Hippo Manager

Pros

Overall, myself, my receptionist and assistant/technicians are very pleased with using Hippo. We use it all day most days and having document storage capacity and accessibility is key!! It just seems very easy to navigate and access easily from multiple locations. The customer support has been amazing!! There are a few changes that I think would be helpful and the capability to set up certain types of reminders and service codes that would be really useable for us, which I will include below.

Cons

I am so happy with it overall, that is hard to say but the things I would like to see change, are the number of decimal points/zeros on an invoice after each item. See example below.
Seen By: Serena Turner
Chart Note: Phone 2019-09-11 08:55:00
Patient Item Qty. Total
Gypsy Cefpodoxime 200 mg tablets 20.00000 $47.00
Phone Consultation 1.00000 $20.00
Euthanasia Housecall Large Patient 1.00000 $200.00
Paw Print made by Rolling Acres 1.00000 $25.00
Rolling Acres Private Cremation 50-150# 1.00000 $245.00

I just don't think having anything in the hippo system to the 0.0000 is practical, and it looks strange on invoices as well as pharmacy labels. This same system/issue impacts typing in the quantity on prescriptions for 100 count or more, you have to erase zeros to be able to type the number prescribed.

Another thing I think could be addressed is the number of reminders - the top 5 - that show up on a vaccine certificate. If a 3 year vaccine schedule is being used, often the vaccines won't be on that top 5 reminder list so you have to either send multiple certificates or I delete reminders like the Annual Wellness Exam in order to have the 3 year DA2PP date show up, for example.

Pros

I like being able to set up Hippo manager to meet my practice needs. I can customize templates that are specific to my type of practice.

Cons

There is a patient portal for clients to access, but the veterinarian does not have control of what goes into that portal unless you leave items unsigned. The portal also does not have a separate medications tab for clients so they have to search through every visit note to find what their RX is. The software does not automatically notify clients if there has been an update in their portal so they know to look at it.
Hippo manager is accessible on mobile devices, but is not very usable at least on an iPhone. Can access charts, but scrolling through to read them is very difficult. I use the iPhone the most to upload photos and videos.

Pros

It is generally intuitive to use and has an easy learning curve, the reporting is straight forward, customer support is friendly and responsive. I like that there are constant improvements being made, and think I will be happy in the long run with this program. Integration with Idexx has been helpful for us too.

Cons

There are several functions that don't work as intended, and many glitches that sometimes slow down using the software:
The search bar does not allow you to look for patients with special characters or spaces in their names. Some examples would be "representative" which won't pop up with the space in it, or we treat some animals from local shelters which are often identified by impound numbers "File #18-597" would be an example.
The print all button on the records does not actually print all of the records- it leaves out the CC and the doctor's signature- both are important to include when sending records elsewhere (the tab to print an individual record works fine).
There should be user options like "receptionist, assistant, or technician" for the records-, or everyone should have an individual ID for recording chart notes- it is cumbersome that I have to go back and sign charts related to phone calls that receptionists take or medication refills dispensed by technicians- it just makes more paperwork for the doctor.

There are also some glitchy problems sometimes with double clicking appointments to bring up the patient record- the "resource" spot doesn' t always autofill so it freezes up the computer. Sometimes we have had appointments disappear from the schedule, and occasionally we have been filling medications for one patient, but the charges were going into a different patient's chart that remains open in the background (we have screen shot of this if you wish to see)

Pros

Ability to quickly scan each entry for the one you want.
Patient page gives excellent Quick overview of the record, although recent update resulted in poor scaling that previously existed so you have to scroll both left-right and up-down to see all widgets.
Not just focused on receipts and finances. The medical record component is robust.

Cons

1) Bugs are slow to be addressed and resolved. ( Can’t enter multiple vaccines without saving and then reloading the patient page for instance. Still waiting months for fix)
2) Customization of certain fields (diagnoses lists, relationship field) not possible.
3) Vaccine history list printout unwieldy.
4) Entering dates from the calendar function requires multiple clicks if it is a historical date.

Pros

Accessibility - I love that people can access it from their phone, tablet, home, etc.
Customer Support - The fact that we do not have to pay extra for customer support is a huge plus. In addition, Customer Support is knowledgeable and prompt.
Details - The Veterinarian's can put more details in their SOAPs than what they could with our former program.

Cons

Having to learn new ways to do what we did in our former software. I have found that in Hippo we are able to do everything we did in our former software, it is just done a little differently.

