Bored Stiff? Why You Should Start Calling Vet ClientsMarch 15, 2016You finish surgery Wednesday morning, call clients with updates and eat lunch at your desk while finishing medical records from today’s procedures. You glance at the afternoon schedule and see only two exams. You’ve got four employees working until 6 p.m. Should you cut your losses and send half of the staff home early? Absolutely not! Veterinary technicians, assistants, receptionists and doctors need to start dialing. Call clients about necessary follow-up care. Besides improving patient care, callbacks generate immediate revenue. Here are four callbacks designed for every position: What Veterinarians Should Do Call about patients with chronic conditions. Search your practice-management software for patients with diabetes, arthritis, cardiomyopathy, thyroid disease, cancer, kidney disease and other chronic ailments. Scan electronic medical records before you dial to see which reminders are coming due. Even if no services are due, simply call to let clients know that you care about their pets. Goodwill can guarantee future visits. Say, “This is Dr. <name> calling from <your veterinary hospital>. I was just thinking of Oliver and wanted to see how he is feeling. I want to help …
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Did They Just Say That?!March 10, 2016As a traveling surgeon, I spend a lot of time calling multiple veterinary clinics. So I've heard everything from the best to the worst in the area of phone etiquette. Most times, it's the most helpful, prompt and professional service I could ask for. My call is handled with efficiency and the reason I'm calling for is addressed quickly. But a few times, the things I hear make me shake my head in disbelief. Yet it is so critical to sound professional when answering the phone. Clients will prejudge the quality of medicine you practice based on what they hear on the phone. And they haven’t even met you yet! Here are some of the most offending situations I’ve encountered. First Words Heard Calling some hospitals can be frustrating. The line might be constantly busy, or the phone might ring endlessly, both of which are probably not good ways to manage a service-oriented business. Others clinics are reachable, but you are obligated to leave a message without talking to a human being. Sometimes, “Messages are checked hourly” or “Messages are checked at the end of each day” or “Calls will …
Why You Need to be Great at Telling Clients What’s NewMarch 2, 2016Are you sure your veterinary clients are aware that your practice now offers digital radiography, laser therapy and a new medication for their itchy dog? Even if they do, are you sure they know why it matters to them? You’d think veterinary practices would naturally tell clients about a new service or piece of equipment. And, we often think we’re doing a good job of spreading the news. But a lot of what’s obvious to us remains unknown to our clients. Far too many veterinary practices miss significant revenue because their clients don’t know about new services they offer. Information creates interest in the minds of pet parents who want the best care for their pets. Plus, imagine the time and stress you could save if a client already understood the value of digital radiography before their pet needed it. Clients who understand the value of your equipment and services before they need them, are likely to accept your recommendations with enthusiasm. The fact that you have up-to-date equipment shows your high level of concern for patient care. But those resources have a cost attached to them. And, …
5 Improvements Any Veterinary Practice Can MakeFebruary 24, 2016Every day, there are hundreds of tasks that must be completed to keep a veterinary hospital operating smoothly. These tasks are shared amongst all the team members and departments. Keeping everything going smoothly and cohesively can be a challenge, even for the most well run hospital. Despite that challenge, you and your team are doing an overall great job! However, there is always room for improvement. As a veterinary practice management consultant, I regularly observe a number of factors that still need some TLC. Sometimes practices are not even aware of these factors as it is hard to see the forest for the trees when you are so tangled up in the day-to-day activities. So what can you improve? Check out these 5 areas. Improvement No. 1: Enhance Staff Training and Support One of the biggest areas for improvement is related to your veterinary staff. While unfortunate, it is common practice in this industry to hire someone, toss them in with little training and expect them to swim. Then, when they sink, the hospital leaders are frustrated. When the new employee fails, it has negatively impacted them, the hospital and …
How Does Adding Vet School Seats Impact the Veterinary Workforce?February 17, 2016In one of my former roles of advising foreign governments and agencies on small-business development, I would always begin with three basic prerequisites that I feel are most important and need to be answered before starting a new business. First, can you physically do it? Second, can you make money doing it? And third, can you sustain it in a competitive market? The continued push to expand the number of veterinary schools (and, thereby, the number of seats available to veterinary students) certainly has me wondering whether all of these basic prerequisites are being considered in the planning process and before commitments are made to pursue the necessary approvals and begin the accreditation process. There is no doubt that the necessary resources, both in terms of capital and expertise, to build new veterinary colleges can be acquired anywhere in America. Based on current information about the willingness of veterinary college applicants to pay for a veterinary degree, new colleges can probably be profitable, more so if they are state-funded. The third prerequisite, however, offers a more daunting hurdle, as is frequently the case. The market for veterinary education faces …
