Business

There's more to a good site than the right location. Here's a look at the other factors you need to consider.

For most doctors, owning the facility offers the most benefits. Yet there are circumstances when renting may be smarter, especially if you're starting from scratch. Consider these issues to decide what's right for you.

The patients at West Park Animal Hospital in Cleveland are getting on their feet faster, because practice owners, Drs. Kane Henderson and Borys Pakush, installed an underwater treadmill to expand rehabilitative efforts for dogs and cats. "Hydrotherapy cuts down healing time after surgery and eases joints for pets suffering from arthritis," says Dr. Henderson. "We also use the treadmill for weight loss and strength training."

Discussing money with clients can be downright scary. Learning to present an estimate with poise takes the fear out of this critical task?and improves the odds that clients will say yes to your treatment plan.

Veterinarians are paid by leftovers; that is any money left over after all other obligations have been satisfied.

If your team members aren't feeling satisfied with their jobs, find out what's wrong?and find a fix.

Here are the factors owners say they weigh most heavily when deciding about an associate's ownership potential.

It's hard for team members to implement changes if the doctors aren't on the same page. Solve this problem with a new approach to team training.

Practitioners ask: Is paperless really possible? Are electronic medical records worth the investment? Here's what early adopters say.

Impact Boosters Tip

Use these guidelines to decide when to send documents to the shredder.

Some clients view an office visit as an opportunity to catch up on an assortment of neglected pet health problems. Use these techniques to stay on topic and on schedule.

How can I calculate client visitation and retention?

An inside look at the judging for the Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition

Dr. Steven Dunbar merged a general practice and a 24-hour emergency center into one new building. And the consistent, attractive use of color; high-quality materials; impressive client-interaction areas; and more helped Yorba Regional Animal Hospital in Anaheim, Calif., rise to the top in Veterinary Economics annual design competition.

Paying equally doesn't always make sense in a partnership, especially when doctors aren't contributing in the same ways. A tiered-compensation system can account for these variances.

Is it OK to accept postdated checks when clients can't pay?

There are tax advantages when you buy a hybrid automobile: a tax credit of up to $3,400, for instance.

Profanity in the workplace is on the rise along with court filings and complaints to EEOC.

Dr. Steven Dunbar merged a general practice and a 24-hour emergency center into one new building. And the consistent, attractive use of color; high-quality materials; impressive client-interaction areas; and more helped Yorba Regional Animal Hospital in Anaheim, Calif., rise to the top in Veterinary Economics annual design competition.

Reminders and increased client education lead to improved care at this Florida practice.

Of course, greater earning power and financial gain rank as important reasons for ownership. Yet there are more reasons to take this step. Here are some other benefits to owning a practice.

FLP requires both careful analysis and strict compliance with IRS regulations.

Forty percent of referrals to Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colo., come from pet stores, breeders, shelters, and rescue groups?that's 140 new clients a month.

How should I pay part-time veterinarians and gauge their benefits?

Use this sample collection letter as a starting point as you work to control accounts receivable.

What tax rules apply to awards given to employees for service?

You may like the sound of doing it all, but that's not usually the most efficient way to work. So change your tune and leverage your team members more to increase your sanity?and the practice's profitability.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals released a list of the 10 most common poisonous plants and their possible effects.

At Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, Minn., doctors and team members feel that learning the names of clients and pets helps them provide better service, but remembering all those names isn't easy.