Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 11, 2024. Link. Most read post(s) from the January 11th AHD Bulletin – Understanding active listening and distractions. Link. The pros and cons of servant leadership. Link. 22 team-building activities and games for 2024. Link. ============================================ Study: Antibiotics … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 4, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, December 28, 2023. Link. A review of 2023’s highly viewed posts in 13 categories. Most read posts in 2023, all categories – Don’t be afraid to ask the sensitive questions. Link. Study: PRP gel accelerates skin wound healing in horses. Link. How to deal with an angry … [Read more...]
Discussing pet insurance with pet owners
Includes Complimentary Commercial content An AVMA policy encourages proactive pet insurance education, writes Ricky Walther, DVM. As more research is published on how the overall quality of pet care is enabled, practice teams need to be better prepared to get clients on board. In the articles below, Walther, the chief medical officer at Pawlicy Advisor, shares ways to … [Read more...]
Underutilized and underappreciated
Editor’s note. It is common to get a call from Wendy Hauser, DVM, to discuss a recent experience or something that has been on her mind. Using vet clinic staff to the fullest is often a part of those discussions. Improving the use of veterinary technicians requires helping them work at the top of their credentials, BUT without hospital leaders advocating for, cultivating … [Read more...]
Not all NDAs are equal
Nondisclosure agreements are common between animal health pros and the companies with which they work. Peter H. Tanella, Esq, shares important perspectives on protecting critical information about a business or services from being shared to the business’ detriment. His recommendations to incorporate a nondisparagement clause are important considerations between employers and … [Read more...]
AAFP releases 2023 Feline Palliative Care Guidelines
The guidelines provide a comprehensive summary of how to approach and support cats’ and caregivers’ needs. They emphasize the need for empathy, kindness and understanding during what is a challenging time for cats and their human caregivers. Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, October 16, 2023. Link. The guidelines resulted from collaboration between the American … [Read more...]
Medical waste can be risky business
Managing medical waste is the entire team’s responsibility. Team members should be aware of and follow specific guidelines when dealing with infectious waste, biohazardous waste and anatomical or pathological waste, writes Sandy Walsh, RVT, CVPM. She shares what constitutes hazardous waste, how to handle, store and dispose of it, liabilities and various resources available on … [Read more...]
Ways to increase productivity and provide more pet care
We shared this first-of-its-kind empirical study from IDEXX in February <Link>. It delved into how veterinary teams can keep up with the escalating demand for care and grounds anecdotal evidence in data to provide steps to help veterinary practices address capacity constraints. The Practice Productivity Index reveals that clinics can save nearly 1,700 to 2,000 hours a … [Read more...]
Hauser: Client relationships with veterinary team critical to positive practice experiences
Wendy Hauser, DVM, shares the importance of client relationships with the practice team. She says effective reminder systems and efficient hospital operations aren’t enough. Clients want a practice team who treats them and their pets as individuals and works to create a partnership. Hauser’s advocacy and guidance could be represented by CVRP instead of VCPR, denoting the … [Read more...]
How to deal with an angry client
Since you’re in business to serve your customers, you’ll likely encounter rude or angry individuals at one time or another. While this article suggests sympathy, I suggest it means empathy . . . an enormous difference. Source: Forbes, August 2, 2013. Link. After the situation has been resolved and the customer is on her way, it is helpful for you to take your own … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – May 11, 2023
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, May 4th, 2023. Link. Most read post(s) from May 4th AHD Bulletin – Establishing rapport. Link. Shaping the onboarding experience. Link. Place keeper: 2023 Veterinary Conferences provided by Galaxy Vets. Link. 3 ways VMG is different from other veterinary membership organizations Source: … [Read more...]
Cushing, veterinary future so near, so far
“The only thing holding back the pet health care industry might be a fear of where the answers lead, and that’s understandable,” says Mark Cushing, JD. He discusses what he calls an “interesting” juncture in pet health care and shares areas of top priority: Younger generations Rules and regulations License portability Public policy Utilization of veterinary … [Read more...]
Hauser: Reverse the downward trend of pets missing vet care
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 … [Read more...]
Considering access to veterinary care
Veterinarian shortages in the workforce and animal owner access to veterinary care will remain significant issues in coming years. Mark Cushing, JD, shares new and encouraging initiatives and experiments underway to solve access to care at a fundamental level beyond the plethora of call-to-action slogans. Cushing shares survey results from APG/O’Hara that indicate upgrading … [Read more...]
Client trust, human-animal bond and meeting client concerns
The last article in a three-part series from Wendy Hauser, DVM, pulls together the challenges veterinary teams face when dealing with clients’ expectations and paradigms. Twenty four percent of dog owners and 35 percent of cat owners don’t seek regular health care for their pets according to the AVMA. The primary reasons were the expense and the lack of the perceived value … [Read more...]
10 veterinary trends worthy of attention
Bob Lester, DVM, shares trends in the veterinary profession he is watching. He outlines 10 of the galvanizing issues facing veterinary medicine: The workforce shortage The rise of the connected pet Regulatory The bond Veterinary education Consolidation Work-Life Segmentation Preventive care Team health care delivery Source: Today’s Veterinary … [Read more...]
