A High Tech Start-Up From Small-Town Nova Scotia is Changing the Way Veterinarians Around the World Practice Medicine

ANTIGONISH, Nova Scotia, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Antigonish based Dragon Veterinary, developer of a speech recognition software vocabulary custom tailored to veterinarians, is pleased to have been a platinum sponsor of the 2017 Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association AGM Weekend.

On the weekend of Oct. 14 veterinarians from across Nova Scotia gathered at the Atlantica Oak Island Resort to share lessons learn, plot a direction for veterinary care in Nova Scotia and catch up on continuing education.

"We're really happy to be part of this," said Dragon Veterinary President Shawn Wilkie.

Dragon Veterinary has become a resident business of the Volta Labs startup hub in Halifax. The non-profit super-hub for technology innovation provides office space, legal and human resources support to progressive startups like Dragon Veterinary. In addition, Dragon Veterinary head office is in Antigonish.

This year Dragon Veterinary is taking its voice recognition software vocabulary to over 26 tradeshows from Europe, to Australia and the United States. "It's just growing exponentially," Wilkie said about the expansion.

It hasn't even been two years since Dragon Veterinary unveiled its voice recognition software vocabulary specifically tailored to veterinarians and designed to work hand in glove with existing practice management software's on the market. Dragon Veterinary now has customers on every continent. The Dragon Veterinary software is compatible with Dragon® Medical Practice Edition 2 speech recognition software.

Dragon Medical Practice Edition 2 and Dragon Veterinary help veterinarians navigate and dictate medical decision-making and treatment plans into their Veterinary Management Software of choice.

Recently Dragon Veterinary unveiled their Android and IOS compatible app - allowing vets to fill out patient forms, answer emails and attend to their practice's paperwork hands-free while away from the office.

"Anytime I would be going to a keyboard, I will turn to the microphone on and use that instead," said Dr. Eamon Draper, a Bedford, Nova Scotia, veterinary surgeon who uses Dragon Veterinary. "I'm on top of my records better and it means I tend to have them more finished by the end of the day."

Dragon Veterinary has teamed up with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to continue improving its technology and expanding its reach to more customers. ACOA is providing a $100,000 interest-free loan to match the $125,000 Dragon Veterinary has raised from private investors. For Wilkie, being able to partner with government agencies not just to access capital but for guidance has been one of the advantages to growing a tech start-up in Nova Scotia. 

"Just one example would be when we were going to London for a trade show. The day before the show we realized in true start-up fashion we didn't have a visa and had no idea about the laws and legislation when it came to a Canadian company doing business in the UK. We called Nova Scotia Business Inc. and within 15 minutes we were on the phone with a development officer who had tonnes of experience in the UK and could tell us exactly what we needed to know."

Another advantage to doing business in Nova Scotia has been quality of life. Dragon Veterinary, says Wilkie, is further proof that high tech can be done in rural Nova Scotia just as easily as it can be done in this continent's urban centres where both the beach and a sense of community seem so far away.

Contact:

Shawn Wilkie
President, Dragon Veterinary
204-218-5351
[email protected]

SOURCE Dragon Veterinary