The Flowboard Method: Visual Workflow Management for Vet Clinics

In a busy veterinary clinic, knowing where every patient is in their visit journey shouldn't require walking the hallways or shouting across the practice. Yet many clinics still rely on verbal handoffs, whiteboards, or mental tracking to manage patient flow—leading to bottlenecks, communication gaps, and frustrated teams.

The Flowboard method brings visual workflow management to veterinary practice, showing your entire patient flow at a glance and transforming how teams coordinate care.

What is a Flowboard?

A Flowboard is a visual, Kanban-style board that displays all active patients in columns representing their current status in the visit workflow.

Instead of text-heavy appointment lists, you see patients as cards that move across the board as they progress through their visit:

Why Traditional Appointment Lists Fall Short

Most veterinary software shows appointments as a chronological list. This creates problems:

• No status visibility: A list shows who's scheduled, not where they are now
• No flow awareness: Can't see bottlenecks forming (5 patients waiting for labs)
• Communication gaps: "Is Max in a room yet?" requires asking or walking to check
• Missed handoffs: Patient ready for discharge but front desk doesn't know
• No workload balance: Hard to see which team members are overwhelmed

The Flowboard Workflow Stages

A well-designed Flowboard typically includes these stages:

1. Scheduled

Upcoming appointments that haven't arrived yet. Shows who's expected and when.

2. Confirmed

Appointments where the client has confirmed they're coming. Reduces uncertainty about no-shows.

3. Checked In

Patient has arrived and is in the waiting area. Clock starts for wait time tracking.

4. In Exam Room

Patient has been roomed. Shows which room and which veterinarian.

5. In Treatment / Procedure

Patient is in treatment area for procedures, labs, imaging, etc. Can include sub-statuses.

6. Waiting for Results

Exam complete, awaiting lab results or other diagnostics before discharge.

7. Ready for Discharge

All care complete, patient ready for checkout and release. Signals front desk.

8. Completed

Patient has checked out and left. Archived for the day.

How Flowboard Improves Clinic Efficiency

Everyone Knows Everything (That They Need To)

With a Flowboard displayed on monitors throughout the clinic:

• Front desk sees who's arrived and who's ready for checkout
• Veterinarians see their patients and room assignments
• Technicians see who needs vitals, labs, or treatment
• Management sees overall flow and can address bottlenecks

Identify Bottlenecks in Real-Time

When you see 6 patients stuck in "Waiting for Results" you know:

• Lab is overwhelmed—need to help or adjust expectations
• Results are back but not reviewed yet—reminder to check
• Process issue that needs addressing

Reduce Verbal Handoffs

Instead of:

• "Dr. Smith, the Cooper family is in room 2"
• "Is Luna done with her x-rays?"
• "Who's waiting the longest?"

Everyone just looks at the board.

Improve Client Experience

Faster identification of ready patients means:

• Shorter wait times in lobby
• Proactive updates ("Your results are almost ready")
• Smoother checkout process

Using Flowboard: Daily Workflow

Morning Setup

Day begins with all scheduled appointments in the "Scheduled" column. Staff can see the full day at a glance.

As Patients Arrive

1. Front desk drags patient card from "Scheduled" to "Checked In"
2. Card shows check-in time; wait tracking begins
3. Technician sees new arrival and prepares to room patient

During the Visit

1. Technician moves card to "In Exam Room" when patient is roomed
2. Veterinarian sees patient assigned to their color/section
3. If patient goes to treatment, card moves to "In Treatment"
4. Notes or alerts can be added to the card for team awareness

Discharge

1. Veterinarian moves card to "Ready for Discharge" when care is complete
2. Front desk sees the card appear, prepares invoice
3. Patient is called for checkout without delay
4. Card moves to "Completed" after departure

Flowboard Best Practices

Display Boards Strategically

Mount monitors where teams naturally look:

• Front desk area (shows arrivals and discharges)
• Treatment area (shows incoming and waiting patients)
• Break room or common area (general awareness)

Color Code for Clarity

Use color coding for quick visual scanning:

• By veterinarian (Dr. Smith = blue, Dr. Jones = green)
• By appointment type (wellness = green, sick = yellow, surgery = red)
• By urgency (routine = normal, urgent = highlighted)

Keep It Updated

Flowboard only works if everyone updates status promptly. Make it part of workflow:

• Room a patient → update the board
• Finish exam → update the board
• Results ready → update the board

Use Wait Time Indicators

Good Flowboards show how long patients have been in each stage:

• Green: Within expected time
• Yellow: Approaching threshold
• Red: Exceeding acceptable wait

Flowboard vs. Traditional Whiteboards

Aspect	Physical Whiteboard	Digital Flowboard
Visibility	Only visible at board location	Visible on any screen, anywhere
Updates	Manual—walk to board, erase, rewrite	Click/drag from any workstation
History	Erased daily, no record	Logged with timestamps
Wait Time Tracking	Manual calculation	Automatic with alerts
Patient Info	Name only (space limited)	Name, reason, alerts, notes
Analytics	None	Flow reports, bottleneck analysis

Measuring Flowboard Impact

Track these metrics to measure workflow improvements:

Cycle Time

Average time from check-in to discharge. Target: Reduce by 10-20%.

Wait Time by Stage

How long patients spend in each status. Identify where delays occur.

Throughput

Patients processed per day. Improved flow often enables more appointments.

Client Satisfaction

Survey scores often improve with reduced waiting and smoother experience.

Staff Satisfaction

Less chaos, better coordination typically improves team morale.

Implementing Flowboard in Your Practice

Week 1: Setup

• Configure your workflow stages (customize to your process)
• Set up display monitors if using shared screens
• Create color coding and alert rules

Week 2: Training

• Walk through Flowboard with entire team
• Define who updates status at each stage
• Practice moving cards through workflow

Weeks 3-4: Adoption

• Use Flowboard alongside existing methods
• Identify and address friction points
• Celebrate wins and improvements

Ongoing: Optimization

• Review flow analytics monthly
• Adjust stages or alerts based on actual patterns
• Continue refining workflow based on data

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need special hardware for Flowboard?

No special hardware required. Flowboard works on any computer, tablet, or phone with a web browser. For shared displays, a standard TV or monitor with an inexpensive streaming device works well.

How long does it take for the team to adopt Flowboard?

Most teams become comfortable within 1-2 weeks. The visual nature makes it intuitive. The key is consistent use—once the team sees the benefits, adoption accelerates.

Can I customize the workflow stages?

Yes. Good Flowboard systems let you define your own stages to match your practice's actual workflow. Some clinics need more stages, others fewer.

What if someone forgets to update the board?

Build updates into existing habits—when you room a patient, update status. Most systems also have reminders when patients have been in a stage too long.

Does Flowboard work for multi-location practices?

Yes, each location has its own Flowboard while management can view all locations from a central dashboard.