With all the news about who will be selling what to whom these days, Mark Hardesty, DVM, writes about selling drugs, ethics and competitive trends from the perspective of a rural veterinarian and father. The article is historically timeless, as livestock practitioners have been adjusting to OTC and direct pressures for 30 or more years. What’s valuable is Hardesty’s account of rationalizing his efforts to be a source of drugs and supplies for his customers in a community social setting.
Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, March 25, 2018. Link.
. . . the risk and effort for marketing drugs. .. diminished greatly over the three decades I have been in practice. The practice that we bought commonly had a 100 percent markup on drugs and gave services away.
Also see: VFD does not mean Vet Financial Deal, Hoard’s Dairyman, January 25, 2017. Link. Mark Hardesty, DVM, relates an early experience with the VFD.
A visit can be prevention