Practice Management

Practice Management

Types of Veterinary Practices

• Most practices are owned by veterinarians.

• Anyone can own a practice as long as a veterinarian is in charge of medical decisions.

• The mission statement: this is the gold standard for what is done in the practice every day.

Types of Veterinary Facilities

• Primary facilities

• Referral facilities

• Emergency facilities

• Specialty facilities

• Teaching hospitals

Typical Employee Positions

• Management personnel

  • Office manager

  • Practice manager

  • Hospital administrators

  • Veterinary Hospital Managers Association

  • Certified Veterinary Practice Managers

    • Document veterinary management experience

    • Completion of CE in management

    • Letters of recommendation

    • Pass exam

• Veterinarians

• Veterinary technicians vs Veterinary technologists

• Veterinary Assistants

• Reception

• Kennel, wards & barn attendants

Practice Facilities and Workflow

• AAHA – American Animal Hospital Association

  • Voluntary

  • Quality of care

  • Diagnostics & pharmacy

  • Management

  • Medical records

  • Facility

• Hospital design considerations:

  • Size of hospital

  • Location of rooms

• Facility Exterior:

  • Attractive

  • Professional

  • Visible

  • Easy access

• Outpatient areas:

  • Reception

  • Waiting room

  • Exam rooms

  • Organized, Clean, Quiet

  • Pharmacy

  • Laboratory

• Inpatient areas:

  • Treatment room

  • Radiography suite

  • Patient wards

    • Always have 2 doors between cages and the outside to prevent escape

  • Isolation ward (separate from the rest of the hospital)

  • Exercise areas

  • Kitchen

  • Boarding area

  • Grooming area

  • Surgical area

    • Prep room

    • Surgical suite

    • Recovery room

• Support area:

  • Doctor’s office

  • Library

  • Conference room

  • Employee lounge

  • Storage area

• Small animal house call practices & Mobile facilities

• Emergency & specialty practice

  • Expensive

  • Cost is not subsidized by out-patient procedures

• Large animal mobile units & Large animal haul-in facilities

Client and Client Services

• The most important person in the practice is the client!

• Practices are judged on the following:

  • Professional, caring & friendly personnel

  • Attention to the client’s needs

  • Consistency in service

• Communication myths:

  • Good communication skills cannot be learned

  • It takes too long to communicate well with clients

• Aspects of excellent communication:

  • Clarity

  • Courtesy

  • Positive nonverbal communication

  • Open-ended inquiry

  • Reflective listening

  • Empathy

• Dealing with difficult clients

  • Dissatisfied clients on average will tell 10-12 people about a poor experience at a business

Management of the Veterinary Practice

• A good leader is concerned with the effectiveness of the staff meeting the goals of the hospital

• Planning:

  • Businesses need to be able to grow and adapt

  • Purchasing new equipment:

    • Purchase price

    • Financing cost

    • Adding revenue to the practice

  • Characteristics of a well-set goal:

    • Realistic

    • Measurable

    • Length of expectation

• Human resources:

  • Hiring

    • It's better to hire someone with less experience but good work ethic

    • All past job experience is important

    • Wait to find the right candidate that is a good fit

  • Compensation

    • The largest % of a hospital’s expenses are personnel costs

    • It costs a practice double what a tech makes to keep that person employed due to benefits

      • Health insurance

      • Sick pay

      • Paid holidays

      • Reimbursement for dues/licenses

      • CE

      • Retirement

  • Training & orientation

  • Employee management and retention

    • Giving feedback to your employees

    • Formal reviews

  • Addressing employee stress

• Marketing

  • Obtains & retains clients

  • Enhances hospital awareness in the community

  • Internal marketing

    • Client relationships

    • Practice appearance

    • Full-service care

    • Client reminders

    • Personal appearance

    • Sympathy cards

    • Animal care talks

  • External marketing

    • Advertising (Radio & TV)

    • Internet marketing

• Financial

  • Bookkeeping & accounting

  • Cash flows

  • Budgeting

  • Price setting

• Operations

  • Appointment system

  • Estimates & client payments

  • Inventory

    • Ordering drugs & supplies

    • Excess inventory

    • Supplies should last 1-3 months

    • Expiration of medications

    • 10-15% of gross income should be budgeted for drugs and supplies

    • Inventory – medical supply companies

      • Having a good relationship with sales representatives is very helpful!

• Computerization of the veterinary practice

  • Electronic medical records

  • Patient scheduling

  • Reminders

  • Doctor production