Pros

The online accessibility is very nice. We also take advantage of the unlimited storage and attach all of our lab work as well as radiographs to the patient charts. It has made it easier to show clients the diagnostics in the examination room.

Cons

Items put into the chart do not transfer to the invoice well. We have lost a significant amount of revenue because what charges we thought were transferred from the patient chart to the invoice did not transfer. It also takes a long time to put drugs and charges in for surgeries - we like for our clients to have a detailed invoice including all the drugs. Drug quantities do also not transfer from the patient chart to the invoice so every thing has to be changed manually.

Pros

I like that we can access the program outside the clinic. The program is pretty easy to navigate.

Cons

The follow up and reminder system is not good. It would be better if we could customize follow up dates and have these alert on a list each day to ones due. Email reminders would be great if we could in each patient individual send an email.

Pros

The idea of the software is awesome. Invoices look nice. Being cloud based.

Cons

Not versatile, have to go through company for everything (such as adding a dog breed). Having to go through customer support is a lost cause, you get sent to someone else and forgotten about. Constantly changing. Have their own forms but you have to pay if you want them changed and it takes 3 months to do. Can't pull different items from one inventory. Doesn't work with small and large animal practices. Can't just update weight without adding an entire chart note. Doctor has to sign everything (every medication, every chart, etc.) Everything you do has to have a chart. Monetary aspects are a disaster (discounts don't work, bulk payments mess up, have to individually close every invoice, credit on acct doesn't roll over, multiple cash payments really mess it up,etc.)

Pros

this is a low cost, relatively easy to use software compared to larger, more expensive veterinary software I looked at. there have been many improvements and expansions since I started using it in the spring of 2016. My practice is small and this worked well for me by being easy to use.

Cons

I had difficulty adding new clients to the software, and as a result have many duplications. Also had trouble with individual records for 1 owner with multiple animals. Some of that is my computer inexperience

Pros

Hippo is a robust product with excellent customer service and support. It can take a while to figure out the details of how to use the program efficiently, but customer support is always extremely responsive and helpful. I have found the software to be better and better the more I use it. Being cloud-based has been a very useful feature.

Cons

It can be a little confusing to know if the current patient is active or if the screen needs to be refreshed to display current info. The learning curve is a bit steep as a new user, but once one gets the handle of Hippo's system of "templates" then usage is very efficient.

Pros

Ease of use on the road. As a mobile vet it gives me all of the important features that I need. Managing reminders, attaching previous records to the patient. Having a patient view to view allergies, vaccines, visits. The scheduler can be customized to how long a visit will be from 15 minute increments to 60 minute increments plus. Having a very receptive support team to help trouble shoot problems. My contact was always willing to help not only though email but also conference calls to see where we were struggling.

Cons

As will all software packages there is always room for improvement. I would like to be able to print one sheet of vaccine and preventative care reminders (useful for boarding facilities and groomers), it can be a little slow to load in sometimes, entering item kits is not intuitive but a great idea for items that can have multiple reminders such as the vaccines. The mobile interface with my phone needs improvement. Documents do not automatically open, they have to be downloaded to the device you are working on.

Pros

This has been the most user friendly software I have found for veterinary use. All my receptionist take to it right away. Even those that say they can't work computers can use this program with no difficulty. The customer service is great. They have responded to all my questions and if I need something customized they are willing to try it. I love that I can reach help through email when I need it and I dont have to spend hours on the phone.

Cons

There are lots of report options and they are constantly updating them. Customizable reports would be the only thing I would like so I can search for clients from specific town or with specific breeds.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

I liked that our medical records were now online in one easily accessible place. This was our first time using software, so it was a nice test for if we would like software.

Cons

I was the only one at our clinic that knew how to use the software the right way because of the very convoluted and specific process needed to enter things correctly. Information was all in one place, but you had to click around a lot and exit what you were working on to find it even with quick links. It was too much for my co-workers to handle which led to me having to enter everything and instead of making our lives easier, it made everything just a little bit harder. The system was also very slow, it glitched out a lot, and we all had to save and refresh even after hitting one key if we wanted it to stay in Hippo or even show up on a different computer. There were also features that you had to pay extra for that are just included in other software options.

Pros

It is easy to use and very user friendly. Makes finding records super easy

Cons

Sometimes user error can create issues if a wrong button is pushed. You can’t have a chart note open in more than 1 location or not all data will be saved.

