Veterinary medicine has no shortage of technology.
Practice information management systems have become more sophisticated. Pharmacies have invested in digital workflows. New prescribing platforms and pharmacy portals continue to enter the market.
Yet one of the most important pieces of infrastructure remains fragmented: the connection between the veterinarian and the pharmacy.
Prescriptions and pharmacy requests can still move through a mix of electronic transactions, individual pharmacy portals, point-to-point integrations, phone calls, fax, and disconnected systems.
At DAW Systems, we believe modernizing veterinary prescribing requires more than another application.
It requires a network.
That is the idea behind Script Exchange, the prescription connectivity layer powering VetWay.
Script Exchange is DAW Systems’ broader prescription network, supporting prescription transactions across both human and animal health. Through VetWay, that infrastructure is being extended specifically to address the unique connectivity needs of veterinary prescribing.
Two Layers. One Connected Infrastructure.
VetWay and Script Exchange serve different but complementary roles.
VetWay is the veterinary application layer. It provides the workflows veterinary teams use to manage third-party pharmacy requests and initiate prescriptions.
Script Exchange is the network layer. It is DAW Systems’ prescription infrastructure, supporting prescription transactions across human and animal health while providing the connectivity that powers VetWay’s veterinary prescribing workflows.
For veterinary medicine, the model is straightforward:
Veterinary Practice / PIMS → VetWay → Script Exchange → Pharmacy Ecosystem
What makes that architecture particularly important is that DAW Systems develops and operates both the application and the network supporting it.
VetWay is not simply a veterinary application sitting on top of prescription infrastructure controlled by another company.
One technology company. One connected prescription infrastructure.
Why Owning Both Layers Matters
A software company can control everything that happens inside its application and still be dependent on another organization once a prescription needs to leave it.
That can introduce dependencies around network capabilities, integrations, technical requirements, development priorities, and the pace at which new functionality can be introduced.
DAW Systems took a different approach.
By developing VetWay and Script Exchange together, the veterinary prescribing experience and the network supporting it can evolve as parts of the same technology stack.
That creates greater flexibility around:
- Veterinary prescribing workflows
- PIMS connectivity
- Pharmacy connectivity
- Prescription standards
- Structured data exchange
- Controlled-substance workflows
- New network capabilities
More importantly, it gives DAW the independence to continue building around the needs of veterinary medicine while maintaining a network capable of supporting prescription transactions beyond animal health.
Independence Without a Closed Ecosystem
Owning the infrastructure does not mean closing the ecosystem.
It means having the freedom to connect it.
The goal of Script Exchange is not to create another destination that prescribers, pharmacies, or technology companies are forced to use.
It is to create infrastructure that helps the systems already participating in prescription workflows communicate more effectively.
Within veterinary medicine, that means a veterinary practice should be able to work within the technology that makes sense for its team.
A PIMS provider should have a path to pharmacy connectivity without independently building and maintaining every possible pharmacy connection.
A pharmacy should be able to participate in veterinary prescribing without requiring every veterinary practice to adopt another pharmacy-specific workflow.
And pet owners should retain the ability to use the pharmacy that makes sense for them.
That is the philosophy behind Script Exchange:
Build the network without building another walled garden.
Solving the Many-to-Many Connectivity Problem
As veterinary prescribing becomes more digital, connectivity can quickly become a many-to-many integration problem.
Every PIMS can potentially need connections with multiple pharmacies and pharmacy technology providers.
Every pharmacy can potentially need connections with multiple PIMS platforms and prescribing applications.
As the number of participants grows, so does the number of integrations that must be built, maintained, and supported.
A network changes that model.
Rather than requiring every participant to recreate the same connections independently, Script Exchange can provide a common connectivity layer between them.
For PIMS providers, that can mean a more scalable path to prescription and pharmacy connectivity.
For pharmacies and pharmacy technology companies, it can mean a common connection into veterinary prescribing workflows.
For veterinary practices, it can mean fewer disconnected systems standing between a prescription and the pharmacy selected to fill it.
One connection can open the door to a much broader prescription ecosystem.
Built Around Modern ePrescribing Standards
Connectivity only works when different systems can understand one another.
That is why modern ePrescribing relies on standards.
DAW Systems’ prescribing technology supports NCPDP SCRIPT 2023011, the latest generation of the standard used for electronic prescription transactions. DAW’s ScriptSure Cloud ERX completed its upgrade to the 2023011 standard in January 2025.
The distinction matters.
A prescription can be created digitally without necessarily being exchanged as structured prescription data.
Standards-based ePrescribing allows prescribing and pharmacy systems to communicate through a common format, helping different technologies exchange prescription information in a way both sides can understand.
That is an important part of the infrastructure behind Script Exchange across both human and veterinary prescription transactions.
The objective is not simply to make a prescription look digital.
