Opening a Second Veterinary Clinic? Your IT Planning Checklist

A second veterinary clinic adds more than workstations. It introduces decisions about which location owns an appointment, who can see a record, where a lab result lands, and what happens when one site loses connectivity. Those decisions belong in the opening plan alongside construction, staffing, and equipment delivery.

For practices expanding in Frederick, MD and surrounding areas, use this checklist to turn technology purchases into a coordinated project. Give every item an owner, a due date, and a test that proves it is ready.

1. Agree on How the Two Locations Will Operate

Before ordering hardware, document the workflows the new clinic must support. Ask your practice management software vendor to confirm the proposed setup in writing rather than assuming your existing configuration supports another location.

• Will locations share patient records, scheduling, inventory, and reporting?
• Can staff work at either clinic with their own accounts?
• How will invoices, reminders, prescriptions, and receipts identify the correct location?
• Does the expansion require additional licenses, integrations, or vendor implementation work?

Acceptance test: Using vendor-approved test data, book an appointment at the second clinic and follow it through check-in, clinical documentation, and checkout. Verify the location on every output.

2. Tie Internet and Cabling to the Construction Schedule

Confirm internet service availability at the exact suite, installation requirements, and the provider’s committed delivery date. Coordinate building access, cable pathways, power, and equipment placement before walls and cabinetry are finished. Assign responsibility for cabling, labeling, and testing rather than leaving those details between contractors.

Map wired connections and wireless coverage around reception, exam rooms, treatment areas, imaging, and offices. Ask equipment vendors about their connection requirements. If backup internet is planned, document which applications it must support.

Acceptance test: Run normal workflows from each work area with several staff members connected. If a backup connection is included, have IT test a controlled switchover and record what continues working.

3. Build a Device and Integration Readiness List

Create one list covering computers, printers, label printers, payment terminals, phones, imaging equipment, and laboratory connections. Record the vendor, supported configuration, installation owner, delivery date, and support contact for each. Confirm compatibility with the relevant vendors before purchasing or moving equipment.

Separate opening purchases and project work from recurring subscriptions and support. Our veterinary IT cost guide explains ongoing cost factors; the expansion budget should also identify one-time installation and implementation work.

Acceptance test: Print an actual-size test label, retrieve a test image, route a test lab result, and complete the payment provider’s approved test procedure. Check that each output reaches the intended workstation, record, or location.

4. Verify Access Across Both Sites

Prepare accounts and permissions before staff training. Define which roles need access to both clinics and which information should remain restricted. CISA recommends multifactor authentication across business systems where possible, prioritizing administrative and sensitive access.

Have IT document how guest Wi-Fi is separated from business systems and how vendors receive authorized support access. Use our veterinary software security guide for the broader security baseline.

Acceptance test: Test representative receptionist, technician, veterinarian, and manager accounts. Verify both permitted tasks and restricted actions. Confirm guest devices cannot reach internal practice systems.

5. Protect the Original Clinic During Cutover

Identify changes that affect both locations, including shared software settings, phone routing, network connections, and data transfers. Schedule them with the original clinic’s workload in mind. Record who approves each change, who can reverse it, and what would trigger a rollback.

Update recovery responsibilities to include the new site. Our veterinary backup and disaster recovery guide covers the underlying recovery plan.

Acceptance test: After each shared-system change, have someone at the original clinic verify scheduling, records access, printing, and phones. Confirm the new location’s data is included in the agreed protection arrangements.

6. Hold an Opening-Day Rehearsal

Run a mock clinic session with the people who will actually work there. Include incoming calls, a patient moving between locations, a staff login problem, and an unavailable application. Use test records and approved payment testing methods.

Keep one issue list with an owner and retest result for every problem. The practice manager and IT lead should agree which failures block opening. Confirm opening-day support contacts and escalation routes before signing off.