Pros

My favorite feature is the To-Do list, a complete list of all records, etc, that still need to be completed and signed; super easy to see it all at-a-glance and go through it.

Cons

When preparing a client's invoice, there's no way as of yet to easily and accurately deduct a product from inventory that you don't want printed on the invoice; you can make a "kit" to nicely group products/services but it still lists each item on client's invoice; for instance, I wish I could list "Euthanasia" as a service for x amount, then have each inventory item associated with that service pop up so I could put in drug amounts used, but keep those items from being printed on the invoice.

Pros

We enjoyed being able to add multiple items for multiple patients on one invoice. With the new update we are struggling and so are cliwnts

Cons

Invoicing. Receiving. Searching clients. ALOT

Pros

Ease of customization, low price and ease of use

Cons

No local download option and minimal lab integration

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

Ease of use and ability to add new prices for services and medications

Cons

Each update causes glitches
Now I cannot sign my notes until the tech has put in charges or else I cannot sign off the rx
Would like different soap templates and surgery templates

Pros

The ability to use on any device with internet access.

Cons

Some of the redundant features and lack of intuitive shortcuts.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

-cost
-ease of writing chart notes

Cons

- how many times you need to click to get to your item you want
- does not automatically log you out quickly
- take long to log in (lots of things to type) and doesn't leave where the previous person left off, it takes you to what file you were on last. Rather annoying when vet comes into room after someone else took history and then they have to log in and find the patient again
-inventory not easy to use, very cumbersome and doesn't always wok properly
- financial statement are difficult/ non existent
- no auto prompts for vaccine certificates
- will change dates on client check in sheets sometimes
- cannot make edits on system to surgery consents
- does not back up properly (can not get documents or lab work transferred over properly)

Pros

I really like that it is al cloud based and accessible from anywhere including your phone

Cons

I find that it’s rather complicated to merge patients and clients. It is doable but it’s not easy.

Pros

Ummmm, let's see......the receipts are pretty when they print. That's about it. I really don't think this was made for the veterinary field.

Cons

Very confusing, can't do simple things like delete deceased pets, or pets the owner no longer has. There is no way to print patient labels. I still don't know how to read the schedule, make an appt, or even check to see how busy we will be that day. I feel like our clients are not getting the service that they deserve because the computer system takes so long to understand. I know we've only had for 1 month, but this is rediculous. I would rather use the old system we had, and it had problems, but not like this. This is simply not a vet friendly system.

Pros

I like being able to see both offices. I like the look of the schedule and the multiple options to add/edit information

Cons

It’s not user friendly. There are still many things I don’t know about the software. It is tome consuming just to try to check someone out. If there are multiple patients, it’s very difficult.

Pros

Intuitive and easy to use
Great for housecall practices

Cons

Slow customer service
Took a couple of months to get patient portal running

Pros

The software is easy to use and have a great customer support team that are willing to help. Once I asked for a customized rabies certificate and they didi it for our clinic!! Try it! It is a very good software that will satisfied your needs because always are creating new features to make your work easy and complete. And the most important thing for me is that is user friendly!!

Cons

For me the time I have to waste writing with limited typing skills. We will try the new voice recognition system very soon !!

Pros

Medical records, scheduling of appointments, and entering new clients and patients is intuitive and simple.

The people who work for Hippo are very nice, and it is nice that they are an independent start-up.

Cons

As another reviewer mentioned, the "upgrade" to 2.0 has made the software so difficult and frustrating to use. Viewing and accessing invoices is so cumbersome and confusing now. Having to go to a new page for every single vaccine that is entered into an invoice is very time-consuming. Sometimes, one patient name will show in the upper left corner, but the record will actually be for a different patient, which has caused records to be entered under the wrong patient. Other times information will be saved in the medical record, then disappear. If you want to use their system to send email reminders, the reminders are generated as a separate email for each individual service, with literally nothing else in the body of the email, e.g., body of email will be Rabies vaccine 1 year. To actually have a usable reminder, it is necessary to add some type of message, combine the different emails, and delete the duplicates. This may be because they want users to pay $1.50 per card for their postcard reminder service, which, as a green practice, we would not be interested in regardless of the cost.

After having demos of two other cloud-based software programs, I am kicking myself for not switching to a different software sooner. I am blown away by the differences in functionality between Hippo and these other software programs, Shepherd and Daysmart Vet. I anticipate the new software, whichever one I decide to switch to, to save a huge amount of time and allow us to provide much better client communication and documentation.

