The business of veterinary rehabilitationMay 23, 2019 Rehabilitation is a rapidly growing field in veterinary medicine. This client-demanded service owes its success to an approach that combines a true preventative outlook, longer dedicated appointments with more frequent visits, intensive client participation, and the potential to offer alternatives to invasive procedures. But while the field is growing, turning it into a profitable business model is a challenge. While there are many possible models for a successful veterinary rehabilitation practice, these clinics excel when a rehabilitation veterinarian leads the program. In general, the various business models in veterinary rehabilitation do not simply mimic those of general or other specialty practices. This article addresses key differences and focuses on specifics, including cost structure, staff utilization and training, and marketing tips. Business costs Providing a quality rehabilitation service is a time- and labor-intensive endeavor. Due to more hands-on care and longer appointment times, staff wages represent a larger proportion of overhead costs than in general practice. Most veterinary practices strive to have a maximum of 25 to 30 percent of gross revenue allocated to payroll, while other service-based industries can expect up to 50 percent of gross revenue going to payroll. In the authors' experience, rehabilitation-exclusive practices fall closer to …
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It takes four Cs to be completely competentMay 23, 2019What would you do if you could design the perfect, well-rounded, multitalented veterinarian? Which traits would be required? What skills would be indispensable? Our Dutch colleague Roeland Wessels, DVM, has found the ideal recipe.* "Veterinarians (and their team members) are like diamonds. Their worth is defined by the four Cs. Those Cs don't stand for carat, cut, color, and clarity, but for clinical, communication, cooperation, and commercial skills." Let's go over each set of skills. 1) Clinical skills You are trained to provide excellent, evidence-based, state-of-the-art medicine. You are capable of diagnosing and treating patients—or accomplishing whatever your mission is at a veterinary practice. You have vast amounts of knowledge. Regardless of your education, you still need to improve or refine your clinical skills by reading journals and attending continuing education meetings. "Yet, veterinarians usually overestimate how important clinical competence is in the eyes of a pet owner. They expect you to be great, or they wouldn't even be in your exam room," Dr. Wessels explains. Ironically, some clients will brag more about the fact their pet has a 20-cm long incision with 23 skin staples than they will gloat about a tiny spay incision with no …
Policies that make clients madMay 23, 2019Frustrated with clients who wait until the last pill is gone before requesting refills, a hospital manager implemented a $15 expedited refill charge. Some pet owners complained they couldn't afford the convenience fee on top of the cost of medications. Patients on drugs such as insulin and phenobarbital couldn't wait the 48 hours the practice required for refills. After another practice experienced several surgical cancellations, employees began charging a $50 no-show fee when the client gave less than 24 hours' notice. Now the manager is considering a similar policy for appointments. While these hospital policies may make practice owners and managers feel less frustrated, they also may put patients' health at risk, encourage clients to seek care elsewhere, and harm your hospital's income and reputation. If you want a thriving, profitable practice, undo rules that limit your success. Banish this rule: You require 24 hours to refill medications Think like a client. She can take her prescription to a retail pharmacist and have it filled while she waits, usually within 15 to 20 minutes. Although veterinarians account for 62 percent of pet medications sales, mass-market retailers have claimed 20 percent, while internet retailers have a 12 percent …
Are "team-building" exercises worth it?May 23, 2019Many people have participated in "team-building" exercises—but do they work? Let's start by defining what we mean by team building. According to Wikipedia, it is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams often involving collaborative tasks. 1 Many team-building exercises aim to expose and address interpersonal problems within the group. Developing the veterinary team requires developing each individual employee, as well as helping people learn to work together constructively.2 That's the definition. However, it doesn't address the question of, "Why do it?" According to author and veterinarian, Carin A. Smith, DVM, good team development contributes to employee and client satisfaction. Happy people stick around and do a good job. Staff retention increases productivity and reduces expenses.2 Seems like a good reason to do it—teamwork is a worthy goal! Certainly, the general goals consist of getting to know your coworkers better, increasing team spirit, fostering innovation and creativity, enhancing communication, supporting each other, and the list continues. But is there more? Are team-building exercises worth it? What is your team-building ROI? To properly measure the success of a team-building session, you need to have a plan and baseline metrics. …
Enter Veterinary Practice News' 2019 They Ate What?! X-ray ContestMay 23, 2019Did you ever hear the one about the dog who swallowed 14 quarters? Or what about the cat who just couldn't resist her owner's toy lizard's foot? Pets eat the darndest things, so much so, we are still amazed at what veterinarians find on their X-rays, even after all these years of running our They Ate What?! X-ray contest. Which brings us to our annual call for those hard-to-believe radiographs. Share your most outrageous X-rays with Veterinary Practice News and the veterinary community. Selected by a panel of veterinarians, the winner will receive a $500 VISA gift card from contest prize sponsor, Trupanion. How to enter: Go to VeterinaryPracticeNews.com/xraycontest and log in or register to enter. Upload high-resolution images—large files reproduce best—and fill in your name, clinic name and address, telephone number, and a short explanation of the case, including the outcome. If available, include images of the patient and the recovered item(s). The submission deadline is July 19. The winner and honorable mentions will be unveiled in the October issue of Veterinary Practice News. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, age …
Pet King Brands introduces authorized seller programMay 23, 2019Pet King Brands has implemented an authorized seller (brand partner) program to protect its distribution channels. The pet health product company says it is taking this step to protect its ZYMOX dermatology and Oratene brushless oral care enzymatic product lines from being sold by unauthorized distributors. "At Pet King Brands, we are committed to providing the best experience for both our customers and consumers of our products," says the company's founder and president, Pamela K. Bosco. "However, due to unauthorized sellers and the potential for counterfeit products on the marketplace, we have implemented our Authorized Seller/Brand Partner program to ensure the highest-quality customer experience going forward." Pet King Brands is also revising its minimum advertising price (MAP) policy to include more violation affects and subsequent enforcement actions. It is using a MAP monitoring and unauthorized seller enforcement software tool to further its investment in regulating all channels to authorized resellers. "We understand the impact an unregulated MAP environment creates for every good standing reseller," Bosco says. "This is why we are committed to taking swift action against MAP violators and cleaning up the unauthorized sale of goods online."
