Suddenly, what seemed like an ordinary evening turns into a frantic search for help. And in those moments, pet owners aren’t thinking about business hours, they’re thinking about getting their animal the care it needs as quickly as possible.
Most pet parents immediately turn to a search engine. They try to describe what they’re seeing and look for explanations for what might be happening at home. But more often than not, the results present the most extreme possibilities.
Pets can’t communicate what they’re feeling.
Pet parents are left worried.
But what if, even during off hours, you could reach a live veterinarian who has seen hundreds if not thousands of similar cases before?
Having the option to reach an on-call veterinarian through a dedicated after-hours line provides peace of mind not only for pet owners, but, believe it or not, for veterinarians as well.
So what happens after hours?
Do veterinary clinics go on call, and how would it work?
That’s where on-call communication tools like OnPage become invaluable, helping veterinarians respond quickly in the moments when fast guidance matters most.
How OnPage Works from a Veterinarian’s Viewpoint
After Hours On-Call Alerting at Veterinary Clinics:
For clinics that offer after-hours emergency services, OnPage functions as a paging system that helps ensure veterinarians never miss urgent calls.
When a pet parent calls the clinic after hours, the call can be routed in different ways depending on the veterinarian’s personal preference. In some cases, the call may come through as a direct phone call, allowing the after hour veterinarian to answer immediately and speak with the pet parent to provide assistance right away.
Alternatively, the phone system may route the call to a veterinarian’s voicemail. That voicemail is automatically sent to the OnPage paging app on the on-call veterinarian’s phone. The app generates a loud, persistent alert to ensure the message is noticed.
The alert will continue to sound until the veterinarian actively presses a button in the app to acknowledge or silence the page. This helps ensure that emergency messages are not missed.
Veterinarians can then view the alert and listen to the voicemail message directly in the app.
From the client’s perspective, they simply call the clinic’s regular phone number. If the clinic is closed, their call is routed based on the veterinarian’s preference, either directly to the veterinarian as a live phone call or to voicemail, which is then delivered through the OnPage app, allowing the veterinarian to respond to urgent situations quickly.
Alerting & Scheduling for Veterinary Clinics:
For veterinary clinics with multiple veterinarians on staff, coordinating who is responsible for incoming calls can be challenging, especially during busy hours, after-hours care, or rotating shifts. OnPage’s scheduling feature helps simplify this process by allowing clinic managers to assign veterinarian shifts directly within the platform.
By creating a clear schedule, the system automatically routes alerts and calls to the veterinarian who is currently on duty. This ensures that incoming requests are handled promptly while eliminating confusion about ownership of each call. Managers can easily update schedules when shifts change, helping clinics maintain reliable communication and continuity of care for patients.
With OnPage, veterinarians and on-call staff receive automated reminders before their scheduled shifts begin, ensuring they are aware of their on-call responsibilities and prepared to respond to incoming alerts.
Call Routing:
Complementing the scheduling feature, OnPage’s call routing automatically directs incoming calls to the veterinarian currently on call. If the call is not answered, it escalates to the next team member in the rotation.
Clinics can configure a call routing workflow that directs incoming calls to the veterinarian currently on call. If the first person does not answer within a set timeframe, the system automatically escalates the call to the next veterinarian in the rotation.
This automated escalation process helps prevent missed emergencies and ensures that critical calls reach an available provider as quickly as possible.
API Integration for Veterinary Workflows:
OnPage’s API allows veterinary clinics and organizations to seamlessly integrate their existing software systems with the OnPage platform. This integration enables automated alerts, messaging, and paging to be triggered directly from internal applications, ensuring critical notifications are delivered instantly to the appropriate staff members.
When important events occur with a clinic’s practice management or monitoring systems, those systems can automatically send notifications through the OnPage API, ensuring the right staff is immediately alerted.
For example, if a diagnostic lab integration reports a critical result such as dangerously elevated creatinine levels for a hospitalized patient, the practice management system can trigger an alert through the API to notify the responsible veterinarian. Similarly, monitoring equipment used during recovery may detect abnormal reading such as low oxygen saturation or irregular heart rate. These events can also trigger OnPage so that the right specialist is immediately notified.
By connecting OnPage with the systems clinics already rely on, such as practice management or monitoring tools, veterinary teams can streamline urgent communications and reduce manual steps in their workflows.
With alerts delivered directly to their smartphones, veterinarians can rely on loud, persistent notifications without needing to carry a separate pager. This modern approach ensures critical messages are received quickly, helping teams respond faster when it matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do Veterinary Clinics Go Oncall?
Yes, there are veterinary clinics that offer on-call services. However, it depends on the type of clinic, its location, and the size of the practice. Some clinics operate 24 hours a day, with select veterinarians either providing phone support or being stationed at the clinic.
What kind of on call services do veterinary clinics offer?
Veterinary clinics usually offer after-hours on-call services so patients can contact a care provider during emergencies outside of regular business hours. They typically provide a consultation over the phone after hours, and if the veterinarian thinks the pet should be brought into the clinic for monitoring, they will request that the pet be brought in just in case.
Are Oncall Veterinary Services Free?
The services are usually not free, and some may be more expensive due to the after-hours nature of the care. The pay structure also depends on the clinic, but some services may be covered by pet insurance.
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