A veterinary prescribing technology company set out to solve a problem every clinic knows too well: the inefficiencies of manual prescription handling. Rather than building a full veterinary EHR, the team focused on creating a cloud-based prescribing platform to seamlessly connect veterinarians with retail pharmacies. To understand where improvements were needed most, the team examined how prescriptions are typically handled in veterinary clinics.
Traditionally, clinics rely on handwritten scripts and phone calls, methods that slow care, increase risks, frustrate clients, and divert staff from animal care. As pet owners increasingly turn to retail and cloud pharmacies, and clinics expand telemedicine services and open additional locations, there is no denying the need for secure, digital prescribing solutions.
Those interactions become even more challenging when controlled substances are involved. Pain medications and anesthetics, both vital in veterinary care, are still often managed with paper scripts or on-site inventory. This leaves clinics struggling to balance regulatory requirements with outdated processes that became harder to defend under tightening opioid rules. In states where EPCS is already mandatory for human healthcare providers, veterinarians are often exempt simply because no compliant technology exists. Anticipating the shift toward stricter veterinary prescribing standards, the veterinary prescribing technology company built EPCS into the core of its platform from day one, ensuring it met compliance obligations and practical workflow needs while preparing clinics for future mandates.
To bring its EPCS capabilities to market with credibility, the veterinary prescribing technology company partnered with Drummond, a trusted leader in health IT compliance, to guide and certify their prescribing platform with the precision and expertise such a milestone required.
Defining and Executing the Certification Process
Drummond was engaged early in the platform’s development, allowing certification requirements to be embedded into the architecture from the outset. In the initial planning sessions, Drummond’s team provided a comprehensive overview of the EPCS standards, enabling the developers to map out core capabilities such as multi-factor authentication for prescribers, tamper-evident audit logs, and integration with a trusted security partner. Each of these safeguards was designed to prevent unauthorized access, protect data integrity, and ensure secure prescription transmission in compliance with federal rules.
Adapting these requirements for veterinary medicine meant tailoring workflows (such as identity proofing for veterinarians and pharmacy integration using the NCPDP SCRIPT standard) to meet certification criteria. This proactive alignment ensured that every compliance need was addressed during development, streamlining the path to the final audit.
By the time the certification review began, the platform had been purpose-built to meet the EPCS standard. The result: a first-of-its-kind veterinary EPCS certification achieved through a methodical process that embedded security, compliance, and innovation from day one.
Certification Day and the Strategic Payoff
While achieving this certification was a technical milestone, its true significance became apparent in the weeks and months that followed. With Drummond’s seal of approval, the veterinary prescribing technology company found doors opening that had previously been closed or did not exist.
Certification instantly signaled to clinics and corporate veterinary groups that this startup had met the same high bar as established human-health software vendors, reshaping sales calls, business partnerships and even internal practices.
Certification as a Business Catalyst
In conversations with corporate veterinary groups and clinics, the EPCS certification acted as a credibility badge that cut through the hesitation often directed at new entrants. Decision makers no longer questioned whether using the platform would create compliance risks; instead, discussions centered on features, value and integration.
A company executive noted: “Our certification fundamentally changed the conversation. It demonstrated that our platform met the most rigorous security and regulatory standards in our field, which meant prospective partners could focus on value and integration rather than questioning compliance. That accelerated our market entry far beyond what we could have achieved otherwise.”
In short, rather than climbing slowly by convincing individual early adopters, the veterinary prescribing technology company entered the market with the momentum of a fast-track rollout.
Compliance Culture Driving Further Product Excellence
Certification had benefits inside the veterinary prescribing technology company as well. The rigor required to pass an EPCS audit fostered a culture of meticulous engineering and testing that spilled over into every feature. Even functions unrelated to prescribing were now subject to the same careful design discipline the team was accustomed to working within as a result of EPCS’ high-stakes constraints.
Strong guardrails (such as cryptographically signed audit logs, role-based permission layers and encrypted data stores) enabled rapid iteration. Minor enhancements could be deployed without fear of breaking compliance because the architecture enforced security best practices by default. Quick internal “micro-audits,” which cross-checked new code against the established compliance checklist, allowed the product to evolve at startup speed without compromising on safety or quality.
Stronger Regulatory Readiness for Future Mandates
That same forward-thinking approach also delivered a strategic regulatory advantage. By achieving EPCS certification well before most veterinary practices face formal mandates, the platform has positioned itself to respond instantly if more states extend such requirements to veterinarians, much like early-adopter states such as Arizona, California and Maine.
This built-in readiness eliminated a potential compliance scramble for clients and establishes the platform as the obvious choice for any clinic seeking a proven, fully compliant solution under tight regulatory timelines. It also allowed the veterinary prescribing technology company to lead the industry conversation on prescribing standards. In a market where policy shifts can quickly redefine competitive landscapes, being ahead of the curve transformed compliance from a hurdle into a powerful growth lever.
Ripple Effects Beyond One Company
The success of this prescribing platform carries broader implications for health tech innovators in adjacent markets. It showcases how proactive compliance can be converted into competitive advantage rather than viewed as a burdensome cost. By earning a rigorous certification in an emerging niche, the veterinary prescribing technology company didn’t just meet a mandate, it actively shaped the standards of its industry.
In an era of rising security concerns and stringent oversight in healthcare, this journey exemplifies a new playbook. Rather than waiting for regulations to force their hand, startups can seize the initiative to align with best-in-class standards early, using certification as a springboard for innovation and credibility. The result was not only a better, safer product for users, but a stronger market position that competitors and collaborators alike can’t ignore.
By making compliance a core part of its identity, the veterinary prescribing technology company redefined what leadership looks like in the veterinary prescribing technology, proving that meeting the highest standard can drive both enduring product quality and lasting competitive advantage.