Business

Client expectations are two-fold, says Dr. Karen Felsted, CVPM, CPA, a consultant with Gatto McFerson in Santa Monica, Calif.

"Specialty practices don't want to step on the referring practice's toes by marketing themselves to clients directly," says Mark Opperman, CVPM, owner of VMC Inc., a veterinary consulting firm in Evergreen, Colo. "They would rather get referrals through the general practice. And the best way to do that is by developing relationships with them."

It's a dual client base. One set is obviously pet owners; the second set is made up of referring veterinarians.

"Many specialists feel they should get paid more just because they are a specialist, but the truth is they shouldn't," says Mark Opperman, CVPM, owner of VMC Inc., a veterinary consulting firm in Evergreen, Colo. "They should get paid more because they produce more."

A list from the Veterinary Economics archives.

With a little hard work and a whole lot of fun. Get an insider's look at all of our cover-shoot shenanigans.

Readers can share their the trials and tribulations of malpractice lawsuits.

Maddie's Fund thinks veterinarians are the best way to stop overpopulation.

Veterinarians -- before they were called veterinarians -- were animals' advocates.

A visit to the eco-friendly dream hospital of a former relief doctor.

Slideshow

Rethink your stance on marketing and consider what it's really about: providing valuable information to a client so he or she can make an informed decision about purchasing a product or service.

A big challenge at our busy hospital is keeping everyone up-to-date on hospital changes.

A compassionate animal lover rescued a guinea pig near death and nursed it back to health, renewing my belief in the healing power of love.

To get the most from your practice's Web site, think of it not just as an electronic brochure, but as a living, breathing marketing tool, says Linda Wasche, president of LW Marketworks Inc., in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. A well-run Web site is a cost-effective and powerful tool for building interest in your practice and creating a sense of community among your clients. Once current and prospective clients have found you online, give them reason to visit-and revisit. Here's how.

Dr. Dan Lorimer, DACVO, wanted his specialty practice to look professional. For that, he needed respectable neighbors. To attract those neighbors, he bought six acres and built a 40,000-square-foot building-which was not his hospital.

Do you see yourself-or your boss-in these findings about male and female owners of family businesses?

Do you ever get frustrated or annoyed when clients come to your practice loaded with medical information they found on the Internet-especially when it's wrong? Do you find yourself grumbling about the misinformation the client is spewing? Who's the doctor here, anyway? Heck, if people can find instructions for building a bomb online, maybe your clients can just whip up some Otomax or Tresaderm too. Then they can buy themselves an ultrasound machine and a textbook. Who needs a veterinarian?

Merrimack, N.H. - A music slide show can be a unique and impressive marketing tool for a veterinary practice.

Firstline Editorial Advisory Board members share the secrets you didn't know you didn't know about the veterinary business.

As veterinarians, we often find ourselves unable to determine the nature and cause of the problem case. So, who pays for our time?

The psychic said to work on the horse's left front ankle and treat it with a plant extract only Granny Clampet had in stock.

Veterinary graduates acquire many diagnostic and therapeutic skills during four or more years of study and are eager to apply their new knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of complicated diseases like diabetes, hyperadrenocorticism, congestive heart failure and other medical or surgical challenges.

The big dog cringed under the bench in the reception area. "He hates to come in here," the old man said. "But he's got this skin problem, and it stinks something terrible."

United Kingdom - Veterinarians' suicide rate is proportionally four times that of the general population and twice that of other health professionals, studies show. Photo: Kristofer Dan-Bergman/Getty Images

Check out this video from the concert.

Guide dogs, search-and-rescue dogs also to receive free blood work, wellness reports.

Data points to disturbing trend, say researchers