There are many factors that cause pets to miss vital regular health care. Veterinary practices cannot afford to ignore trends showing fewer patient visits. Wendy Hauser, DVM, identifies three primary drivers for why patients don’t get needed veterinary care as:
- Client economic limitations
- The owner’s inability to access care
- A lack of communication
Too many pet owners are forgoing veterinary care, but you can get them into your practice with dogged determination.” – Wendy Hauser, DVM
Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, March/April 2023. Link. Hauser offers two strategies for after the visit as a safety net for client retention: Forward booking the next appointment and improving communications between visits. She also offers four solutions to help prepare clients for the cost of veterinary care.
INSIGHTS: Society has come to expect optometrists, dentists, medical doctors, even mechanics and groomers to contact us in multiple ways ahead of appointments. Subtly, they are telling us our business and their time is important. There’s no reason to avoid implementing ways to keep those pet owners coming in a timely manner.