AAHA releases new edition of Veterinary Fee ReferenceMarch 20, 2018Discover how to remain profitable and competitive within your unique market with the 20th anniversary edition of the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) statistical book, Veterinary Fee Reference. The new edition includes U.S. veterinary fees for more than 530 services and cases and more than 640 tables with data on discounts, vaccination services, and time scheduled for procedures. The reference's evidence-based fee setting data allows veterinarians to confidently price services correctly for per market (accounting for median household income of clients, metropolitan status of the practice, etc.) and practice philosophy, age, and size. New and updated data include: Fees for acupuncture and in-home euthanasia Reasons practices elected to change fees Gross annual revenue of survey respondents Information on in-home euthanasia services Frequency of preventive care exams, rabies vaccines, FVRCP vaccines, and other services Veterinary Fee Reference, Tenth Edition American Animal Hospital Association Pages: 460 Product Code: VFRE10 ISBN: 978-1-58326-027-2 Publication Year: 2018 Edition: Tenth Format: Paperback Member: $154.95 Nonmember: $259.95
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The art of managingMarch 19, 2018"Where do you draw the line between managing and micromanaging?” was the question asked recently at the Colorado Veterinary Hospital Managers meeting during a presentation on culture in the hospital setting.
Are you missing pet health communication opportunities with your clients?March 19, 2018Pet owners don't always get the full message that veterinary teams think they're communicating, according to a Partners for Healthy Pets (PHP) study presented during an American Animal Hospital Association session at VMX Veterinary Meeting & Expo in Orlando, Fla. The study compiled responses from surveys of 1,193 practice staff members, 833 dog owners, and 527 cat owners from April 2012 through June 2017. Practices have an opportunity to better communicate not only what is being done during a preventive examination but also how the examination benefits the pet, according to the study. Among the findings About 45 percent of dog owners and 30 percent of cat owners believed that a pain assessment was discussed or performed at their pet's most recent checkup When staff members were asked whether a pain assessment is typically performed at every examination during a visit for preventive care, 73 percent said yes for dogs, and 68 percent said yes for cats About 95 percent of staff members indicated that a dental exam is typically performed at every preventive care visit About 77 percent of dog owners and 78 percent of cat owners believed a dental examination was discussed …
Make Facebook social media work for your veterinary clinicMarch 15, 2018Social media is an important tool for any business today, including veterinary medicine. According to Statista, more than 81 percent of the U.S. population has at least one social media account. Importantly, 68 percent of U.S. adults use Facebook, and of that group, 74 percent of them access Facebook daily. When Americans access their Facebook accounts, they spend nearly 20 minutes per session on the platform. Facebook continues to dominate the social media space. Here are the numbers of users on popular social media platform as reported by Statista: Facebook: 2.1 billion YouTube: 1.5 billion Instagram: 800 million Twitter: 330 million LinkedIn: 260 million SnapChat: 255 million Pinterest: 200 million Approximately 90 percent of the people who use many of these other social media platforms also use Facebook. As most veterinary practices have limited time and resources to devote to their communications and marketing efforts, Facebook should be their social media platform of choice. Communications/marketing plans To be most effective, Facebook and other social media activities should be just one part of a comprehensive communications and marketing plan. Other tools should include electronic newsletters, brochures, community activities, an engaging website, and more. All of these …
Getting the most from a conferenceMarch 15, 2018When you add up your conference registration, airfare, hotel, meals, taxis, and time away from the practice, you’ll spend thousands just to attend a few days of a veterinary convention. It’s time to actively seek greater returns on your attendance.
A focus on equipmentMarch 8, 2018Diagnostics have become a vital component to veterinary medicine, so it makes sense as clinics add greater diagnostic capabilities to their practices that managing, and if possible integrating, all that data, takes on greater importance.
Who's got talent?March 7, 2018According to Score Association, a nonprofit dedicated to entrepreneurial education and the formation, growth, and success of independent businesses nationwide, 30 percent of small business failures are blamed on poor hiring decisions.
Empathize with clients without sacrificing your sanityMarch 6, 2018Daisy’s time had come to an end. Her little body that once followed her owners from room to room and wiggled with joy every time they came home had been ravaged by cancer. She was a shell of her former self; her owners knew it was time. As her loved ones wiped away tears, I administered the final injection.
Local SEO tips veterinarians need to knowFebruary 22, 2018Think about your behavior as a customer or patient. If you are looking for, say, a new restaurant or dentist, you'll probably do two things—look at their websites and look at online customer reviews. How much new business do you think restaurants or dentists would acquire if you couldn't use Google to find their websites? The same behavior applies to veterinary practices. For veterinarians, the numbers below further highlight the importance of local SEO—the techniques used to make a website appear prominently in Google's organic search results in a given geography. Consider these points: One-third of all mobile searches are local based, and the percentages are climbing. Google processes about nine billion local searches per month. A Pew study from 2013 revealed that about 93 million Americans have searched for healthcare topics online—and this was before mobile search became a factor. According to Moz Keyword Explorer, people search for "veterinarian near me" between 118,000-300,000 times per month in the U.S. The bottom line is this: If your website is optimized for local search, you can connect with more people who are in need of veterinary services. Here …
Veterinarians are mentally well but experience poor well-beingFebruary 17, 2018Veterinarians as a group don't experience psychological distress at significantly higher rates than the general population, according to a new mental health and well-being study by Brakke Consulting and Merck Animal Health. The Merck Animal Health Wellbeing Study, designed to definitively quantify the prevalence of mental illness and stress in the veterinary profession, compared findings to previous studies and to the U.S. population in general. The survey, which polled 3,540 American Veterinary Medical Association members (from a random sample of 20,000), is the first to measure well-being of such a large veterinary sample using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, which is widely used in assessing psychological distress among general and clinical populations. "This survey is unique in that, for the first time, a nationally representative sample of veterinarians in the U.S. were asked about their well-being, which is a broader measure of happiness and life satisfaction than mental health alone," said study investigator Linda Lord, Ph.D., DVM, academic and allied industry liaison lead for Merck Animal Health. One big takeaway is that 5 percent, or 1 in 20, of veterinarians struggle with serious psychological distress (roughly that of the employed general population). "The …
