Audience: prescribing veterinarians using PetBooqz with the VetScript integration. Example used throughout: Apoquel (oclacitinib) supplied by Vets Love Pets Pharmacy.
Where to find VetScript in PetBooqz
Open the patient file. Alongside the Details, History, Sales, Handouts and Pathology tabs you'll find the VetScript tab.
[Screenshot: Patient file showing the VetScript tab]
The VetScript tab shows a table of the patient's prescriptions and their statuses:
Status | Meaning |
Draft | Created but not yet sent. You can still edit or submit it. |
Submitted | Sent to the pharmacy. |
Scanned | Pharmacy event: the pharmacy has scanned the script. |
Dispensed | Pharmacy event: the pharmacy has dispensed the medication. |
Draft and Submitted reflect actions you take as the vet. Scanned and Dispensed are pharmacy events sent back to PetBooqz automatically. Click any barcode in the table to view that prescription's details.
Before you start
Prescribing an eScript in PetBooqz is a two-step process:
Add a medication.
Associate a pharmacy with that medication.
Step 1: Create the script
In the VetScript tab, click New.
If an existing draft script is available, PetBooqz will ask whether to use it or create new. Choose Create new.
Enter your staff password when prompted.
[Screenshot: New script prompt and staff password dialog]
Step 2: Add the medication
Click Add Medication. A pop-up e-prescribing screen appears.
Leave the custom compound checkbox at the top unticked. That option is for compounded medications only. Instead, use the Medication dropdown.
Searching the medication list
The dropdown lists every medication that can be supplied by pharmacies in the VetScript network (pharmacies price their own catalogues, and PetBooqz pulls the updated list daily). You can search by:
Active ingredient (e.g. oclacitinib)
Brand name (e.g. Apoquel)
Pharmacy name (e.g. searching "Vets Love Pets Pharmacy" narrows the list to medications that pharmacy supplies)
Results follow standard medication nomenclature: active ingredient, strength, form, quantity, brand name, and price (excluding GST).
[Screenshot: Medication dropdown showing Apoquel variants]
Selecting a variant
Select the variant you want, e.g. Apoquel 3.6 mg tablets, 100 tablets (bottle), Vets Love Pets Pharmacy. The strength, form, quantity and item count fields pre-fill. Item count is the number of units in a single package; for a full pack, leave it at 1.
Prescribing a broken pack (e.g. 20 tablets)
Go back to the dropdown and select the single-tablet variant instead of the full pack.
Change the item count from 1 to the number you're prescribing (e.g. 20).
Tick the Unusual quantity checkbox (see below).
In Additional comments, state the quantity in both words and numerals, e.g. "Twenty (20) tablets". This is required whenever Unusual quantity is ticked.
Complete the clinical fields
These fields are required. They mirror the conformance standards used for electronic prescriptions in human healthcare.
Directions for use: dosing instructions for the animal owner.
Reason for prescribing: the clinical justification, the specific therapeutic effect intended for this pet. A high-level entry such as "behavioural reasons" is acceptable.
Primary diagnosis: choose from the dropdown (e.g. "behaviour disorder / problem behaviour").
Expiration date
The expiration date defaults to one year from today (e.g. a script written 10 July 2026 expires 9 July 2027) and is currently fixed. An editable field is planned for a future PetBooqz release. If you need a different expiry, state it in Additional comments, e.g. "Please change expiration date to six months from today."
Repeats
Maximum repeats: does not include the original supply. To authorise four supplies in total, enter 3 repeats (original + 3).
Minimum days between repeats: set an interval (e.g. 28 days) if you don't want the owner purchasing all repeats upfront. Enter 0 to allow all repeats to be purchased at once.
Checkboxes
Allow brand substitution: gives the pharmacy discretion to offer the owner a substitute brand if the prescribed brand is out of stock (e.g. during the recent Fluoxetine Dr. Reddy's shortage). This reduces back-and-forth between the pharmacy and you, avoiding delays to the patient receiving medication. Recommended for veterinarian-only medications. Tick it for this workflow.
Emergency supply: flags the script as a script owing. Leave unticked unless applicable.
Unusual quantity: tick only when prescribing a broken pack (and state the quantity in words and numerals in Additional comments).
Additional comments
Free-text comments directed to the pharmacy: expiry-date changes, broken-pack quantities in words and numerals, or anything else the dispensing pharmacist needs to know.
Click Submit. You'll return to the screen with the Add Medication and Find Pharmacies options.
[Screenshot: e-prescribing pop-up with fields completed for Apoquel]
Step 3: Associate a pharmacy
Click Find Pharmacies and select the supplying pharmacy (in this example, only Vets Love Pets Pharmacy can supply the selected product).
Client and patient details pre-fill automatically, with no double entry.
Confirm client contact details
Before submitting, confirm with the client that their mobile number, email and delivery address are current. The pharmacy uses these details to contact the animal owner to organise payment and delivery. If anything is out of date, update it in the client file first.
Postal address
You have three options:
Use the client's delivery address on file: the standard choice for veterinarian-only medications where the pharmacy charges the client and delivers directly to them. Use this for this workflow.
Send to the practice: generally used for compounded medications.
Custom address: for one-off deliveries such as an office or temporary location.
Click Submit.
Enter your vet registration number when prompted and click OK.
The prescribing window closes and a new entry appears in the VetScript tab with status Submitted and its barcode.
[Screenshot: VetScript tab showing the new Submitted entry]
Step 4: Billing
PetBooqz will prompt you whether you'd like to bill for the script you've just created. Generally, click Yes. This takes you to the client's billing section, showing the medication and its associated script fee.
Tip, distinguish script fees from in-clinic stock: invoice item names are taken from the medication list, so a scripted Apoquel looks identical to Apoquel dispensed from clinic stock. Click the pencil (edit) icon on the line item and add a prefix such as "SCRIPT - " to the name so it's easy to tell apart later.
Setting your script fee: configure a fixed, practice-wide script fee (e.g. $35) in PetBooqz Admin Central. If your fees vary per script, use the pencil icon on the invoice line to adjust the amount each time.
Who pays for the medication? In the PetBooqz admin panel, go to Preferences > VetScript. A checkbox controls whether the client pays for the medication in clinic:
Unchecked (most common): you charge the script fee only; the pharmacy charges the client for the medication and organises delivery.
Checked: you charge the client for both the script fee and the medication cost in clinic.
Viewing, printing and cancelling a script
Open the script from the VetScript tab to view its details: medication, quantity, repeats, expiration date, additional comments, destination pharmacy, client and patient details, and postal address.
Print: fires a print job producing a formatted paper script: prescribing veterinarian, order details, animal details, medication details, a field for your signature and date, and a barcode the pharmacy can scan into their dispensing software.
Cancel: sends a cancellation request; a cancelled script can no longer be downloaded or dispensed by the pharmacy. You'll be prompted for your staff password, then your vet registration number.
Note: if the pharmacy has already dispensed the script, cancellation will fail. Contact the pharmacy and ask them to cancel or reverse the dispense; this unlocks the script so you can cancel it.
Good to know
All pharmacies in the VetScript network supporting veterinarian-only medications offer home delivery nationwide, so the animal owner's location doesn't limit your pharmacy choice.