Covetrus integrates prescription management platform with eVetPracticeMay 23, 2019Covetrus is integrating its eVetPractice with its prescription management technology to provide veterinarians a more synchronized and streamlined user experience. "We're very pleased to offer practices using AVImark, ImproMed, and, now, eVetPractice, an unparalleled level of integration with our prescription management technology," says Chris Dollar, senior vice president of Covetrus' global software services. "Driving innovation, enhancing our practice management capabilities, and simplifying the experience for our customers is at the core of our mission." Even with flea, tick, and heartworm disease on the rise, compliance for veterinary prescriptions and preventative medications is low. Restructuring the workflow through Covetrus' practice management system can help remove administrative burden, drive greater client engagement, and improve health and financial outcomes. "One of our top priorities was to integrate our eVetPractice and prescription management capabilities to streamline and enhance performance for the practices," says Georgia Wraight, president of Covetrus' global prescription management. "By automating documentation and making prescription management easier for eVetPractice customers, we can now deliver a more seamless experience and empower veterinarians with tools to drive improved compliance." Other benefits of the real-time integration include synchronization between online prescription management and clinic software, coordinating and tracking the status of prescription authorizations and …
Tailoring vaccine protocols to benefit the patient and practiceMay 22, 2019More and more pet owners are starting to question veterinarians and their staff about the need for vaccinating their pets due to misinformation on the internet, as well as sensationalized stories about pets who may, or may not, have experienced a vaccine reaction. Those in opposition of vaccines are passionate about their views, while those in favor are equally vehement on the subject. Is one side right and the other wrong, or is there common ground to be found? Likely a little of both. Not all is yet known about the immune system, and there is still research that needs to be done. As such, recommendations offered today are based on current information, with the full knowledge they could change in the future. Not what they used to be Vaccines were developed to help prevent infectious disease, which they do, and vaccine technology has advanced tremendously since the inception of vaccinology. Vaccine opponents often argue ingredients such as adjuvants (e.g. aluminum, mercury, formaldehyde, and foreign proteins) are reasons to not vaccinate, as they can be the cause of adverse advents. This was true in the past; however, many vaccines have been "purified" over the years through the removal of …
Is fear driving the anti-vaccine movement?May 22, 2019Vaccines are one of the most effective means for preventing disease ever developed and one of the great triumphs of scientific medicine. Widespread vaccination of children has dramatically reduced—and in some cases eliminated—infectious diseases that have plagued humanity for thousands of years. There is less research evidence for the impact of vaccination in companion animals, but there is ample reason to believe vaccines have been equally successful in dogs and cats.3–7 Any veterinarian old enough to remember the emergence of canine parvovirus (CPV) in the U.S. in the late 1970s, for example, would probably testify to the efficacy of vaccination in reducing the incidence of this disease.5–7 There also is compelling evidence showing the reduction of both canine and human rabies cases due to vaccination programs aimed at dogs.8–12 And similar to smallpox, the veterinary disease rinderpest was eradicated largely due to the use of an effective vaccine.13 Vaccines and autism Despite the evident success of vaccination in reducing morbidity and mortality, there has always been controversy about the practice.14 The introduction of widespread vaccination in children was initially met with resistance and legal challenges. There was fear about the safety of vaccines, as well as resistance rooted in …
Brain Teaser: Can you solve this puzzle?May 22, 2019 Presentation A patient's pulse oximeter shows a low reading. Challenge 1) What is the name of this condition? 2) Name at least five possible locations for the pulse oximeter probe. 3) Explain a few steps you would take to troubleshoot hypoxemia. Check the answers on the next page.