It is to create the foundation for prescription information to move digitally between connected systems.
More Than a New Prescription
A prescription network can support much more than the initial prescription transaction.
Prescription workflows can include:
- New prescriptions
- Refill and renewal requests
- Prescription changes
- Cancellations
- Pharmacy communication
- Third-party pharmacy requests
That distinction is particularly important in veterinary medicine because prescribing does not begin and end with a veterinarian clicking Send.
A connected prescription infrastructure creates the foundation for information to move in both directions between the systems involved in the prescription journey.
That is the difference between adding an ePrescribing feature and building a prescription network.
Designed With the Complexity of Veterinary Medicine in Mind
Veterinary prescribing is not simply human ePrescribing with a different patient name.
Animal health introduces its own challenges:
- Multiple species
- Compounded medications
- Controlled substances
- Outside pharmacy requests
- Pharmacy choice
- PIMS integrations
- Veterinary prescriber validation
- Workflows that differ from traditional human healthcare
DAW Systems brings decades of ePrescribing experience into that environment while building VetWay specifically around veterinary workflows.
That is an important distinction.
Script Exchange is not limited to animal health. The network can support human prescription transactions as well. VetWay applies that broader prescription infrastructure to the specific requirements of veterinary medicine.
The underlying principles of modern prescription infrastructure — standards, security, routing, structured data, interoperability, and network connectivity — do not need to be reinvented.
But they do need to be adapted to the realities of veterinary medicine.
Built With EPCS in Mind
Controlled-substance prescribing introduces another level of complexity.
Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances requires additional safeguards around identity proofing, authentication, security, and auditability.
DAW Systems has longstanding experience with EPCS and has achieved EHNAC EPCSCP-Prescribing accreditation for its prescribing technology.
That experience matters because the future of veterinary ePrescribing cannot be built only around simple prescriptions.
A comprehensive veterinary prescription infrastructure needs to account for standard prescriptions, compounded medications, controlled substances, and the other complexities veterinary teams encounter every day.
A Network Built for More Than One Participant
The value of Script Exchange extends across the prescription ecosystem.
For Veterinary Practices
A more connected path for managing outside pharmacy requests and initiating prescriptions while maintaining pharmacy choice.
For PIMS Providers
A way to add prescription and pharmacy connectivity without independently building every endpoint.
For Pharmacies
A digital path into veterinary prescribing workflows across participating practices and technology platforms.
For Pharmacy Technology Providers
A common infrastructure layer capable of connecting pharmacy systems with the growing veterinary prescribing ecosystem.
The common theme is simple:
Connect once. Expand your reach.
The Future of Veterinary Prescribing Is Connected
Veterinary medicine does not need another isolated destination.
It needs infrastructure capable of connecting the destinations that already exist.
Script Exchange was not created as a network that can only support veterinary medicine. It is DAW Systems’ broader prescription network, capable of supporting both human and animal-health prescription transactions.
Through VetWay, that infrastructure is being applied to a problem veterinary medicine has historically struggled to solve: connecting practices, PIMS platforms, pharmacies, and pharmacy technologies through secure, standards-based prescription exchange.
Because DAW Systems develops both VetWay and Script Exchange, the application and the network can continue evolving together.
But owning both layers is not about controlling the veterinary prescription ecosystem.
It is about connecting it.
One platform. One network. One technology company behind both.
One connection. A growing pharmacy ecosystem.
The future of veterinary prescribing is connected.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Script Exchange?
Script Exchange is DAW Systems’ prescription network, providing infrastructure for exchanging prescription information between prescribing technologies, pharmacies, and pharmacy systems. Through VetWay, Script Exchange provides the network connectivity supporting veterinary prescribing.
Is Script Exchange only for veterinary prescriptions?
No. Script Exchange supports prescription transactions across both human and animal health. VetWay uses Script Exchange as its underlying network infrastructure to bring those capabilities into veterinary medicine and address the unique requirements of veterinary prescribing.
What is the difference between VetWay and Script Exchange?
VetWay is the veterinary application layer. Script Exchange is the network layer.
VetWay provides the workflows veterinary teams use to manage pharmacy requests and initiate prescriptions, while Script Exchange provides the broader prescription infrastructure connecting those workflows with the pharmacy ecosystem.
How is Script Exchange different from a pharmacy-specific portal?
A pharmacy-specific portal generally connects a prescriber with one pharmacy or fulfillment ecosystem. Script Exchange is designed as a broader network layer capable of connecting multiple prescribing technologies with multiple pharmacy and pharmacy-technology endpoints.
Does Script Exchange support NCPDP SCRIPT?
DAW Systems’ prescribing technology supports NCPDP SCRIPT 2023011, providing a standards-based foundation for exchanging structured prescription information electronically between prescribing and pharmacy systems.