, we have an innate understanding of the challenges vets and specialists are facing. By streamlining consultation transcription, we're helping vets and specialists get back valuable time to support better work-life balance and so they can do more of what they have been trained to do, which is to improve the health and wellbeing of their patients. With the sector under increasing strain, Heidi can play a crucial role in helping animal clinics and hospitals focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional care to animals and their owners."

The move is viewed as an operational response to pressures facing the sector, given Australia's high pet population and growing administrative demands. The solution supports the industry goal of providing timely, quality care to animals and improving the experience of families who own pets.

With the technology already embedded in a significant number of consultations and a nationwide rollout ongoing, the companies involved are aiming to reduce administrative burden on veterinary staff, allow more time for clinical work, and ultimately ease some of the current pressures on the veterinary workforce.