Revolutionizing Pet Care

Parker & Ace is a new kind of veterinary clinic that combines the warmth and familiarity of a local veterinarian with modern technology and design as an extension of the patient/doctor relationship, not a replacement.  They offer a membership model with concierge primary care through an in-clinic, virtual, or hybrid experience.  Members will have access to quality veterinarians wherever and whenever care is needed.  They use telehealth to triage patients to ensure that we are maximizing the impact of our veterinarians and minimizing any unnecessary visits.  Parker & Ace will be merging the best of human healthcare with a seamless consumer experience to offer customized, quality care that our furry companions deserve.

Challenges

The path to creating Parker & Ace was filled with hurdles. We needed to integrate a wide range of features into the vets’ application, from scheduling and staffing to inventory management, SOAP flows, and effective communication channels. We had just a year from my start date until the clinic’s launch—a tight window for such a large project. With a small team and an external development unit in a different timezone, the complexity of the task was magnified.

Approach

This was an epic endevor. We had to work work out details from office blueprints to appointment emails. This was a very large project and the scope kept getting larger.

Given the time constraints and the scope of the project, we chose to initially utilize an existing PIM system to cater to vets’ needs while using a wrapper of sorts to control the users experience. This provided the control we were looking for from a user point of view.

At the same time, we were committed to developing our own PIM system—learning from existing solutions while maintaining the operational flow. We relocated our development team closer to home, optimizing team communication and project management. The MVP was stripped down to its essential elements, setting a baseline for user feedback and allowing us to evolve effectively.

Solution

We rolled out a user-friendly app that seamlessly blended into the Parker & Ace experience. The application allowed pet parents to schedule appointments, communicate with the support team, and manage their pet accounts. Vets used a dual-system approach in-house—the existing PIM system and a customer support solution named Zendesk for chat and email communication. This enabled us to have complete control over the user experience, enhancing the familial feel of Parker & Ace while utilizing modern technology.

Learnings

The journey of building Parker & Ace was filled with insights. We discovered that our users appreciated having options—the membership care model, supported by our data, was popular, but many users were just as comfortable with a pay-as-you-go system, providing they weren’t tied to a membership. Tech support became a substantial concern, as bugs are a common issue with custom development. Our MVP app usage was primarily for scheduling appointments, leading us to explore additional functionalities and data offerings to boost user engagement and ensure Parker & Ace truly delivers the quality, personalized care that our furry companions deserve.