The price is quadrupling in 2 months.

Pros

This software had such potential. Then they began to create updates. Each update created chaos with other parts of the software. So I have no pros to speak of!

Cons

After one update the inventory increased by 1200x. When it was questioned they would expedite the fix. Yup they fixed it by making all my hospital inventory at ZERO! I knew then we needed to look at other options.

Pros

Mostly intuitive. One place to add all per info and find things readily.

Cons

CONSTANT CHANGES causes lots of disruption and understanding. I’ve only been using it a few months and have already had many issues with how many times it has changed. We were accidentally deleting appointments because buttons had moved. Would LOVE to not have to scroll through doctors when making invoices. Being able to type their name would save A lot of time

Pros

I like that it is generally easy to locate patients and their charts/labs/documents. Easy to schedule appointments.

Cons

Invoicing with Hippo 2.0 makes me want to pull my hair out. I don't feel that it is efficient to have to switch between the medication and vaccine tab in order to invoice these items. Estimates are also trickier with Hippo 2.0; you cannot easily change an estimate into an invoice if the client approves everything. Main takeaway: invoicing and estimate making is a huge time consuming task that is making not only me but the doctors I work with a little crazy.

Pros

The format of the medical records for our clients

Cons

Navigating to other patients accounts and records

Pros

The cloud based software is extremely convenient. It's a huge time saver to be able to pull up a patient's entire record anywhere rather than having to search for a physical chart.

Cons

The new update seems a bit clunky and isn't always the most user friendly. It's also more time consuming.

Pros

Still has great customizable layout of medical record. Still has efficient charting with customizable note templates that populate the invoice. I love these features. I will miss Hippo when I leave them --which will be soon.

Cons

The recent "upgrade" to 2.0 made the software simply unmanageable for our practice. Workflow is now severely bogged down. Billing is so much harder. Inventory numbers have become random garbage. I am so sad for all this negative change.

Pros

It is very user friendly and intuitive to learn. It’s could based so you can access your records/invoicing on the go.

Cons

Inventory is not accurate, tech support is great, customer support is terrible. When first launched I had an account manager, now I never receive call backs about questions I have.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

The charting/treatment aspect of the software is really good. It’s very intuitive and well thought out.
The billing aspect of the program is ok.

Cons

The software is patient based, not client based. In veterinary it’s not the patient that books appointments, pays the bills or confirms appointments, it’s the client. The process to find the client info within the patient info is a process, as is adding new patients to said client.
Communicating with the client with anything other than a phone call is frustrating. “Reminders” can be somewhat helpful but the character limit is too low for any useful information to be conveyed.
The vaccine reminders or annual recalls are my biggest grievance. If a client has 3 dogs that each receive 2 or 3 vaccines yearly the only way to send out the recall is one item per email per dog. So the client is going to get at least 9 emails telling them that their animals are due. “Fluffy is due for annual exam” “Fluffy is due for annual vaccines” “Fluffy is due for kennel cough vaccine ” “Fluffy is due for Rabies vaccine”
Muffy is due for annual vaccines, Muffy is due for kennel cough etc..... There is no way to combine them. Character limit is too low to convey more than just the basic info.
Vaccine certificates are also an issue. It will tell you the name of the vaccine but not what they have been vaccinated against. From the management screen you can review who needs to come in [a two step process :( ] but it shows every patient individually and each item for each patient. From here you can send emails but your options for editing are incredibly limited. Oh-outofcharactersnow!

Pros

I like that the company has a sense of humor, but they also listen and take suggestions seriously. The customer support team is friendly and sincere.

Cons

Some parts are confusing and some areas require too many "clicks" to get task performed. Customer support, online manual and help page all aid in getting questions answered.

Pros

Medical records are straight-forward. To-do-list allows me to find all the medical records I need to finish from the day, which is great for me. Ability to store documents (labwork, previous files) and radiographs is nice.

Cons

It seems to be completely incapable of keeping track of how much tax my practice has collected

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Hippo Manager

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

I love the intuitiveness of hippo manager use--staff quickly catch on to the software even if they are unfamiliar with it. A plus is being able to upload and store and view DICOM images in the medical records. For quality of the software at the price point offered cannot be beat. Also, customer service is responsive to needs and makes customization when requested. Love working from home too!

