6 min read
Consult recordings and SOAP drafts
A vet-specific transcriber can draft a note. You still read it before it hits the record.
Why notes eat the day
Documentation is a real share of a vet's hours. Generic recorders butcher drug names and dump a wall of text. A veterinary product (Covet is the one people ask me about) tries to turn the appointment audio into a SOAP draft: history, exam, assessment, plan.
If it works, you edit for a couple of minutes instead of writing from a blank screen. If it hallucinates a murmur you did not hear, and you sign it, that is your license. Review is not optional.
Practical rules
- Tell the owner you are recording for the medical record. If they decline, write by hand.
- Ask the vendor where audio lives, who can hear it, and how long they keep it.
- Do not have a side conversation you would not want in the chart.
- I will not quote “hours saved per week.” Measure it in your own rooms or do not advertise it.
Same idea, smaller: voicemail summaries. Discharges are a different job.