For Canadian companion-animal clinics
Managed IT Services for Veterinary Clinics in British Columbia
Your provincial college wants records kept, encrypted, backed up off-site, and recoverable with a printable audit trail. We keep your practice-management system up and your backups tested, so the answer is yes.
- 81+ Google reviews
- ~15-minute response time
- No contracts, month to month
- Microsoft Partner
The gap most clinics miss in their backups
Most Canadian clinics still run on server-based systems like AVImark, Cornerstone or Impromed sitting on a box in the back room. As of the 2022 CVMA survey, only about 16% had moved to cloud software. [[verify]]
A nightly backup that runs is not the same as a backup that restores. Many clinics assume theirs works until a disk fails or ransomware hits and proves it never did.
Your college standard goes past keeping records. In BC the CVBC standard says electronic records should be encrypted, backed up off-site, and that any off-site server or cloud database should be based in Canada. In Ontario the CVO standard requires encrypted, off-site backups and a printable audit trail that keeps the original entry when something is changed.
Radiographs, ultrasound, and your controlled-drug, anesthesia and surgery logs are part of the legal record too. They are storage-heavy and easy to lose if they are not backed up off-site.
Small clinics rarely have dedicated IT, so patching, encryption and access controls slip until something breaks. None of this means you have a problem today. It means it is worth checking before someone else checks for you.
Worth knowing about vet records and the cloud
A few things clinics get told that are half right. Here is what the standards and the privacy rules actually say, in plain terms.
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Myth: it's illegal to store Canadian vet records on US servers
Under federal PIPEDA it is not illegal. PIPEDA allows cross-border cloud storage as long as the clinic stays accountable and contractually ensures comparable protection. It also means foreign-stored data can be reached under foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act.
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The BC catch that actually bites
In British Columbia the CVBC medical-records standard states that any off-site server or cloud database should be based in Canada. It says 'should,' so it is a college standard and expectation, not a federal statute, but it is the rule that matters for BC clinics. [[verify]]
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The universal requirement is recoverability
Across colleges, the shared requirement is that electronic records be encrypted, backed up off-site, and recoverable with an intact, printable audit trail. An untested backup is the silent failure point, because it looks fine until you need it.
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Retention periods vary by province
Veterinary medicine is regulated province by province. BC requires at least seven years after the last entry. Ontario requires at least five years after the last entry (or two years after the member stops practising). Check your own college for the exact number. [[verify]]
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Your audit trail can't erase the original
Electronic records must keep an audit trail. When an entry is corrected, the original information cannot be deleted, and the trail has to be accessible and printable. A system that overwrites silently can put you offside.
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Imaging and logs are part of the legal record
Radiographs, ultrasound, and controlled-drug, anesthesia, surgery and radiology logs are part of the legal medical record and must be retained and retrievable. If they live only on a local drive, they are at risk.
Umbrella IT is an IT company, not a law firm or your college. This is general information, not legal or professional advice. Check the current standard with your provincial college.
Sources
- College of Veterinarians of British Columbia: Guide to the Professional Practice Standard, Medical Records (7-year retention; encrypted off-site backups based in Canada)
- College of Veterinarians of Ontario: Guide to the Professional Practice Standard, Medical Records
- College of Veterinarians of Ontario: Medical Records, Guide to the Standard
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Cloud computing FAQ (PIPEDA and foreign cloud)
- Canadian Veterinary Journal (PMC): Cloud-Based Software is Gathering Steam (CVMA 2022 survey market data)
- Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the CVMA
What makes us different
We restore-test your backups
A backup only counts if it comes back. We run test restores and show you the results, so an off-site, recoverable copy is something you can actually demonstrate.
Canadian data residency for Microsoft 365
Microsoft runs Canadian datacentres in Toronto and Quebec City. For BC clinics where the CVBC standard says cloud data should be based in Canada, that matters. We set it up that way.
No long contracts, no onboarding fee
Month-to-month agreements. No fee to start. If we are not earning the relationship, you can leave. Most don't: 95% client retention over 14 years. [[verify]]
No junior techs on your account
You get senior people who know veterinary systems. Average response time is 11 minutes, which matters when charts and prescriptions are stuck mid-appointment. [[verify]]
Security run by someone who has done it
A written policy program of around 178 policies, led by a former IDF security officer. Encryption, password hygiene and access controls handled before they become a gap.
Quarterly reviews, not just break-fix
A quarterly business review (vCIO) walks through your backups, retention and risks in plain language, so you know where you stand without reading an IT report.
What we do for a vet clinic
We take on the IT a clinic owner should not have to think about during appointments. We keep your practice-management system running, get your backups off-site and restore-tested, and make sure your imaging and required logs are part of the protected record. If you are moving from AVImark or Cornerstone to ezyVet, Provet Cloud or Covetrus Pulse, we run the migration and keep your data protected and recoverable through the switch.
- Restore-tested off-site backups for your PIMS, imaging and logs
- Microsoft 365 set up with Canadian data residency where it applies
- Encryption, patching and access controls put in place and kept current
- A managed migration with a no-downtime guarantee when you change systems (pricing [[verify]])
- Quarterly review of backups, retention and risk in plain language
- 30% off projects and labour
Results you can measure
The Vet Clinic Records Check: Would Your Backup Survive an Audit?
Start with a 20-minute backup review
No pitch. We look at how your records are backed up, whether they restore, and where you sit against your college standard. You will get a straight answer either way. Jake or someone senior runs it, not a junior.