6.4. Vaccine Clinic Scheduling Strategies

The best way to run an efficient vaccine clinic is to schedule appointments in advance. Spacing out visits prevents long, stressful lines and allows clients to pre-fill paperwork. HQ provides the tools to make this process safer, faster, and more organized.

In 2019, HQ completed a vaccine clinic case study. Click here to watch the slideshow

1. Key Strategies

1. Decouple “Medicine Only”

• Use HQ’s online scheduler for clients picking up preventatives only (e.g., flea/tick, heartworm).
• Requests appear as E-App submissions.
• Medications can be prepared in advance and logged into the medical record.
• Clients can pay online or in person at pickup.

2. Minimize Services

During the clinic itself, focus on core services:

• Core vaccines
• Dewormers
• Preventatives
• (Optional) Microchips – useful but more time-intensive.

3. “Fire Station Drive-Through” Model

• Partner with a double-bay fire station for an ideal setup.
• Average wait time reduced to five minutes.
• Fire staff manage parking while veterinary staff handle care.

4. Pre-Register & Pre-Pay

Use HQ’s scheduler to collect client info and payment ahead of time. Benefits:

• Reduced wait times
• Appointment spacing
• Risk mitigation
• Inventory prep in advance

✅ Pro tip: Print paperwork the evening before (including rabies certificates). Pre-bag preventatives and staple them to the paperwork for fast distribution.

Other Considerations

• For walk-ups/drive-ups, you may need a mobile office to generate certificates and collect payments.
• Make online and internal signup available: ** Add scheduling links to your website. ** Allow phone-based registration through your clinic staff.
• For low-income neighborhood clinics, consider door-to-door pre-registration with a tablet.

Why Use HQ?

Running vaccine clinics through HQ gives your team the ability to:

• Track how many clients to expect.
• Send vaccine reminders.
• Generate rabies certificates.
• Save complete medical histories.
• Auto-register microchips.
• Prepare inventory in advance.