Practice Management

You're lucky you don't have any competition. If you did, you wouldn't be here today."

How are we adapting to the veterinarian labor shortage? By having effective teams.

Tommy Wright was sitting at his desk staring blankly at the wall. He had just arrived home from a meeting on the West Coast and was excited on the flight home about what he had learned at a practice management seminar given by a large drug company.

Welcome back, intrepid readers.

Dr. Larry Bramlage, MS, Dipl. ACVS, incoming president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, humbly says he has no "grandiose" plans for his 2003-2004 term.

Any good training program starts with standardization of procedures so they can be taught and readily duplicated by staff members. Consistency of process is an asset anywhere in your practice but especially in the prep room and surgery.

Despite the nationwide recession, Elsewhere Animal Hospital was chuggin' along.

Product Focus: Computer Resources - Staff Training

Annual vaccination and wellness exams have dramatically reduced the levels of infectious diseases in dogs and cats in the United States. Since annual vaccination is considered to be the gold standard, many veterinarians are puzzled and confused by the recent suggested changes for vaccinating dogs and cats.

Those who analyze the economics of this profession are usually not members of the profession.

There are many ways to 'formalize' business, work relationship

Effective team meetings are one of the most powerful practice builders.

There's never time to train in most veterinary practices. All too often, much of a new employee's training ends up being by "osmosis," or the "hang-around-you'll-get-it" method. Training doesn't have to be so hit or miss.

Sequencing is here. The critical mass of veterinarians needed for effective sequencing has arrived.

A few weeks ago, I was on a dairy farm discussing herd performance and nutrition with the owner.

Jessica Long and her friend Ginny plod through the grass and palmetto behind Bonnie Wilson's trailer in central Florida. Bonnie is well known in the area for collecting numerous strays and orphaned animals of all types.

When I was a very much younger man, high on love and life, in the very cosmopolitan city of brotherly love sometimes called Philadelphia, I was walking back from our bookstore toward the veterinary college. Turning a corner, I fell in step with one of my favorite personalities at the college, Dr. Paul Berg, professor of surgery.

As an equine practice expands, the need arises to build up the veterinary staff.

Mexico City-Expanding into the international arena is no longer just a dream for Banfield, The Pet Hospital. The nation's largest veterinary hospital opened its first international site late last month in the United Kingdom and recently finalized plans to build a small animal teaching hospital at the Universidad Nacional Autonome de Mexico (UNAM).

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.

Product Focus: Dietary Supplements

The owner of a five doctor veterinary practice in Afurpiecefrumhear, Missouri loved to hunt. Every year, he would take one of his associates with him into the wilderness to test their skills against non-patients.

Feline Diseases Fact Sheet

Canine Diseases Fact Sheet

In my June column, I discussed situations where communications between the dairy practitioner and client broke down, leaving the doctor "out of the loop" with disease outbreaks. Since then, I have worked on two farms where the herd veterinarian was deeply and routinely involved with herd decisions. This involvement started with participation in farm management meetings.

Dr. Bill Wilson looked blankly at Jan, his office manager.

1. Pay for subscriptions by credit card. That gives you federal Fair Credit Billing Act rights to dispute a bill for unsatisfactory advice in dealing with professional services, which you don't otherwise have. If you buy a turkey baster based on the magazine's recommendations and it turns out to be unsatisfactory, I would immediately ask for a refund of my subscription charges.

The easy way into trouble is simple; immediately jump upon, endorse, and adopt every new product, every new technique, every new concept and every new drug.

Product Focus: Diagnostic Imaging - X-ray Supplies

Dr. Michael Merrithew doesn't think he'll be quick to make any changes to his vaccine protocols despite a recent report from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) that calls for reduction in vaccinating dogs.