Under current trends, consolidation of veterinary practices will continue until just three or four companies control 60% or more of the market.
Michael Dicks, PhD, and Melissa Maddux, DVM, provide a detailed commentary on the progression of corporate ownership of practices and the rationales for clinic evaluations, strategies and needs of various types of practice group owners. They expose the challenge of corporate boards focused on financial objectives while veterinarians focus first on medical decisions.
Source: VIN News Service, June 10, 2019. Link.
. . . the main question for practitioners is: To what extent will this impact veterinary medical service guidelines and veterinarians’ freedom to make the best health-care decisions for their patients?
One way hospital owners can keep their businesses independent is by recruiting and retaining veterinarians who wish to practice medicine independently and wish to make more money than standard associates, nurturing their skills and motivation, and ultimately transitioning ownership to them.
INSIGHTS: All animal health pros need to digest this information.