✨Integrations & Data Connection Updates
Scout - Now Live!
Scout is a cloud-based dental charting and anesthesia management platform built for veterinary teams. It replaces paper forms with intuitive, real-time digital workflows that improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance patient safety during dental and surgical procedures. Scout automates all key calculations - including drug dosages, fluid rates, and CRIs - to streamline anesthesia planning and monitoring from start to finish. Learn more about Scout.
VetHubRx - Now Live!
VetHub Rx integrates directly with Shepherd to streamline your prescription workflow. It securely reads client and patient data from Shepherd to enable seamless prescribing through the VetHub Rx platform. When a prescription is created, it is automatically written back into the patient’s prescription record in Shepherd.
This ensures that all prescription activity remains consistent, accessible, and centralized within your Shepherd account. Learn more about VetHubRx.
🚀 New Features & Capabilities!
Vaccines | New Combo Lot Features
You can now define multiple lots and expiration dates for a single combo vaccination administration. This update is designed to better support combo vaccines, where different vaccines are given together but each has its own lot, serial number, and expiration date.
Example: If a tray contains both Lepto-4 and DaPPv, each vaccine will have its own lot details. These lots are tracked separately but under the same vaccine, so you can manage them more accurately when administering or reviewing records.
This change is active immediately for all vaccine items marked as combo vaccines.
⚙️What You Need to Do
Your workflow depends on whether your clinic has lot features enabled in Shepherd.
If lot features are enabled
Make sure each vaccine type within the combo has its own lot and quantity.
Example: A tray of 50 vials might contain 25 Lepto-4 and 25 DaPPv. Your inventory item (DaPPv+L4) should be recorded with 25 units for the Lepto-4 lot and 25 units for the DaPPv lot.
You’ll continue to manage inventory as a single item on Purchase Orders, but with multiple lots defined (25 per lot in this example).
If lot features are not enabled
You won’t assign quantities to lots directly.
Instead, record each vaccine’s lot under the combo vaccine item.
Example: Under DaPPv+L4, record two lots for the combined tray.
Your inventory item still has a total tray quantity of 50 and is managed as a single item on Purchase Orders.
Important:
This change is active immediately for all vaccine items marked as combo vaccines.
Please review your lot management setup to confirm everything aligns with your workflow.
This enhancement gives you more flexibility and accuracy when tracking combo vaccine administrations while keeping inventory management consistent.
Boarding Reservations | New Dedicated Boarding Details Field
We’ve made it easier to capture important details right when you create a boarding reservation. The new Boarding Details field gives you a flexible place to enter notes such as feeding instructions, medications, or owner preferences at the time of booking.
Key Benefits:
New Boarding Details Field – A freeform text box, styled like the “Reason for Visit” field in appointments, is now included in the boarding reservation modal.
Improved Workflow – Record key details during booking instead of waiting until later, keeping your workflow consistent with appointment scheduling.
Visibility Across the System – Boarding Details appear on the patient profile’s boarding tab (with a dedicated column placed next to Notes), the boarding calendar (including hover view), and within the reservation view itself.
Organized Patient Profiles – Boarding Details are easy to find and filter within the patient profile, ensuring important information is always accessible.
This update restores familiar functionality while making it simple to add, view, and reference boarding-specific instructions from the very beginning. Learn more about our boarding features
Estimates | Min/Max Price Range
You can now set both a minimum and maximum price range for estimate items. This is especially helpful when the cost of a procedure may vary, such as a tooth extraction.
Add custom min/max prices using the new pencil icon in the estimate.
Reset to automatic pricing anytime if you prefer system-calculated values.
Clients see only the defined price range, while your team has a full record of adjustments in the activity log.
This update helps your team provide accurate and transparent estimates while managing client expectations. Learn more about Estimates
Lab Integrations | Code and Pricing Change Alerts
Shepherd now notifies you when your lab providers update their codes or pricing so you can review and confirm changes before they affect invoices.
Red alert dots appear in Admin → Products → Lab Integration when updates are detected.
A banner and View Changes button let you compare old vs. new codes and prices.
Products with changes are highlighted, and you can confirm updates directly.
This update ensures your clinic is always informed of changes and can quickly confirm updates for smooth, accurate billing. Learn more about Lab Integrations with Shepherd
🛠️ Existing Feature Updates!
Client & Patient Merge | Clearer Warnings and Consistent Modals
We’ve updated the Client and Patient merge modals to enhance clarity, consistency, and prevent accidental merges. These changes provide you with clearer warnings and the right context before completing a merge.
Key Benefits:
Clearer Warnings – alert banners now more greatly emphasize that merges are permanent and cannot be undone.
Financial Merges – if you choose to merge financials, an additional alert explains that payments, invoices, and invoice line items will be combined.
No Functional Changes – Merge functionality itself has not changed; these are visual and communication improvements only.
Activity Log Tracking – All merge actions continue to be recorded in the appropriate activity logs.
These updates ensure your team has the necessary visibility and context to complete merges with confidence. Learn more about merging client profiles
Forms | Patient ID in Form Headers
Forms generated in Shepherd will now include the Patient ID in the header alongside existing patient details. This update makes it easier to quickly identify and verify the correct patient when reviewing printed forms.
