Business

Does every horse that you see undergo a dental exam? Is a complete oral exam including the use of sedation, a full-mouth speculum, a good headlight and a dental mirror part of your yearly preventative maintenance program? Do you include a complete oral exam as a part of all your pre-purchase exams? If you answered "Yes" to these questions, then you are, unfortunately, in the minority of equine practitioners today.

What steps does your practice team take to support clients after the euthanasia of a pet?

Inundated with signs, slogans, and sales pitches, pet owners may fail to notice a key message that you've posted right in front of them.

It's great to see many practices are now acknowledging that the old, traditional methods of management are not effective, and they are modernizing their strategies and taking steps to improve staff morale, and consequently productivity.

This simple marketing tool can be used to help you see opportunities and challenges that can help or hurt your practice's growth.

High overtime costs prompted Gerard Gervasi, hospital administrator at Collierville Animal Clinic in Collierville, Tenn., and the practice owners to look into the financial impact of being open on Saturdays--and find a new solution.

First decide which areas of your practice offer the greatest opportunities—then look at ways to make the changes you want without breaking the bank.

Thoughtfully planned plumbing systems help prevent messes and aggravation down the road. Follow these guidelines for clog- and hassle-free practice plumbing.

Whether you're building a new practice or remodeling an old one, being environmentally friendly may save you money.

Low costs aren't the only reason to choose a lender. Also consider these important details before saying yes.

These doctors learned the hard way what they should have done during the construction of their hospitals. Now that they're enjoying their award-winning facilities, they're ready to share their stories—and help you avoid the same problems.

First, which areas of your practice offer the greatest opportunities without breaking the bank?

Don't waste your energy trying to squeeze a 15,000-square-foot hospital onto a 3,000-square-foot lot. Instead, exercise flexible thinking, creative planning, and strategic cost controls to build your dream.

Don't waste your energy trying to squeeze a 15,000-square-foot hospital onto a 3,000-square-foot lot. Instead, exercise flexible thinking, creative planning, and strategic cost controls to build your dream.

I will be receiving a retirement plan distribution when I change jobs. I intend to roll it over to my new employer's plan and have been told that such a rollover will avoid a 20 percent withholding tax.

My office manager wants to join a professional association and asked if I'd pay the annual dues. Should I? Should I do the same for other employees? Are the dues deductible?

Do you put your best foot forward with every client, every time? These six tips can help make sure you do—and that you build the strongest possible relationships with clients.

At a recent staff meeting, I said I thought it was unprofessional for our medical and administrative support staff to chew gum on the job. I was almost laughed out of the meeting. Was I off base?

Dvm Newsmagazine is pleased to present another in our series of DVM Best Practices.

I own a small practice, and 2 percent to 4 percent of the gross won't support a manager. So how can I get the necessary help for such issues as personnel, financial, and facilities management?

Think you're working too much? Odds are you're not delegating enough to team members-who are hungry to help.

Veterinarians have a limited ability to control drug costs. Selling drugs to veterinarians is —well, it is a seller's market. Although it is true that there are many vendors to buy supplies from, many of the big-ticket drugs from big-name companies that veterinarians deem to be more profitable are under patent. This means that when buying certain items, veterinarians are "price-takers" much like farmers are price-takers when it comes to selling their crops or livestock.

The pet cat population in the United States exceeds the pet dog population, yet the average cat visits the veterinarian only half as often as the average dog.1 Conversely, advancements in feline health care offer us more opportunities to maximize cats's long lives. It's our job to make sure cats receive routine care.

It should be straightforward: You tell your clients what to do, and they do it. Aren't client relations supposed to work this way? After all, you're a doctor, you have command of the English language, and your clients love their cats and want to care for them. Unfortunately, compliance doesn't happen as frequently as we'd like, even with intelligent, committed clients. Reversing this trend means understanding-and eliminating-the reasons for client noncompliance.

Drug companies are going to charge whatever the market will bear.

Washington — United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have yielded mastitis-resistant dairy cows using gene-transfer technology.

A good example makes for a great presentation. But it's not always easy to find an image when it's time for that career talk at the high school. One solution: "Keep a camera on hand to record interesting or humorous cases," suggests Dr. Ellen Paul-Kuchenbrod of Lipton Animal Hospital in Urbana, Ill. "You can also take pictures of radiographs that show unusual foreign bodies ."

One challenge of team management: Making sure everyone pulls his or her weight. "We found that our veterinary assistants and technicians like to congregate in certain areas of the hospital, and when someone needed help in another area, they'd kind of look at each other to see who would go," says Jean Weaver, hospital administrator at Catawba Animal Clinic, located in Rock Hill, S.C.—a seven-doctor practice with 33 support staff members.

It was my job to sell pet owners on 1-800-PetMeds. But, the truth is, you're holding the best cards in this game. Just spotlight your strengths: service and value.

East Hilliard Veterinary Services in Hilliard, Ohio, started a pet weight-loss plan in October 2003. "Pets on the program have lost more than 525 pounds, with 35 pets reaching their goal weight," says Client Relations Specialist Stephanie Pepper.