Audience: prescribing veterinarians using PetBooqz with the VetScript integration. Example used throughout: methimazole (compounded formulation).
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.
For compounded medications there are two ways to add the medication:
From the medication list (recommended): covers the most frequently prescribed compounded formulations, pre-priced by compounding pharmacies in the VetScript network.
As a custom compound: free-text entry for formulations or quantities not in the list. Fewer than 10% of vets in the network use this route.
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.
Option A: Select from the medication list (recommended)
Leave the custom compound checkbox unticked and use the Medication dropdown. The dropdown lists every medication that pharmacies in the VetScript network can supply (pharmacies price their own catalogues, and PetBooqz pulls the updated list daily). You can search by:
Active ingredient (e.g. methimazole)
Brand/formulation name
Pharmacy name: narrows the list to what that pharmacy supplies
Searching "methimazole" returns the available strength variants, forms (transdermal pen, syringe, suspension), quantities, the compounding pharmacies that can fulfil each one, and the price (excluding GST).
[Screenshot: Medication dropdown showing methimazole compounded variants]
Select the variant you want. The strength, form, quantity and item count fields pre-fill. Item count is the number of units in a single package; leave it at 1 for compounded medications.
Formulation or quantity not listed? The pre-loaded compounded list covers the most frequently prescribed formulations. If yours isn't there, either use the custom compound route below, or contact the compounding pharmacy to confirm they'll accept the formulation/quantity and have them add it to their VetScript product catalogue. It will then appear in your PetBooqz medication list.
Option B: Custom compound
Tick the custom compound checkbox at the top of the pop-up. The form switches to free-text fields. Complete:
Active ingredient
Form (e.g. suspension, capsule, transdermal)
Quantity: be specific, e.g. 10 tablets, 20 capsules, or 15 mL of a suspension
Directions for use
[Screenshot: Custom compound checkbox and free-text fields]
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.
Primary diagnosis: choose from the dropdown.
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.
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: not applicable to compounded medications; leave unticked. (It applies to registered veterinarian-only and human medications.)
Emergency supply: flags the script as a script owing. Leave unticked unless applicable.
Unusual quantity: not applicable to compounded medications; leave unticked.
Additional comments
Free-text comments directed to the compounding pharmacy. For compounded medications this field is especially useful, e.g.:
"Please compound in beef flavour."
"Please change expiration date to six months from today."
Click Submit. You'll return to the screen with the Add Medication and Find Pharmacies options.
Step 3: Associate a pharmacy
Click Find Pharmacies and select the compounding pharmacy that supplies the selected formulation.
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:
Send to the practice: commonly used for compounded medications, e.g. where the practice wants to check or dispense the compound itself.
Use the client's delivery address on file: where the pharmacy charges the client and delivers directly to them.
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. Click the pencil (edit) icon on the line item and add a prefix such as "SCRIPT - " to the name so scripted items are easy to tell apart from in-clinic stock.
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
Compounding pharmacies in the VetScript network offer home delivery nationwide, so the animal owner's location doesn't limit your pharmacy choice.