There is no reason to apologize for napping at work, writes Mike Paul, DVM. Daytime drowsiness can affect concentration, attention to detail, mood, productivity and creativity. He advises to avoid thinking of napping as lost time or feel guilty for indulging in daytime sleep. Source: Veterinary Economics, September 15, 2019. Link. According to the National Sleep Foundation, … [Read more...]
More veterinary technicians = higher practice efficiency
Recent AVMA analytics reveals that veterinary hospitals with more technicians and other non-DVM staff are likely to operate more efficiently. The optimal mix of non-DVM and DVM staff depends on several factors, including: practice type and size the demand for veterinary services in an area the availability of qualified veterinary professionals: professional and … [Read more...]
Veterinary telemedicine is a sticky legal wicket
Christopher J. Allen, DVM, JD, discusses the challenges of using non-face-to-face interactions in veterinary medicine. He calls the various segments of teledoctors a confusing jungle of legal fact, opinion and outright speculation. For each segment, primary concerns fall into three general categories: 1) malpractice liability, 2) licensing and 3) criminal … [Read more...]
Top 3 most common pet insurance claims from 5 providers
ASPCA Pet Insurance, Embrace, Nationwide, Pets Best and Trupanion shared their top three most common claims of 2018 with Veterinary Economics. For veterinary teams, these lists represent opportunities for discussion and consensus around treatment, products and preparations. Salespersons can use these lists as a backdrop for pre-call planning and product … [Read more...]
Cheat sheet helps when considering new equipment
It’s easy to get caught up financially analyzing an equipment buy for a veterinary hospital. Brendan Howard summarizes guidance from Karen Felstad, DVM, about various rationales for purchases. For salespersons, Felstad’s nine questions to ask before an equipment purchase reads like a pre-call planner for items to discuss or defend. Source: Veterinary Economics, May 17, … [Read more...]
Connecting buying style to clients
In a recent presentation about self-awareness and self-management, Betsy Charles, DVM, related self-awareness to dealing with animal owners’ choices. She shared perspectives about over buyers and under buyers at a recent conference. Self-awareness is the ability to accurately perceive your own emotions and stay aware of them as they happen and if you don’t know yourself … [Read more...]
Pitching veterinary products in the clinic (includes video)
Of all the actions that take place in exam rooms, presenting products often frustrates clinic team members. Bash Halow, LVT, CVPM, emphasizes that recommendations shouldn't be the first things and to pay attention to body language. Source: Veterinary Economics, January 16, 2019. Link. Halow shares a comment from one of his sessions where an attendee told the class how she … [Read more...]
11 free puppy handouts
Add these new (or new to you) handouts to your new-client packets or put them on your website or in social media: Parasite prevention: Is that client’s puppy bugged?Why puppies need vaccinesDental health: Protect your puppy’s pearl whitesFeeding: What’s for puppy’s dinner?Enrichment: Don’t let boredom ruin your puppy’s brainTop 5 tips for teething puppiesThe secret to … [Read more...]
Declaw free practice reviews results
Four things impressed me about this article: Going declaw-free was done more than four years ago before negative press about declaw issues was prevalent Amy Zellweger made the decision after engaging the practice team to gather evidence about declaw issues The practices have continued to grow financially Because of the educational focus, the practice now has … [Read more...]
Discount your services. Discount yourself.
Sarah Wooten, DVM, hits the nail on the head in this article. Not only do frequent discounts in the heat of the exam-room moment bring down the value of your services, they lower the value of every other veterinarian’s work. Source: Veterinary Economics, March 1, 2018. One of the most important things we can do is to charge what our services are worth. Discounting estimates … [Read more...]
Cycle counting inventories
Cycle counting is a process of counting a small, predetermined set of goods and materials frequently, as opposed to completing a full physical inventory each year. The objective of cycle counting is to determine records that are incorrect, correct the cause of errors, close process loopholes and improve upon human error. Another benefit is having inventory on hand when … [Read more...]
4 tips to manage parasiticide inventory
As colder weather sets in and year-end total inventory looms, parasiticides need to be looked at strategically. Use history, inventories on hand and trends to allow for the proper adjustments to reorder points and quantities. Sarah Wooten, DVM, shares tips to get a handle on parasiticides and other inventory items since the holidays often reduce client traffic. Source: … [Read more...]
Introversion, the veterinary edition
Dean Scott, DVM, discusses the challenges of introversion versus extroversion from the veterinarians’ perspective. Introverts are naturally quiet and internalized; behaviors that extroverts may interpret as signs of aloofness or arrogance. Introvert’s interactions with people are draining. They also exert a lot of energy pretending to be an extrovert. I read once that if the … [Read more...]
Practice management hacks: Advice to a new manager on standards of care
The Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) shared exclusive data with Veterinary Economics which shares a series of practice management "hacks" or best-kept secrets from VHMA members. Source: Veterinary Economics, July 7, 2016. VHMA members spill their best kept secrets for better patient care. Treat your technician staff well and value their input. Tell them … [Read more...]
Give good phone
Phone etiquette is important, says Jeremy Keen, DVM. Presenting a relaxed, positive and service-minded personality regardless of how busy we are is critical to client satisfaction. The same goes for retail associates, dealers and telephone persons in distribution or manufacturer call centers. Any phone call we handle is the image of our company in that moment. Source: … [Read more...]
The power of pet insurance
Numbers are the compelling story in this quick read highlighting data provided by Nationwide pet insurance. For example: 1.92 annual veterinary visits by clients with pet insurance, compared with 1.18 without. $542 annual spending on dogs by clients with pet insurance, compared with $376 without. Source: Veterinary Economics, November 2015, page 8. The real challenge … [Read more...]
Never-before-seen equipment lists from the 2015 Hospitals of the Year
Equipping veterinary practices whether new, remodeling or upgrading can be a challenge the hospital staff, as well as those supplying equipment. Hours of research can be involved. Equip your space like the pros brings a unique perspective on the equipment choices made by hospitals awarded Hospital of the Year status. Source: Veterinary Economics, November 15, page 12. Now … [Read more...]