Plan Now For RetirementApril 17, 2009 The new tax law has greatly expanded the opportunities for retirement savings. Every veterinary practice should have a business retirement plan by 2002. The right retirement plan costs nothing because it allows funds that would be lost to taxes to provide retirement benefits for long-term employees. But what plan is best for your practice? Each practice and practice owner is unique, and plans are so diverse that the wrong decision could waste thousands of dollars in needless fees or substandard investment results. Because this is a complex area, you should carefully review all available options. Don't be swayed by sales pitches, glossy brochures or professional association endorsements. Demand to see how different plans would work in your practice. You may consider retaining a qualified, independent benefits specialist to evaluate your alternatives. Re-evaluate your current plans to ensure they are still appropriate, considering the new opportunities. You should make these decisions now, as the new provisions take effect in January 2002, and a plan cannot begin to accept salary deferrals until it is officially adopted. Here are the major developments in the new law: 1. The individual contribution dollar limit has been increased …
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How To Deal with Clients' GriefApril 17, 2009 Most people can't verbalize their feelings of relief when it follows the death of a family member, friend or pet. It is a struggle to care for a sick pet. Our clients need our emotional support when they tell us about their frustration, guilt, anxiety and hope. As professionals, we need to identify and deal with the symptoms of anticipatory grief. We must also understand why a family has anxiety or reluctance about treating a very sick pet. Here is a letter that opened the door to a much-needed discussion that might help you deal with concerned clients. Dr. Villalobos, My question is whether or not it's worth having our pet dog, Butch, on chemo just to give him a couple more months. My concern is that we may, as a family, have to experience more emotional ups and downs than if we didn't treat him at all and just let the disease take its course. As the spouse of a cancer patient who died in 1990 and as a hospice social worker, I know that one of the most difficult aspects of having a loved …
Organize Your References in 10 Easy StepsApril 17, 2009Look around your office. Do you see unread journals? Proceedings from the last meeting you attended? Cut-out articles you may need to refer to in the future? The last issue of Veterinary Practice News? Here are some tips to get organized once and for all. Organizing continuing education resources can be daunting. It seems that the flow of journals into your inbox never stops! You can purchase software that helps you track articles. The main disadvantage of using software is that you need to find time to type every article reference, title and author for the system to work. One typo and you may never find your article. In addition, you still need a filing system to organize your articles. And of course there’s the cost factor. I prefer a simple and cheap but efficient paper system that has proven extremely helpful and invariably reliable over the years. It was shared by a fellow board-certified surgeon, and it just doesn’t get any better or simpler! Let’s go over 10 simple steps to make your own version. 1. Create your personal list of topics The idea is to start a list of all the topics you are interested in. Since this …
Are Live-Terminal Laboratories Necessary?April 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The use of animals for teaching in veterinary schools is becoming increasingly controversial. All 28 AVMA-accredited schools have different policies on how animals are used in their veterinary education programs. Some schools have moved away from the use of animals in their teaching programs while others have significantly reduced the numbers of animals used. Many more are looking for alternatives. Tufts University has discontinued the use of live-terminal animals in its teaching program. Western University, which opened its veterinary school last month, will not involve live-terminal animals in its education from the onset. Will these trends compromise the expertise a veterinary student needs to acquire before going into actual practice? Will societal pressures and animal rights activism force a uniform policy on all veterinary schools? The subject begs discussion and promises to pick up momentum in the years ahead. Veterinary Practice News and a panel of industry professionals opened that discussion at the American Veterinary Medical Association annual convention in Denver in July. Ronald Banks, DVM, Dipl. ACLAM, Dipl. ACVPM; Jan Ilkiw, BVSc, Ph.D.; Anthony Knight, BVSc, Dipl. ACVIM; and Lisa Parshley, …
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 …
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 …
