The new digital benchmarking platform features live, data-driven reports and a FICO-like score to gauge the health of veterinary practices and guide business growth

Lakewood, Colo. (July 21, 2022) — The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and Petabyte Technology have teamed up to bring the veterinary community AAHA Benchmarking, the first ever digital tool that uses live practice information management system (PIMS) data and advanced benchmarking analytics to compare practice performance insights to the broader veterinary space.

AAHA Benchmarking converts normalized data into easy-to-interpret visuals and actionable reports that allow veterinary practices to compare their own data against aggregated financial and productivity data from practices across the U.S. It also features the SPOT Score, an instant view of how a practice compares to its cohort in four major categories: Sales revenue, Producer performance, Opportunities, and Trends in medicine.

AAHA Benchmarking, developed by Petabyte Technology, uses algorithmic analysis to automatically standardize, aggregate, and analyze PIMS data. As a tech leader in analyzing and standardizing data at scale, Petabyte Technology harnesses the power of community data to improve pet care and business success for individual practices while raising the bar for industry-wide veterinary excellence.

“Petabyte takes any number of practices with our tenured technology and turns their data into the industry’s single source of truth,” explains Kim Fish, VP of Veterinary Strategy at Petabyte Technology. “Even simple things make a difference, like knowing that 'Limes disease’ means ‘Lyme disease’. With deep standardized data we can help clinics recuperate lost revenue by looking at things like ACT inconsistencies and producer performance to determine revenue gaps. The varied naming, PIMS, and idiosyncrasies we ingest takes real technical magic to overcome,” says Fish.

Behind the scenes, Petabyte’s software implements sophisticated algorithms that standardize and classify all business and medical data for a wide range of practices and practice types. By securely connecting their PIMS with AAHA Benchmarking, practices can access previously invisible data, going well beyond simple revenue and appointment-count reports, and drill down into the data using various criteria including practice information, client demographics, pet breeds, age, appointment/procedure type, and more.

“The partnership between AAHA and Petabyte was a natural fit and will have an instant impact on veterinary medicine,” says Katie Huneke, VP of Sales and Marketing at Petabyte Technology. “Our proprietary platforms, including our rhapsody PIMS, natively use the AAHA chart of accounts to provide actionable, deep, and integrity-rich data to veterinary teams. This collaboration is yet another way AAHA and Petabyte’s suite of products are helping veterinary practices deliver the highest quality of care,” says Huneke. “We’re excited to share AAHA Benchmarking with the entire veterinary industry.”

AAHA Benchmarking is critical for veterinary practices to stay current and competitive. Consistently measuring against industry peers enables practices to gain insight into their own performance.

From the inception of the AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts in the ‘90s to the development of the AAHA Diagnostic Terms and Codes in 2003, AAHA has paved the way for open standards in the veterinary industry, championed thought leadership on standards and practices, converted its standardized terminology into SNO-MED coding so it would be accepted as a recognized diagnosis coding for the profession, and provided important benchmarking data to members for more than three decades via online and written surveys. Access to benchmarking data consistently rates as one of the most-desired member benefits in ongoing AAHA member surveys.

“Although The AAHA Diagnostic Terms and Codes have been around for the last 20 years, the wide variety of PIMS systems have made it difficult to establish industry-wide consistency and use these terms the way they were designed to be used,” says Garth Jordan, CEO of AAHA. “That’s why our partnership with Petabyte is so important. They’ve found a way to standardize despite the PIMS. And with standardized coding at the heart of this tool, AAHA Benchmarking will go a long way in helping practices assess business and medical operations to then make necessary changes. We’re excited to be able to provide that, not just for AAHA members, but for the entire profession.”

AAHA Benchmarking replaces outdated printed reports with live data-driven reports to help inform business operations for short- and long-term benefits. As a nonprofit whose aim is to simplify the journey to excellence for the veterinary profession, AAHA leadership provides third-party neutral assurance to participating practices that their data is safe, secure, and ultimately, owned at the practice level.

This partnership is a collaboration in industry and technology leadership. AAHA and Petabyte Technology are excited to champion open data standards in the veterinary community through AAHA Benchmarking to drive better medicine and quality veterinary care.
AAHA Benchmarking will be available in September 2022 to the entire veterinary community. A no-cost version of AAHA Benchmarking will be available to the full AAHA Membership as well. For more information, visit: aaha.org/benchmarking.

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About AAHA
Since 1933, the American Animal Hospital Association has been the only organization to accredit veterinary hospitals throughout the United States and Canada based on standards directly correlated to high-quality medicine and compassionate care. Accreditation in veterinary medicine is voluntary. The AAHA-accredited logo is the best way to know a practice has been evaluated by a third party. Look for the AAHA logo or visit aaha.org.

About Petabyte Technology
Petabyte revolutionizes practice management for veterinary hospitals through its suite of software solutions that emphasize simple design and intuitive usability. Petabyte Technology uses standardized data, comprehensive analytics, and advanced technology to help veterinary practices run more efficient operations and deliver better patient veterinary care. For more information, visit petabyte.technology.