Improving the narrative on pet food
Pet food is deeply personal for many cat and dog owners and their choices are compounded by the explosion of choices. Raw, organic, fresh, frozen and nearly any other human food trend you can imagine make pet food choices challenging. Ernie Ward DVM, CVFT, says, “to successfully educate and avoid offending clients, veterinary professionals need to have a communication strategy, … [Read more...]
Engaging veterinary technicians improves practice success
Unless you’ve been hiding, the industry buzz about using veterinary technicians better is familiar. Having credentialed veterinary technicians on veterinary teams with the skills needed is a critical part of building an efficient practice. However, efficiency only comes when those skills are used effectively. The AVMA continues to promote and support increased involvement … [Read more...]
Catering to clients – incorporate elements of concierge medicine
Wendy Hauser, DVM, believes any veterinary practice can implement key elements of concierge medicine. She references a fall 2021 Packaged Facts report which found high demand for concierge veterinary care resembling similar care in human medicine. The concierge approach allows physicians to limit their patient numbers and offer exclusive services in exchange for an annual … [Read more...]
Tear down the walls
Highlighting facts that as many as half of U.S. pets won’t visit a veterinary practice this year, Bob Lester, DVM, says the veterinary profession risks becoming a service available only to wealthy animal owners. He shares a list of 15 current or near-future models that would help more families and their animals benefit from veterinary care. A spectrum of care approach might … [Read more...]
Move forward by going back
The adage “two steps forward one step back” fits the theme of DVM Wendy Hauser’s article about creating and improving a culture of preventive care. The Covid-19 pandemic and new pet demands put some veterinary teams into a Dragnet-like “just the facts ma’am” triage mode. This created significant variability in how preventive care was discussed, if at all. Many veterinary … [Read more...]
Mentorships help professional and personal advancement with mutual benefits
Mentorship is a two-way street and both parties find growth and value in the relationships that form. Wendy Hauser, DVM, and Heather Kvito-White, DVM, DACVIM, share highlights from their mentorship journey. The mentee gains invaluable insight, and the mentor gets joy from helping another person succeed.” Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, June 2021. Link. INSIGHTS: Note … [Read more...]
CIRDC. Does a new name make it easier?
Opinion Two excellent articles are included as Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex sources for this post. Adjusting the nomenclature to represent a variety of cofactors is logical scientifically and diagnostically. Pragmatically, though, many of the known CIRDC pathogens are NOT included in core vaccines, including two well recognized pathogens: Canine … [Read more...]
Preventive care paradox
Recognizing and reinforcing behavior that results in the absence of disease is difficult, especially in a veterinary healthcare system built to respond to disease states versus reinforcing a state of health, according to Bob Lester, DVM. It is a challenge for a reacting-and-repairing versus preventing-and-preparing way of working Lester describes the future benefits as … [Read more...]
Telemedicine is as old as the telephone. Getting paid IS NEW!
Opinion We’re referencing four complementary sources in this post. Virtual veterinary care is advancing at warp speed. Still, some veterinary clinics struggle with moving from a courtesy service approach to charging for telemedicine services as clients embrace the convenience. Creating clear boundaries between “courtesy services” and what is considered a "paid service" is … [Read more...]
Refocus: 6 growing issues
The first trimester of 2021 is now behind us. Our industry continues to feel more complicated and changing at break-neck speed. In December 2020, Karen E. Felsted, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, CVA, and Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA, reviewed Pew Research Center’s “Future Directions for Veterinary Medicine” (1989), and KPMG’s “The Current and Future Market for Veterinarians and Veterinary … [Read more...]
Beyond wellness plans, bundling can work
Wendy Hauser, DVM, and Lucas Pantaleon, DVM, MS, DACVIM, MBA, tackle the challenge of chronic illnesses that frequently fall outside of wellness plan coverage. The authors position bundling beginning with common bundles already in place in veterinary practices. By leveraging bundling, treatment packages offer four major advantages: Bundling helps clients understand the … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – April 1, 2021
Where veterinary medicine is (likely) headed over the next decade Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, February 2021. Link. Douglas G. Aspros, DVM, highlights four things he thinks are in the future. Some are driven by technology and others are systems-based. As always, changes in social perspectives and values will be key. Podcast: … [Read more...]
Veterinary resource library supports pet health insurance discussions
Complimentary Content – Part 4 of February 2021 series Data featured in this month’s posts about research conducted by Dr. Wendy Hauser’s team are compelling and indicate potential benefits for insured pets, pet owners, veterinary team members and practices. <Link>. The results also indicate the need for a strategic approach to comfortably include pet health insurance … [Read more...]
Revenue growth, merit bonuses are alternatives to production-based pay in veterinary medicine
In 2018, Wendy Hauser, DVM, and Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA, challenged the historic production-based compensation for DVMs. This discussion remains timely with the growing demand for veterinary care, increasing use of telemedicine and practices struggling to fill staff positions in the face of the pandemic. The antidote for production-based pay is this: a hybrid program of … [Read more...]