Staff Matters: Dealing With Difficult ClientsApril 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Difficult clients come in so many varieties, from clients anxious about a pet's impending surgery to those upset about their bill, that most practice managers agree it's nearly impossible to plan for every possible scenario. Because mishandling a disgruntled client can have serious repercussions for a practice, veterinary consultants stress the importance of responding quickly and appropriately to these challenges. Pay Attention Rule number one: "Listen, listen, listen!" advised Carin Smith, DVM, owner of the Washington-based consulting firm Smith Veterinary Services. "No one will listen to you until you listen to them." It may be counterintuitive to respond calmly to a client's rant, but doing so can defuse a volatile situation, Dr. Smith said. Mitigation is better than damage control, said Cecelia Soares, DVM, MS, a veterinarian and marriage and family therapist in Walnut Creek, Calif. "Just like vaccinations for distemper, there are verbal vaccinations for potential behavior problems," she said. "You can prevent a lot of common complaints by simply giving people information." That includes letting clients know when a doctor is running behind and keeping them informed of any changes …
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Odor Eliminators Are Breath Of Fresh AirApril 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. A veterinary clinic can be an awfully smelly place. The cause of the unpleasantness ranges from “accidents” by incontinent or unhousebroken animals to odors from relieving anal sacs and male cat spray to your everyday kennel and laundry room stench. “A person working in an area contaminated with a malodor can become completely oblivious to it,” said Michael McGuire, president of Thornell Corp. of Smithville, Mo., which makes odor eliminators for veterinary clinics throughout the U.S. and Canada. “Yet the odor could be highly offensive to someone just entering the area.” Clients are especially sensitive. They worry about germs and infectious disease, and their trust may falter if floors, walls, countertops and cages aren’t kept sparkling clean and fresh-smelling. “Ideally, it is best to control the odor at its source before it becomes airborne,” McGuire says. “This process is easier when you can simply add an odor elimination product to your standard cleaning solution. However, it may become necessary to treat or freshen the air as well as eliminate the source. “Humans especially don’t like odors containing sulfur or nitrogen molecules.” …
Efficiencies Can Improve Bottom LineApril 17, 2009 Most practicing veterinarians want to be compensated at a higher level of income. The only way to generate more revenue is to increase the number of patients we see per day or increase the average charge per patient. The AVMA-Pfizer study (JAVMA, Jan. 15, 2005) reported the most common way veterinarians increased their income over the past five years was to raise fees and increase the average charge per case seen. The average doctor charge per case seen is $117, according to the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues. The average number of transactions per full-time-equivalent veterinarian per year is 4,000. This would translate to a gross revenue of $468,000, the NCVEI reported. If the typical small-animal veterinarian were able to increase annual transactions to 4,500 and raise the average doctor charge per case seen (increase quality of services) from $117 to $125, gross revenue would jump from $468,000 to $562,500. How It Can Be Done You may be asking, “How can I see more cases? How can I increase the quality of my services?” To see more cases, we need to increase revisits …
Want to Thank Clients and Attract Pet Owners? Try an Open HouseApril 17, 2009On a sunny Saturday afternoon, more than 400 pet owners visit American Animal Hospital in Randolph, N.J., for its 14th annual open house. In the parking lot, guests enjoy perusing vendor booths, kids smile as Kennel Manager Diane McKenzie does face painting, and everyone laughs as adults race in the Pooper Scooper Contest, a game with brown and black water-filled balloons that must be picked up with a scooper and placed in buckets at the opposite end of the parking lot. The next scheduled event is a pet costume contest with the hospital's best clients as judges. Inside the hospital, pet owners get a behind-the-scenes tour. Receptionist welcome clients with goodie bags and balloons. A staff member in each exam room shows displays and discusses topics such as veterinary acupuncture, heartworm and flea prevention, exotic pets, and pet first-aid. In the surgery suite, Christie Stockmal, DVM, sutures a teddy bear and performs ultrasound on the urinary bladder of a staff member's dog. Clients also see x-rays of exotic pets, broken bones, pregnant cats, and unusual items that pets have swallowed. In the treatment area, Willa Turner, CVT, shows dental equipment and before-and-after photos of pets' dental cleanings. "Our open house …
Dr. Bonnie Beaver Receives Bustad AwardApril 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVB, a professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the 2001 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. Dr. Beaver also chairs the American Veterinary Medical Association's executive board. The award was presented at the Tufts Animal Expo in Boston last month. The award is sponsored by the AVMA, Delta Society and Hill's Pet Nutrition. Veterinary Practice News spoke with Beaver a few days before the award. Following are some of her thoughts on Leo K. Bustad, DVM, Ph.D.; leadership; the state of animal behavior medicine; the human-animal bond; and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. VPN: You consider Dr. Bustad as a friend and a mentor. Can you tell us about what he meant to you? Beaver: Dr. Bustad was a special person for many, many reasons. First of all, as a relatively new veterinarian and a new faculty member, I would idolize those who had succeeded in academics and in our profession, and he certainly was a person who would have to be viewed as a success. But he never felt …
