“The quality of medical care we practice has improved drastically. But we need to stop seeing our patients the same way we did in 1965”, says Dennis M. McCurnin, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS in his ViewPoint article for VPN. He references the progress and developments in human and dental medicine especially around staffing and cost of service differences. His article calls for better alignment of facilities and staff while realistically delegating to credentialed technicians and staff members to reduce practice overhead.
Source: Veterinary Practice News, October 2015 page 2.
We still try to do everything ourselves, one patient at a time, and then complain we cannot make any money or pay off student debt in a reasonable time.
The ideal team would consist of one credentialed technician, one veterinary assistant, and one veterinarian working three exam rooms. Veterinarians must become more competent in utilizing trained support staff to become more efficient. One reason we do not utilize staff more is we were never trained to do so in the teaching hospital.
INSIGHTS: Whether a rep, a DVM or a Vet Tech Dr. McCurnin has written a short but jam-packed position article that is full of call to action ideas which are realistic to consider and implement. For sales reps, consider this article as a backdrop for any annual or semi-annual planning you conduct with veterinary clinic customers.