Your client left confused. The medication instructions were verbal. The follow-up was vague. The complaint arrived on Tuesday.
The 2025 RCVS PSS review now requires written discharge instructions at General Practice level. This codifies what good practices already do — but many still rely on verbal instructions at checkout, or on handwritten notes that are incomplete or illegible. 19% of RCVS complaints relate to customer service, with consent and communication failures cited repeatedly. Clear discharge summaries reduce complaints, improve medication compliance, and give clients confidence in their care. Your agent transforms the clinical record into a client-friendly discharge summary: what happened, what medications to give (with plain-language instructions), what to watch for, and when to come back.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent turns clinical notes into clear, client-friendly discharge summaries — with medication instructions, warning signs, and follow-up dates — before the client leaves the building.
Translates clinical notes into plain language
Your vet wrote 'exploratory laparotomy — GI foreign body retrieval.' Your client needs 'We performed surgery to remove the object from your dog's intestine.' Your agent translates clinical terminology into language pet owners understand, without losing clinical accuracy.
Generates clear medication instructions
Drug name, dose, frequency, duration, with or without food, what to do if a dose is missed — in plain language with specific times rather than 'BID.' Reduces medication errors and 'I didn't understand the instructions' callbacks.
Includes species-appropriate warning signs
Post-surgical: watch for wound swelling, discharge, loss of appetite beyond 24 hours. Post-dental: soft food for 7 days, no chewing hard toys. Your agent includes condition-specific and species-specific warning signs that prompt the client to call back when they should.
Sets clear follow-up expectations
Follow-up appointment date and purpose, suture removal timing, when to expect lab results, what the next steps are. No ambiguity about what happens next — the client leaves knowing exactly when they'll hear from you and why.
Available in print and digital formats
Printed for the client at checkout and emailed/texted for reference at home. Clients who lose the paper copy have a digital backup. Clients who forget verbal instructions have written ones to refer to at 2am when their pet seems unwell.
The real numbers.
| Vet/nurse time writing discharge instructions (5-10 min each) | £2,000–£4,000/year |
| Client callbacks for instructions they didn't understand | £500–£1,500/year |
| Complaint handling (communication-related) | £500–£2,000/year |
| Realistic annual cost | £3,000–£6,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your practice templates) | £1,500–£2,500 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £60–£120/month |
| Template updates for new procedures | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £2,220–£3,940 |
Most client communication complaints come down to the same issue: the client didn't understand what was going to happen, what happened, or what happens next. Written discharge summaries address all three — and the 2025 PSS review now requires them.
Your agent produces them automatically from the clinical record, so your vet doesn't add another 5-10 minutes per patient to an already packed day.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Practices that currently give discharge instructions verbally
- Practices with a high volume of post-surgical or post-treatment discharges
- Practices that have received communication-related complaints
- Practices preparing for PSS accreditation at General Practice level
This probably isn't for you if:
- You already have robust discharge summary templates that your team uses consistently
- You have a dedicated client liaison or nursing team that handles all discharge communication
- Your practice sees fewer than 10 patients per day
Let's talk.
We'll start with how you currently handle discharge communication, whether you've had any communication-related complaints, and what your patient volume looks like. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com