Use OpenVPM as your second PIMS.
You do not have to rip out your current system. Pick one useful workflow, bring only the data it needs, and let OpenVPM earn a larger role over time.
Switching software is scary. Owning your data should not be.
Most practices stay on a system they have outgrown because moving feels too risky. The schedule is full, the team knows the workflow, and a full migration is a project nobody has time for. So the data stays locked in a system someone else controls.
There is a calmer path. Run OpenVPM as a second PIMS for one bounded job while your current system stays in place. Start with sample data or a CSV import, prove the value, and expand only when the workflow has earned your team's trust.
Bring what you need
Import the clients and patients required for the first workflow, with a full export available whenever you want it.
Connect where possible
If your incumbent vendor provides usable access, build an adapter for the selected data instead of promising a universal sync.
De-risk the future
Evaluate the product and your data-ownership path without a flag-day migration or long-term lock-in.
How it works
OpenVPM is open source with a targeted REST API. Stand it up by self-hosting or starting on managed Cloud. The reviewed CSV path supports clients, patients, vaccination history, and visit notes. Appointments, invoices, attachments, and vendor-specific history require assisted scoping. The targeted REST API covers selected client, patient, appointment, SOAP-note, and agent operations, plus signed webhooks for supported events.
An ongoing mirror is integration work, not a switch you flip. It depends on the API, webhook, or export access your current vendor makes available. We scope that access first, then build only the connection your chosen workflow needs.
We wrote more about the idea, and why a second PIMS you control changes the power balance, in Own your data: a second PIMS you control. If you want the deeper case for ownership, start with who owns your practice data.
Who this is for
Connected, single-location companion-animal clinics and connected house-call practices that are not ready to switch but want to test one bounded workflow. Multi-location, offline, specialty, ER, herd, and group-medicine operations are not production-ready.
Start your second PIMS.
Try one useful workflow on managed Cloud, or self-host the open-source PIMS for free. Either way, the data is yours.
We host and operate the application while clinic rollout starts as a guided pilot alongside the current PIMS.
- No-card workspace trial
- Managed database, storage, scheduled backups, and releases
- AI allowance included; SMS requires controlled activation
- Own your data, move to self-host anytime
Workspace access is immediate. Live clinic use starts only after fit and readiness review. See current fit and rollout limits.
Common questions
Do I have to leave my current PIMS to use OpenVPM?
No. A controlled pilot starts beside it with one connected, low-risk clinic-day workflow. The current PIMS remains the source of truth until acceptance checks pass.
How does OpenVPM connect to my existing system?
The reviewed CSV path covers clients, patients, vaccination history, and visit notes. OpenVPM also has a targeted REST API and signed webhooks. Ongoing sync depends on vendor access and requires separately scoped integration work; no universal connector exists today.
Why would I run two systems?
To solve a specific gap without betting the practice on a full migration. It also lets you evaluate data ownership and future integrations with a much smaller operational decision.
Is it expensive to run a second PIMS?
It does not have to be. OpenVPM is free to self-host under the AGPLv3 license, so a second, owned copy of your data can cost nothing but the infrastructure to run it.
Can I switch fully later?
Yes. Running OpenVPM as a second PIMS is a low-risk way to evaluate a full move. The workflow and records you have already tested stay in an open schema, and the remaining migration can be planned only when you are ready.
Try one useful workflow today.
The demo is live with instant email access and no sales call. See the system, choose one workflow worth testing, then self-host it free or let us host it for you.