Industry consultants Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA, and Karen Felstad, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, CVA, discuss the tectonic shifts the veterinary profession is going through. They explore what the profession is learning, what habits should remain broken and which replacements should become entrenched in the daily routines of veterinary practices. They cover nine areas :
- Telemedicine
- Online Stores (pharmacy and food)
- A new client experience
- Better leadership and communication
- Cash flow
- Affordable care
- Student education
- The job market
- Practice sales
Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, May 2020. Link.
This is not the time to climb back into your fur-lined rut. It’s time to take the lead and define a better future for your practice, your team, your clients, your patients, and most importantly, your profession and yourself.”
INSIGHTS: These statements are worth noting:
- . . . telemedicine should become part of the routine in many practices, not as a replacement for in-person care, but to provide another option when it is useful and appropriate
- greater use of your online pharmacy should be the new normal
- A true team-based health care delivery model is something that should remain. . .
- . . . communicate or close.
- Focus on cash flow. Cash flow is not the same as net income.
- . . . prepare to talk to your clients about medically appropriate alternatives to the gold standard of treatment.
- Significant changes in business models and the size and number of practices might deliver some equilibrium to the employee supply-and-demand curves.