How Oceana Veterinary Clinic Left Cornerstone Behind and For a More Flexible PIMS
THE CHALLENGE
TIED TO IDEXX AND A COMPUTER-CENTRIC WORKFLOW
When Melissa Benway, CVPM, took a hard look at Oceana Veterinary Clinic’s practice management setup, one thing was clear: Cornerstone was getting in the way of delivering great care. Oceana had used the IDEXX platform for years, and like many long-term users, the team had built their entire workflow around its rhythms, but she was starting to see that some of those habits weren’t working in the clinic’s favor anymore.
The most visible friction was in the exam room itself. Doctors had computers at the ready for real-time note-taking, but in practice, history-taking and typing pulled attention away from clients and their pets. The human connection side of the appointment was competing with the keyboard.
When we were in exam rooms, we had computers in the rooms. There’s a lot of typing. It kind of took away from the personalization in the appointment.
— Melissa Benway, CVPM
SOAP notes were another pressure point. Doctors often didn’t complete their records during the appointment, deferring until afterward, which added time to already full days. For a multi-doctor practice running two locations, that documentation backlog added up.
Beyond workflow, Melissa was also thinking longer-term. Cornerstone is deeply integrated with the IDEXX ecosystem, and for a practice that wanted flexibility in diagnostic tools, in vendor relationships, and in how they grew, that dependency had started to feel like a constraint.
THE DECISION
A SHORT LIST AND A PROCESS THAT STOOD OUT
Melissa came into her evaluation with a focused shortlist: Digitail, Shepherd, and EzyVet. She had done her research, talked to peers in the field, and had a clear sense of what she was looking for and what she wasn’t.
EzyVet was the first to go. Melissa had already spoken with practices using it, and the feedback combined with its tight IDEXX integration made it a quick no. “I was tired of being married to IDEXX,” she said simply. She wanted a platform that stood on its own.
Shepherd never got a serious look, not because it wasn’t capable, but because the process with Digitail moved too well to need it. Yes, the software stood out, but so did how the Digitail team.
I think it was helpful because you were so willing to answer all of my questions.
— Melissa Benway, CVPM
For a practice manager with the experience and rigor of a CVPM, that responsiveness mattered. The evaluation process itself gave Melissa confidence that the relationship post-sale would look the same way.
THE RESULTS
EFFICIENCY THAT SHOWS UP EVERY SINGLE DAY
Since going live with Digitail, the day-to-day at Oceana looks familiar in structure but feels meaningfully different in practice. Workflows are largely the same. The team still takes thorough intake histories and still moves through exams the same way, but the computer isn’t competing for the doctor’s attention anymore.
The biggest shift has been in medical records. Digitail’s AI SOAP dictation has transformed how doctors document, cutting what used to be a post-appointment task into something that happens faster, easier, and without the mental tax of catching up on records later.
The doctor’s notes: it’s just night and day. It’s so much quicker.
— Melissa Benway, CVPM
Critically, the speed hasn’t come at the cost of quality. Melissa emphasizes that the AI produces notes the doctors actually want, not drafts they have to heavily correct, but output they can quickly review and finalize. The customizability in how SOAP notes are trained and tuned meant the team could shape the AI to match their clinical voice.
“We’re getting what we want out of it,” she says. “It’s not frustrating for the doctors because what it’s producing is what we want, or is very close to what we want. There’s very little that they have to adjust on that.”
Client communication has also improved. With more consistent documentation and better-structured visit summaries, the experience clients receive has become more cohesive across both locations, something Melissa counts as a win.
WHAT’S NEXT
AI INTAKE AND THE VISION FOR WELLNESS APPOINTMENTS
Having stabilized the core workflow and seen the AI SOAP notes deliver, her focus has shifted to the next piece of the puzzle: AI intake through the pet parent app.
About 50% of Oceana’s clients currently have the app. Melissa’s goal is 75%, and she’s building a deliberate strategy to get there, including training staff to train clients, growing it steadily, and tracking the data. But the driver behind that goal is about what a higher app adoption rate can unlock inside the appointment itself.
If we get a lot of that basic history done with AI intake, then they have more time to dive deeper into those health benefits for the pet.
— Melissa Benway, CVPM
The vision is a wellness appointment where the logistics are handled before the client walks in, therefore freeing the clinical team to do what they do best: have real conversations about dental health, annual bloodwork, preventive care. These are the things that often get squeezed when there’s not enough time for both.
“Where the staff never feels like being efficient and being able to talk about all those things can’t coexist,” Melissa says. “But if we get a lot of that basic history done with AI intake, then they have more time.”
She’s candid that the rollout will take time, but she’s watching the data, and she’s excited about the direction. “I’m excited to see how that evolves for us.”
Ready to see what Digitail can do for your practice? Book a demo today!
