Clinical templates are one of the most effective tools for improving accuracy, consistency, and efficiency in your veterinary practice - but they can also feel intimidating when you’re just getting started.
The good news? Building useful clinical templates doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a clear plan, the right starting point, and an iterative mindset, any practice can create templates that genuinely make day-to-day work easier.
This guide breaks down practical, actionable tips to help you get started with clinical templates.
Key takeaways
- Start small and focus on high-impact templates first.
- Build iteratively, gather team feedback, and refine as you go.
- Templates should make life easier - keep them simple, clear, and user-friendly.
1. Start small
There’s a good chance you’re going to quickly get overwhelmed if you set out to make a template for every possible workflow right from the get-go. Instead, start small. Focus on creating templates for common, straightforward treatments such as:
- Spays.
- Neuters.
- Vaccinations.
- Wellness checks.
Because these procedures are routine and consistent, the templates you create for them will be used often and feel intuitive for your team. They’re the perfect low-risk way to learn how templates behave in real clinical workflows.
Starting with a smaller, strategic scope not only keeps the process manageable - it also helps your team see value early. Once they see how much time even one simple template saves, they’ll be more engaged and willing to adopt additional templates as your library grows.
After you’ve mastered the basics of templates, think about other tasks that could benefit from being templated. This might include:
- Tasks you complete frequently.
- Workflows with repetitive information.
- Processes with a higher risk of inconsistencies or errors.
- Documents that require a professional, standardized format.
Focusing on a small set of high-value templates first allows your team to build momentum and see immediate benefits.
2. Involve the team
Even the best-designed templates won’t make an impact if your team doesn’t actually use them. That’s why involving the right people early on in the process is crucial. Templates work best when they reflect how your team actually operates, not how you think they operate.
When building a template, consult the people who perform the workflow regularly. They’re closest to the process and can tell you:
- Which details are essential.
- What often gets missed during busy periods.
- Where documentation slows down.
- What information clients consistently need.
Involving these voices early does two things. First, it builds buy-in. When your team feels heard and has a hand in shaping the templates, they’re far more likely to use them consistently and champion them to others. Second, it creates a built-in feedback loop. As your team works with the templates in real clinical scenarios, they’ll quickly spot areas that can be improved or workflows that might benefit from additional templates.
By making template-building a collaborative effort, you’re actively creating a team that’s invested in using them, refining them, and helping your template library grow in the right direction.
3. Reuse what you’ve already built
One key misconception about clinical templates is that you need to start from scratch every time you create a new one. In reality, the more you build, the more reusable components you’ll have - and the faster future template creation becomes.
If you’ve already created text, prompts, or structures that work well, reuse them by copying sections from existing templates and pasting them into your new templates. Not only does this save time, but it also helps your entire template library feel unified and intentional. When staff switch between templates, they’ll recognize familiar phrasing, structure, and logic, which makes the templates easier to understand and use.
4. Accept that you won’t be perfect from the start
Clinical templates can be complex, and it’s completely normal not to nail them on the first try. Treat template-building as a process - not a project with a fixed end point. Your first version is simply a starting place to learn from.
The best way to approach it is to build, test, and refine:
- Pilot your templates with the team: Let vets and techs try them during real appointments.
- Gather honest feedback: What flowed well? What felt awkward? What slowed people down?
- Make small improvements: Sometimes, even seemingly minor adjustments can dramatically improve usability.
- Keep iterating: Templates evolve as your workflows evolve, and that’s a good thing.
Think of template-building as an ongoing improvement process rather than a one-off project.
Each round of refinement makes your templates more accurate, more intuitive, and more aligned with how your practice actually works.
FAQs: ezyVet clinical templates
What are clinical templates in ezyVet?
Clinical templates are predefined workflows that help clinicians record information quickly and consistently. They standardize how your team captures data, reduce repetitive typing, and improve the accuracy and clarity of patient records.
How do I know which templates to create first?
Start with your most common procedures or visit types - typically routine surgeries, vaccinations, and wellness exams. If a workflow repeats daily or weekly, it’s a strong candidate for templating.
How often should templates be updated?
Clinical templates should be reviewed whenever protocols change, new drugs or workflows are introduced, or your team identifies gaps. A quarterly review works well for most practices, but even informal feedback loops ensure ongoing improvements.
Can non-technical staff create templates?
Yes. While there’s a learning curve, clinical templates don’t require advanced technical skills. Start simple, learn by doing, and involve your team. Most practices find that confidence grows quickly once they’ve built their first few templates.
Conclusion
Creating clinical templates doesn’t need to be daunting. By starting with a clear plan, making incremental improvements, and adjusting as you learn, your practice can harness ezyVet's clinical templates to save time and support better patient care.
Start with what matters most, involve your team in the process, and let each template build on the last. Before long, you’ll have a streamlined, consistent documentation system that supports better workflows, clearer records, and a more confident clinical team.
Want to see how clinical templates could help your practice save time and boost consistency? Book your FREE demo today!