What Staff Should Know About Blood Typing And Cross-matchingApril 17, 2009Canine Blood Types DEA System (Dog Erythrocyte Antigen) Dogs currently have 13 known erythrocyte antigens, nine of which are listed below. Dogs do not have naturally occurring antibodies to DEA 1.1, and 1.2, the most antigenic subgroup, but studies do show they do have naturally occurring antibodies to 3, 5, and 7. Because of the lack of antibodies to DEA 1.1 or 1.2 it is often said that the “first transfusion is safe no matter the type,” but this practice should be abandoned as typing materials are inexpensive and readily available, and the patient may require additional transfusion later in his lifetime. Antigen Incidence of positive in Population Reaction Seen w/ Mismatch DEA 1.1 33%-45% Acute Hemolytic Rxn DEA 1.2 7%-20% Acute Hemolytic Rxn DEA 1.3 Unknown Delayed Hemolytic Rxn DEA 3 5%-10% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 4 87%-98% None DEA 5 12%-22% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 6 99% Unknown DEA 7 8%-45% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 8 40% Unknown Current blood typing identifies the six most significant antigens: 1.1, 1.2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. A universal donor is one that is negative for DEA 1.1, 1.2, 3, 5, and 7 …
Running From Reviews? Performance Appraisals Don't Have To Be Dreadful.April 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The very thought of an annual employee review makes most people’s stomachs turn. But performance reviews can be a time to boost employee morale and make your practice more efficient and successful. “Performance reviews have a bad reputation because of the way they have traditionally been handled,” said Lorraine Monheiser List, CPA, MEd, co-owner of Summit Veterinary Advisors LLC in Littleton, Colo. The old-school methods of delivering performance reviews were based on a few generic questions and discussing failures over the previous 12-month period. “The result was that the reviewer dredged up the things he or she remembered, which tended to be those events that were especially memorable, often because something bad happened,” List said. This can do more harm than good. “If employees feel admonished for the two things they did wrong and not appreciated for all the things they did right, then [reviews] may be causing more harm,” said Karen Gendron, DVM, author of “A Practical Guide to Performance Appraisals,” published by the American Animal Hospital Association Press. In a progressive practice, problems are addressed immediately, experts …
Seven Steps To A Successful Succession PlanApril 17, 2009 One of the most important business decisions a practice owner can make is developing a succession plan. Just as it is vital to have a clear and thoughtful business plan with specific goals and objectives to develop a profitable practice, it is just as important to develop a strategy for that departure to run smoothly and profitably. A succession plan assures that one of your most valuable professional and financial assets will continue on successfully after your retirement and also provide you the maximum financial benefits. The general economy has grown at a strong rate during the past 10 years. However, overall veterinary income has not. The income of individual veterinarians seriously lags behind that of similar professions. In addition, veterinarians now pay a considerably higher percentage of their monthly income to pay off educational debt than their dentist or physician counterparts (10 percent versus 8.6 percent for dentists and 5.3 percent for physicians)[1]. The average debt load per new graduate now exceeds $60,000 and continues to grow annually.[3] The role of women within the profession has and will continue to change the veterinary economy. Women now make up nearly 70 percent of veterinary …
How To Avoid Being Clobbered By The RecessionApril 17, 20091. Look outside the profession for new ideas. It is always wise to look outside the profession to see what others are doing. Identify their strengths, and then adopt them. For example, the dental profession places great emphasis on staff training, including outside trainers. They also like to find out what patients really want. The dental profession has benefited from this, and so can we. 2. Focus on your practice’s three dimensions, not just one. Your practice’s three dimensions are clinical skills, managerial skills and marketing skills. In the past, administration was the only decision-maker for practice policies. These days the model is changing. Staff members know from working with clients what clients really want. Therefore, consult with your staff members about what they think really gets clients to want your service, and you can build a better business model. Become a student of direct response marketing. In many cases, practices allot 2 percent to 3 percent of their gross production to marketing. In the case of direct marketing, though, the formula is re-engineered: The budget is based on the annual revenue from a top client ($700 a year, for example) times the number of …
How to Design a Safe OfficeApril 17, 2009Mark Crootof, DVM, has more than 30 years of practical veterinary experience and has brought his expertise to the business of consulting. With Strategic Veterinary Consulting of Asheville, N.C., Dr. Crootof walks veterinarians through all aspects of the veterinary business, from practice startup to expansion. He says his clients often call on him for office planning to ensure a less hazardous work environment for staff, pet owners and patients alike. Crootof provides some basic tips to keep your practice accident-free. Traffic Flow Crootof says efficient traffic flow throughout the practice decreases injury. Many veterinary facilities segregate dog and cat waiting areas. “Most separate cat owners from dog owners,” Crootof says. Separation keeps animals calmer and helps prevent biting and scratching behavior problems during examination. Crootof recommends using “entrance” doors for moving clients from waiting areas to exam rooms and using different “exit” doors for moving clients back out to the reception and bill-pay areas. “Eliminate congestion by going in and out of different doors,” Crootof says. He explains that some facilities have even started cashing clients out in exam rooms to further reduce reception-area congestion. Less reception-area traffic significantly reduces the likelihood of animals interfacing with one another and ultimately …
