Implementing a Technician Triage Program with Karen Hart

It seems like this year’s caseload has been very overwhelming! And no matter how many people are on the team, it makes things feel like we’re understaffed. We are always looking for great ideas to keep the team feeling empowered but also ensuring that clients are taken care of quickly and efficiently. That’s why Karen Hart joins the podcast today with a program her practice developed called the Technician Triage Program.

Karen Hart is the practice manager at Lamoille Valley Veterinary Services in beautiful Hyde Park, Vermont. She has been there since 2017 and comes to this field with a degree in engineering.

In this episode, Karen shares how her practice developed this program and what problems it solved. They were faced with several challenges and modeled their triage process after the traditional triage system in human hospitals. What’s working and what can you take away to use in your practice?

[2:43] - Because of the desperate need for staff, Karen developed the Technician Triage Program.

[3:50] - Similar to a human hospital, technicians triage the client prior to seeing the vet.

[4:58] - Karen describes how she and the practice owner arrived at this idea.

[6:18] - It took a while to work out all the kinks and Karen shares some of the concerns they had before rolling this out for all patients.

[7:38] - Who are the team members that are a part of the triage team?

[9:19] - At their hospital, they require technicians to be credentialed.

[10:11] - Phased training helped roll this program out and built empowerment for technicians.

[11:27] - Some people are very content in their position and don’t want to advance.

[12:51] - Sometimes there are things that won’t work out. Karen shares what took off and what didn’t in implementing this plan.

[14:21] - As a manager, it is important to keep an open mind.

[15:49] - By using the human hospital as a model, it makes it a lot easier to communicate the process to clients in a way that is relatable.

[18:29] - There are some things that doctors just don’t have to do. This method makes visits quicker and easier for clients.

[20:01] - Initially, Karen thought they would be admitting more overnight patients, but that didn’t work.

[22:10] - Sometimes clients just don’t see what else is going on. Their issue is their emergency but may just need a brief assessment through triage.

[25:27] - There are valid concerns to think about.

Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.