Connect
PetConnect
Cortex
A useful veterinary software integration is one your team can test against a specific workflow. A connector name or a compatibility badge is only a starting point. This checklist helps practice managers prepare a supplier conversation and decide what evidence to request before using a connection in daily work.
The checklist is an editorial planning tool, not a report of measured customer results. It makes no claim that any product connects to every device, service or version.
Define the connection before comparing suppliers#
Write down the systems involved, the exact device or software version, the information that should move, and the direction of travel. “Laboratory integration” might describe sending an order, receiving a result, attaching a report, or several separate operations. Ask which operations are included in the proposed configuration.
Assign a practice contact and a supplier contact. Agree where issues will be recorded and who can decide whether a test has passed. Keep unanswered questions visible instead of treating a successful demonstration as acceptance of every workflow.
Check identity and data mapping#
Prepare a small set of approved test records with expected results. Include situations that your team actually encounters, such as similar patient names, corrected contact information or a result associated with a different visit.
- Can the receiving system identify the intended patient and encounter?
- Are dates, units and status labels represented as expected?
- Is the source of each result visible to the reviewer?
- What happens when a required identifier is missing?
- How is a correction distinguished from a new result?
For clinical information, have the responsible veterinarian review the meaning of the transferred data. Technical delivery and clinical interpretation should have separate acceptance checks.
Test each integration category on its own terms#
For laboratory connections, compare the requested test, returned result and attached report. For imaging, check the study and patient association, then verify that intended users can open the images. The DICOM standard explicitly states that conformance alone does not guarantee interoperability and calls for validation with the specific equipment involved. Source: DICOM conformance guidance.
For payments, test the proposed transaction states and reconciliation process using the provider's approved test environment. For messaging, confirm the recipient, template approval and failure handling. Do not infer that a payment connection, a laboratory connector and a messaging service share the same capabilities or support arrangements.
Rehearse interruptions and duplicate delivery#
Ask the supplier to demonstrate what happens when the connection stops, a response arrives late or the same item is delivered again. Record whether the practice can distinguish waiting, failed and completed work. A retry should be reviewed for unintended duplicate records, messages or transactions.
Choose an exception owner for each connection. That person needs a way to find unresolved work, identify the next action and escalate a problem. Include a temporary manual procedure and a clear decision point for suspending the connection during an incident.
Make acceptance a written decision#
Create a test log with the scenario, expected result, actual result, evidence and reviewer. Record the versions and configuration used. If the supplier changes a connector or the practice replaces a device, identify which tests need to run again.
Before sign-off, confirm who has access to the transferred data, which permissions are needed and how support is requested. Ask for the applicable contractual and technical documentation; avoid treating an integration label as a privacy or security guarantee.
Use the workflow automation guide to assign exception ownership and the digital transformation plan to place testing within a wider rollout.
Bring your device list and test scenarios to a conversation with the Vetigen team.