Key Benefits:
New Patient ID Field – Patient ID is now displayed in the form header, directly below the Rabies Tag field.
Digital and Printed Forms – Patient ID appears consistently across both electronic and printed versions of forms.
This ensures staff and clients can easily reference patient records, reducing confusion and improving accuracy when handling forms. Learn more about Forms.
Prescriptions | Updated Default Messaging for Refills
We’ve updated the default client notification messages for prescription refills to ensure they stay within the 160-character SMS limit while still delivering all the essential details. This applies to both refill completions and denials.
Key Benefits:
Concise SMS Format – The new default message is short enough to fit within a single SMS credit, avoiding multiple message credits from being utilized.
Consistent Communication – Updates apply to both SMS and email versions for completed and denied refill notifications.
The new default message reads:
Hi [Client First], a refill for [Prescription name] is ready. [Message]. Please call [Clinic Phone] or reply with any questions. -[Clinic Name]
This change helps staff communicate efficiently while ensuring clients receive timely, clear, and professional updates. Learn more about prescription refills.
Read-Only Mode | Task Visibility
You can now view your clinic’s uncompleted, in-progress, and waiting tasks in Read-Only mode. This new feature provides visibility into outstanding work and helps ensure patient care continues even when the system is limited to read-only access.
Key Benefits:
New Tasks Section – A dedicated “Tasks” tab has been added to the left navigation panel in Read-Only Mode.
Comprehensive View – Displays all tasks due today as well as any open tasks from prior days in Uncompleted, In Progress, or Waiting status.
Smart Sorting – Tasks are sorted by due date (descending) with urgency prioritized (Urgent > Medium > Low).
Detailed Columns – See key details at a glance, including due date, priority, last modified, title, description, client, patient, assigned staff, and status.
Search & Filter Tools – Quickly find the task you need using filters, sort options, or the built-in search.
Export Capability – Export task lists to .csv for easy sharing or offline tracking.
This update ensures clinics can still review and manage workload effectively while in Read-Only mode. Learn more about Read-Only mode
Reports | Production Report Summary PDF Export Option
We’ve added a new Summary PDF option to the Production Report, giving you a shorter, more concise export format.
Key Benefits:
Two PDF Options – The existing PDF download has been renamed Detailed PDF, while a new Summary PDF option is now available.
Concise Summary – The Summary PDF includes only title rows and main total rows, leaving out individual item drill-in data.
Easier Printing – By focusing only on key summary data, the Summary PDF avoids excessive export length and makes reports easier to print and review.
Aligned with CSV Export – The Summary PDF mirrors the functionality of the recently introduced CSV summary export option.
This update ensures you can choose between detailed reporting or a quick summary view, depending on your clinic’s needs. Learn more about reports
Tables | Easier to Use and More Consistent
We’ve updated how tables look and feel across Shepherd, making them more accessible, consistent, and easier to scan.
What’s Changed:
Clickable Headers – Click anywhere in a column header to sort or filter, with hover states showing the clickable area.
Improved Readability – Subtle borders added between columns for easier scanning.
Consistent Experience – Updates apply across all tables and remain accessible on all screen sizes.
These changes make filtering and sorting more intuitive, reduce missed clicks, and improve readability - especially in wide, detailed tables.
🤖 OpenAPI Updates
🆕 Here's What's New
OpenAPI | SOAP Imaging Notes Writeback Endpoint
A new Shepherd OpenAPI endpoint, POST /soap-imagingnote/write, allows approved integrations (like imaging platforms) to automate the addition of imaging notes or image-viewing links into the Imaging section of the most recent active SOAP for a patient. This capability eliminates the need for manual data entry and ensures that imaging activity is seamlessly documented in Shepherd.
Example Use Case:
When an imaging platform integration uploads a new radiograph, it can automatically record a note and image link in the patient’s SOAP Imaging Notes - without any manual steps.
Key Details
Endpoint:
POST /soap-imagingnote/writeUsage: Write plain text or URLs to the active SOAP Imaging Notes for a given patient.
Does Not: Create new SOAPs if none are active.
Audit Logging:
All API writebacks are fully logged and attributed to the integration, using the optional
X-Integration-Sourceheader (e.g., “Radimal”).API-sourced notes are visibly distinguishable from those created via the Shepherd UI, both in the Imaging Notes section and SOAP History.
Request Example:
{
"note": "Thoracic radiographs uploaded to Radimal. View images: https://radimal.com/case/123456",
"patientId": "f822d187-6263-4e4b-8e20-b30500ac60ae"
}
Optional header:
X-Integration-Source: Radimal
Behavior:
If no active SOAP is found for the patient, the API returns a clear error (400 Bad Request).
Entries are instantly visible in the Imaging section with integration attribution and timestamp.
Why This Matters
This new API writeback endpoint empowers partners to integrate imaging data directly into Shepherd, reducing manual work, improving accuracy, and increasing transparency. Robust audit logging ensures all API-driven activity is clearly distinguished from manual entries, supporting compliance and data integrity.
Consistent Experience
The new endpoint aligns with the conventions of /soap-vital-entry/write to maintain a uniform, developer-friendly OpenAPI schema across all integration points.