One Place for Every Outside Pharmacy Request
Whether you call it a consolidated portal, an approval portal, or a pharmacy request dashboard, the idea is simple: all outside third-party pharmacy requests in one place.
For decades, veterinary teams have been buried under a flood of outside pharmacy requests. These are prescriptions initiated by clients when they order medications through outside or online pet pharmacies. Each request involves the veterinary practice to verify, approve, or deny before the pharmacy can dispense. Faxes pile up, phone calls interrupt appointments, emails slip through the cracks, and siloed pharmacy portals each demand separate logins. The result is four or more hours a day lost to chasing approvals, clarifying requests, and dealing with the same frustrations over and over again.
VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal changes that. Imagine one login, one dashboard, one clear workflow where every outside pharmacy request appears in the same place. Instead of sorting through faxes and wasting time on repetitive phone calls, veterinary staff can review, approve, deny, or modify requests digitally and in seconds. Pharmacies receive clean digital responses that integrate directly into their systems, eliminating failed faxes and the need for endless follow-ups.
This blog explores what VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal is, why veterinary medicine needs it, and how consolidating pharmacy requests into one digital approval process can transform prescribing in animal health.
The Broken, Fragmented Process Today
Today, outside pharmacy requests are scattered across multiple channels and depend entirely on the veterinary practice’s preferences and the pharmacy’s capabilities. There is no standard. This is a recipe for chaos.
A single prescription might start as a fax, then require a follow-up phone call when it fails or goes missing, with no one realizing the issue until a frustrated pet owner calls, asking why their order has not arrived. The veterinarian insists they have sent it multiple times. The pharmacy says they have never received it. Can it be resent? Or approved by phone? Some pharmacies want it by email. Some practices only allow calls. And if you are asked to use a portal, you will likely need nine more logins for nine other siloed pharmacy portals.
Multiply this by dozens of prescriptions a day for veterinary practices and tens of thousands for pharmacies, and you see the cost, frustration, and inefficiency it creates.
Sound familiar?
What VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal Really Solves
Imagine taking every fax, phone call, email, and siloed pharmacy portal login and collapsing them into one approval dashboard. That is the power of VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal.
Veterinary teams no longer need to jump between ten systems or chase failed fax transmissions. Every request lands in a single, structured dashboard where it can be approved, denied, or modified in seconds. Pharmacies no longer wait days for a response or call back repeatedly to confirm an approval. They receive clean digital transactions back through the same system, ready to fulfill quickly.
This is not about convenience alone. Human healthcare has proven that digitizing prescription workflows reduces administrative burden from hours a day to minutes. In veterinary practices, where outside pharmacy requests can consume four hours daily, consolidation means entire workdays reclaimed each week.
Integration with practice information management systems (PIMS) makes the experience seamless. Prescriptions flow within the existing practice software, while pharmacies receive structured, digital data that they can process without manual rework. No more requests stacking up in the queue. No more uncertainty about what was sent, when, or by whom.
Audit Trails and Transparency
One of the greatest weaknesses in today’s veterinary prescribing process is traceability. When prescriptions move by fax, phone, email, or even mail, there is no reliable record of what was sent, when it was received, or who approved it. The system is too manual, leaving too much room for error.
VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal changes that. Every transaction is time stamped, logged, and stored with a full audit trail. Veterinary teams can see exactly when a prescription was received and how it was handled. Pharmacies gain confidence that the approvals they receive are legitimate and verifiable.
This level of accountability reduces disputes, minimizes repeat requests, and fosters trust throughout the prescribing workflow. It is not just more efficient, it is more secure and compliant.
Practices know exactly what was received and how it was handled, pharmacies gain reliable confirmations, and the entire workflow becomes auditable. No more wondering whether a fax went through or whether a phone approval was documented correctly. Instead, both sides have complete visibility into every prescription, eliminating confusion and restoring confidence in the process.
Time Savings and Efficiency
Veterinary practices today are losing staggering amounts of time to the outside pharmacy request process. A study by the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) found that veterinary teams spend an average of four hours every day, more than 20 hours each week, handling these outside requests.
Staff are pulled into manually processing faxes, phone calls, emails, or siloed portals through antiquated data entry systems. And when something goes wrong, such as a fax failure, a missing email, or an incomplete request, even more time is spent chasing down missing or unclear approvals.
That is the equivalent of half a staff member’s workweek devoted entirely to chasing pharmacy requests. Over the course of a year, this adds up to an estimated $25,000 to $34,000 in wasted labor costs per practice. Pharmacies face the same burden at scale, spending tens of millions across the industry on administrative bottlenecks just to secure the approvals needed to dispense medications.
VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal changes this equation. Instead of scattered workflows, every outside pharmacy request appears in one place. Approvals, denials, and modifications can be completed in seconds. What previously consumed four hours a day can be reduced to less than 30 minutes, freeing practices to refocus staff time on patient care and client service.
The Impact for Veterinary Teams
For veterinary teams, the benefits are immediate. No more juggling between fax machines, phones, and multiple pharmacy portals. VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal provides one login, one dashboard, and one streamlined workflow. That reclaimed time is equivalent to adding half a staff member back into the practice without incurring additional payroll costs. Instead of burning hours on data entry and chasing down requests, staff can see more patients, strengthen client communication, and reduce stress across the team.
The Impact for Pharmacies
Pharmacies feel the impact at scale. Today, administrative bottlenecks cost the industry tens of millions of dollars every year as staff chase approvals through fragmented workflows. With VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal, pharmacies receive clean, standardized digital approvals that can be processed instantly. Built-in EPCS compliance ensures controlled substances are handled securely and in line with regulations. The result is faster fulfillment, fewer callbacks, and significant cost savings that allow pharmacies to operate more efficiently across thousands of veterinary practices.
The VetWay Difference
At VetWay, we are not layering a digital dashboard over fax. We have built the first true Script Exchange and approval portal for animal health. VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal consolidates all outside pharmacy requests into one streamlined dashboard while operating on the 2023 NCPDP SCRIPT standard.
Practices approve requests in seconds, pharmacies receive clean digital responses, and both sides benefit from full traceability, compliance, and efficiency. This is not about adding another system, it is about creating the first unified solution that works for everyone.
From Chaos to Clarity
The outside pharmacy request process has long been a source of frustration for veterinary teams and pharmacies alike. It drains time, increases costs, and leaves too much room for error. VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal transforms that chaos into clarity.
By consolidating workflows into one place, eliminating manual faxes and phone calls, and creating a digital audit trail, the industry can move forward with confidence. The result is faster approvals, fewer errors, and a better experience for practices, pharmacies, and ultimately patients.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal?
It is a centralized digital dashboard where all outside pharmacy requests appear in one place. Veterinary teams can approve, deny, or modify prescriptions in seconds, reducing the need for fax, phone, or email.
How does it benefit veterinary practices?
Practices save up to four hours daily by consolidating workflows, cutting compliance risks, and gaining a complete audit trail of every request.
How does it benefit pharmacies?
Pharmacies receive clean digital responses instead of fragmented faxes and phone calls, allowing faster fulfillment and improved efficiency across thousands of practices, saving valuable time and resources.
Does it support controlled substances?
Yes. With EPCS compliance built in, controlled substance prescriptions can be securely transmitted and approved digitally.
Can it integrate with PIMS?
Yes. VetWay’s Universal Approval Portal can operate as a standalone solution or integrate directly into a Practice Information Management System, making it a seamless part of the veterinary workflow.