Digital Medical History Forms: Better Preparation for Every Appointment
Optimally prepared before the appointment begins
Veterinarians know: A thorough medical history is the foundation of every good treatment. Until now, this often meant handwritten forms in the waiting room, illegible answers, and lost time at the treatment table.
With Petla's digital medical history forms, that changes fundamentally.
12 specialist templates
Petla offers specialized medical history forms for the most common veterinary specialties:
- Cardiology — exercise tolerance, coughing, respiratory rate
- Dermatology — itching, coat changes, allergy history
- Gastroenterology — eating behavior, diarrhea, vomiting
- Behavioral medicine — anxiety, aggression, lifestyle changes
- Nutrition counseling — feeding plan, weight development
- Ophthalmology — tearing, redness, vision changes
- Orthopedics — lameness, weight-bearing, movement restrictions
- Physiotherapy — pre-existing conditions, mobility, pain behavior
- Equine General, Equine Dental, Equine Orthopedics — horse-specific templates
Each template contains targeted questions with conditional fields: When a pet owner answers "Yes" to a core question, follow-up questions appear automatically.
How it works
- Booking completed — the pet owner automatically receives the matching medical history form
- Fill out in advance — conveniently from home, on phone or computer
- Data pre-filled — name, email, and pet data are carried over from the booking
- Practice informed — the team sees the answers before the appointment in the dashboard
The entire process is seamlessly integrated into the booking flow. Pet owners who have already filled out the new patient form get their basic data automatically transferred to the medical history form.
What this means for your practice
- Shorter appointments — less time for history-taking, more time for treatment
- Better preparation — you know what to expect before the appointment
- Fewer surprises — structured data collection reduces misassessments
- Professional appearance — digital forms instead of paper in the waiting room
Studies from human medicine show that thorough digital medical histories can help avoid up to 56% of potential misdiagnoses. The potential in veterinary medicine is comparable.
Availability
Digital medical history forms are available now in the Standard and Premium plans. Existing practices can activate the templates directly in their dashboard and link them to their concerns.