Shepherd products and services are broken down into the following categories:
Having these categories at the core of your product database helps ensure consistency for your products and services database while allowing you the options to customize individual products and services to suit your practice's needs.
It's also worth noting that product types are different than product categories.
If you want a high level view, we also have an overview for products and services, too.
Common Fields
While the 5 types have their own distinct fields, they also have some common fields. These fields are the checkboxes at the bottom of each product. They're broken into two categories.
1. They denote whether or not the product/service is:
Active/inactive
Controlled (applies to all but services)
Discountable
Taxable
Included on invoice
Included in medical record
2. These fields also allow you to create automated processes for whenever a product or service is administered or added to an invoice. These automations are:
Default medical record notes
Default Prescription Directions
Injections
Injections are all non-vaccine, injectable products (remember vaccines have their own type). The fields for vaccines are:
Injection Name: The name as it will appear in the medical record. Tip: It's useful to also include the dosage.
Concentration: Dosage concentration. Used when Shepherd automatically calculates the quantity needed based on patient weight.
Medication Unit: g, mg, mcg, IU
Volume: ml
Selling Price: what the product sells for
Min. Price: the lowest price an injection will cost, regardless of quantity
Dispensing Fee: allows you to select one of your pre-made dispensing fees and automatically populates the amount (which can be overridden).
Dispensing Fee Amount: you can also set a unique amount for specific products
Administration Route: CRI, IM, IV, OTM, PO, PR, SC, and Other
Medications
Medications and injections have more or less the same fields. But since they're administered differently, they deserve to have their own type.
Medication Name: The name as it will appear in the medical record. Tip: It's useful to also include the dosage.
Concentration: Dosage concentration. Used when Shepherd automatically calculates the quantity needed based on patient weight.
Medication Unit: g, mg, mcg, IU
Volume: capsule, caplet, tablet, ml
Selling Price: what the product sells for
Min. Price: the lowest price a medication will cost, regardless of quantity
Dispensing Fee: allows you to select one of your pre-made dispensing fees and automatically populates the amount (which can be overridden).
Dispensing Fee Amount: you can also set a unique amount for specific products
Administration Route: CRI, IM, IV, OTM, PO, PR, SC, and Other
Products
Products is sort of a catch-all that covers everything from food and treats to merchandise.
Tip: this is also a great way to categorize any medication that will always be sold with a whole quantity and doesn't need a concentration (wound cream, ear medication, etc.).
Bonus tip: you can also sell whole bottles of pills as products. Just be sure to add the concentration in the Display Name.
The fields for products are:
Display name: the name that will display in the record and invoice
Selling Price: what the product sells for
Dispensing Fee: allows you to select one of your pre-made dispensing fees and automatically populates the amount (which can be overridden).
Dispensing Fee Amount: you can also set a unique amount for specific products
Services
Services usually encompass procedures (spay/neuter, nail trim, laser treatments, exams) and can also include things like emergency visits.
The fields for services are:
Display name: the name that will display in the record and invoice
Selling Price: what the product sells for
Dispensing Fee: allows you to select one of your pre-made dispensing fees and automatically populates the amount (which can be overridden).
Dispensing Fee Amount: you can also set a unique amount for specific
Services also allow you to automatically update a patient status. For example, a spay can change a patient status to 'Male, Neutered' or 'Female, Spayed' and euthanasias would change the patient status to 'Deceased.'
Vaccines
While technically a subset of injections, vaccines are different enough to require their own set of fields. Those are:
Display name: the name that will display in the record and invoice
Label Name: the name on the label
Manufacturer: the vaccine's manufacturer
Serial Number: the serial number of the vaccine
Lot Number: the vaccine's lot number
Vaccine Lot Expiration Date: when the vaccine expires
Default Due Date/Time Unit from administration time: two fields that allow you to set when a followup vaccine is required.
Selling Price: what the product sells for
Dispensing Fee: allows you to select one of your pre-made dispensing fees and automatically populates the amount (which can be overridden).
Dispensing Fee Amount: you can also set a unique amount for specific products