5 Things We Love and Sometimes Hate in the Veterinary PracticeFebruary 11, 2016Love is in the air. Lots of it. But you wouldn’t know it by following the news. Presidential primaries, Syrian refugees, Parisian atrocities, Putin’s posturing, domestic xenophobia. It’s enough to make you question whether there’s any room in our frigid human hearts for snow cones and bunny rabbits, much less Valentine’s Day. Thankfully, though, I’ve amassed plenty of evidence to the contrary. After a tumultuous first year in my own veterinay practice, I’ve learned a lot of tough lessons the hard way. I’ve also managed to be excited, uplifted and even awed by the many ways in which practice ownership, and veterinary practice in general, can inspire the best in us. Unfortunately, it also can awaken the worst. But just because we want to strangle the occasional human doesn’t mean we have to behave like serial killers. I’m finally beginning to understand that becoming a veterinary professional doesn’t automatically mean that the world will bend to my will. Nor does buying the practice increase my control of the world around me; ironically, quite the opposite in my case. We still have to deal with people who …
8 Ways to Improve the Dental Discharge ExperienceFebruary 4, 2016Originally published in the February 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! A client arrives at 6 p.m. to pick up her dog, who had a dental treatment today. The veterinary technician who performed the procedure has gone home, and the doctor who extracted five teeth is running 30 minutes late for evening exams. After waiting 25 minutes in the lobby, the client speaks with the doctor for five minutes before he rushes off to his last appointment. A veterinary assistant brings the dog to the checkout desk and hands the client her dog’s medication and home-care instructions. This poor experience could influence the client’s decision to accept professional dental care in the future. Here’s how to create a five-star discharge experience. 1) Schedule the dental procedure on the day of diagnosis. Most dental disease is diagnosed during preventive checkups. If you have computers in exam rooms, the technician can book the dental procedure now. If the client will check out at the front desk, the receptionist should schedule the procedure first, and then collect payment for today’s services. Today’s bill …
Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital's Sign Game is GreatFebruary 2, 2016If you have a sign outside your clinic, why not take advantage of it? Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital in Melbourne, Fla., has, with these fun and hilarious signs. Here's an oldie but goodie. #VetHumor #SapyAndNeuter #TBT Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Thursday, January 21, 2016 Since its #tbt I figured I'd repost this 🙂 Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Thursday, January 7, 2016 We'd like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday, from our EGVH family to yours ❤ Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 Grooming available 🙂 Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Monday, June 8, 2015 Is feels like it's been months since I changed the marquee Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Monday, May 18, 2015 Happy Tuesday! (Don't forget to share) Posted by Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 It's been a month since we last changed our sign, I …
Has Your Veterinary Practice Gone Green?January 28, 2016How important is environmental sustainability to your veterinary hospital? Don't know what environmental sustainability is? According to Small Biz Connect: “Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and taking action that are in the interests of protecting the natural world, with particular emphasis on preserving the capability of the environment to support human life. It is an important topic at the present time, as people are realizing the full impact that businesses and individuals can have on the environment.” It’s better not to delay in becoming more environmentally friendly. Delays may be causing considerable erosion of the bottom line. There are more than enough issues in our profession these days to capture our attention. But don’t allow that to overshadow potential benefits of “going green.” Need some motivation? Want to know where to begin? Take a look at what you can learn from interviews with leaders of Dove Lewis Emergency Hospital of Portland, Ore. and Two Rivers Veterinary Hospital in Wells Fargo, N.D. The following are insightful answers to …
Shopping for Software?January 28, 2016Originally published in the November 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! A veterinarian’s office can get chaotic with animals and pet owners demanding the staff’s attention, so the last thing you need is complicated software that slows things down because of confusing functionality and that stumps the workers using it. Face it, the true value of any software is determined by the staff’s ability to use it effectively. Mike Erickson, vice president and general manager of Idexx Information Management, says the Westbrook, Maine, company provides software spanning from diagnostics to an array of information management systems such as Cornerstone. All are geared toward helping veterinary practices advance the health and well-being of pets. “Idexx offers an extensive array of training options,” he said. “Cornerstone offers online training through the Idexx Learning Center, free of charge. It features video snippets and end-to-end, role-based training.” Onsite and remote training and coaching on all aspects of the software and practice workflow are …