Cons

Sometimes the plus icons are a little small if working on a small touch screen such as a tablet.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

Loved the ease of use, scheduling, and billing flow through. I found the inventory management intuitive, and the point of sale options were flexible for staff and for clients. Easy to navigate, and very easy to train people who are not tech-saavy by nature. We had full user uptake, which gave us much more efficiency in all of our client interactions.

Cons

The veterinary practice is located in Canada, while the software is American. Tax reporting functionalities were not designed to support Canada's tax and accounting needs, so we did have difficulty in getting some of the tax information initially. As well, the Accounts Receivable could be improved by allowing a user to see the AR for a date in the past.

Pros

This is an awesome ground floor vet software, and they work hard to update it to what is needed constantly. The price e is PERFECT, and the Cloud capability makes them even better!

Cons

Some of the needed updates are frustrating to work around, such as nesting items within 1 charge, refilling scripts and signing charts easily, but we know they will eventually be available!

Pros

Not a whole lot. Drag and drop appointment list is nice but as a receptionist its hard to navigate

Cons

people and animals are all separate if one person has multiple dogs its hard to navigate through them also if 2 people on the account it is very hard. No Call Back list available, No way to delete duplicate clients or combine them. Invoicing is a learning curve and never shows when a client gets a discount. reminders come from hippo email not our email clients don't see or block them. Can not send both email and paper reminders. Oh I almost forgot don't have an ' in you name it won't search for them or a animal with 2 names.

Pros

It is pretty easy to invoice patients and tech support has been helpful

Cons

We have glitches sometimes with link with credit card processing.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

The layout and customizability of the access to the program. The Dr really likes the charting/medical notes area.

Cons

Financial access - definitions of the reports available. Also being able to pull info from the database ie Being able to pullup certain species due for a certain procedure along with the client information to create specific call/reminder lists.

Pros

I like that is very appealing to eyes, i like the icons for all the different options, very easy to train staff on, i like that they give you online video tutorials to learn how to use the software.

Cons

Wish there was a bit more customization of forms and medical charts. I find the hippo software tech support never gets back to me when i email them, I wish the software was linked to like abaxis blood machines and idexx xrays so all the medical records are online and im not having to go between softwares

Pros

Easy to navigate once you are familiar with it.

Cons

Need integration with appointment reminder like texting features. Email does not work, since may of us do not look at the email for a couple of days.
These days with curbside assisting, the staff does not have the time to call the night before to confirm appointments.
Would like to have added when entering new patient information a place to add weight and temperature. This will make it easier, since we do not use it a lot on doctors notes.

Pros

It’s great for mobile practices and exam room checkouts. It’s customizable, easy to use, and cost effective. Customer service has been excellent. And the training videos and live (online) training have been very helpful. Their support center is responsive and open to ideas.

Cons

My previous medical record database had a glitch and couldn’t transfer to Hippo. That’s not Hippo’s fault.

Pros

The software is quite easy to use and figuring out how to do things on it is pretty easy. Also, mistakes seem pretty easy to correct. It is very convenient that it is accessible from anywhere. I like that you can personalize the patient screen.

Cons

The reminders system creates a lot of extra work for staff. It would be nice to have reminders generate emails to send to owners and if due for more than one vaccine or labwork etc would be nice if sent only 1 email to owner instead of 5 separate emails. The estimate feature needs to be improved- it shows an open invoice whenever estimate is made and saved which is confusing. Also, it makes it difficult to just save the estimate and have it on file for reference if needed because it will always show the client as having an open invoice. You should be able to make numerous estimates at the same time but on different sheets. Also, there should be the ability to have a high end and low end to the estimates. I would like for my requests to have some kind of response- I have made quite a few requests (including in person at the VMX conference) and have not seen anything done.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Hippo Manager

Pros

That it is internet based. The forms available. The support staff.

Cons

The transfer of the data from old POS to hippo.

Pros

The price is unbeatable. The interface is very easy to learn. The software is constantly improving and the company is receptive to suggestions.

Cons

While they are receptive to suggestions, it takes a while to see change. I'd like to see the software line up with lab companies (like Antech) so that the results are automatically uploaded.

Pros

Once I got used to it, it is easy to do what I need to do on a daily basis

Cons

It is time-consuming to learn; not as intuitive as I would expect. And I cannot customize as many features as I would like.

Pros

Quick and easy to learn. Videos and online training is beneficial.

Cons

There are a lot of glitches in the program. Limited options for a lot of things. Rabies certificate doesn’t print automatically at check out. Inventory can’t link several items.