Business

Bit & Spur Animal Hospital in Mobile, Ala., was about to begin a senior pet care plan. But hospital manager Kelley Wilbur knew they needed a better system to recognize senior pets.

Every year, practice owners review their employees, telling them what they did well and how they could improve. But have you ever taken time to give yourself a year-end review? Whether you're the boss, an associate, or a support staff member, you can benefit from evaluating your year, says Jinny Ditzler, author of Your Best Year Yet! A Proven Method for Making the Next Twelve Months the Most Successful Ever (Warner Books, 2000).

Gates Hafen Cochrane Architects of Boulder, Colo., supplied this brief listing of common finish materials used in veterinary care facilities, along with some "helpful hints." For more information, contact Gates Hafen Cochrane Architects at (800) 332-4413.

Follow this step-by-step guide to figure your current value to your practice. Then adopt four key strategies to make sure you're worth your weight in gold.

The first lesson I try to implant is that average ain't good enough today.

The leader's role changes at each stage of team development. Are you doing the right things to help your team grow and go?

A patient complained that my office manager quoted a fee of $250 for a procedure, but he was billed $300. It turns out the procedure was done a few days after our new fees went into effect. Should we refund the difference?

We're having trouble monitoring the counts of specified items, calculating an accurate budget for inventory costs, and staying within that budget. We've identified our A, B, and C inventory items. What more can we do to get inventory under control?

Growing up in the South, I quickly learned that there were certain subjects one simply should not talk about in mixed company--religion, politics, and money. There are similar touchy topics in business, such as pay raises and compensation plans, staff disagreements, a desire to make important changes in the practice, and disagreement about management styles. Although we'd like to avoid these topics, they need to be discussed.

Chapel Associates Architects Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., supplied this checklist of suggested materials for planning a veterinary hospital. For more information, contact Chapel Associates Architects Inc. at (501) 225-5900.

Materials guide for veterinarians

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cares about accurate classification of employees and independent contractors, but so does your state unemployment tax department. No one ever thinks he or she will get audited, and many practitioners are surprised to learn that state unemployment departments often audit more frequently than the IRS.

I have been made to observe the following video clips in order for Baldy to better understand our approach on planet Earth.

Chapel Associates Architects Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., supplied this list of material and finish manufacturers and suppliers. For more information, call Chapel Associates Architects Inc. at (800) 225-5900.

Small business owners are particularly vulnerable to the risks of a prolonged illness or disability, because they're often the business's main asset. In other words, the business's success often depends on the owner's ability to earn income. As a business owner, you need to protect both your personal and business income. And the right insurance provides that protection.

After 34 years in an outdated building, this doctor decided to match the facility to the level of medicine he practiced. The result: Business doubled.

Making money doesn't guarantee a successful and rewarding career or an enjoyable retirement. What you do with the money's far more important.

One of the most often-used consultation summaries, in my experience, comes from the comments on creating our own day.

After Veterinary Economics published "Caught in the Middle: Business vs. Compassion" in June 2004, we received several letters fueling the discussion. One in particular, from Dr. Lowell Novy of Valley Veterinary Clinic in Simi Valley, Calif., provided an interesting solution: Start a nonprofit organization to help cover costs.

Cleveland-Though many veterinarians fret about student loans prohibiting them from buying a practice, the real killer is revolving credit, such as credit cards and car loans.

Minimally invasive surgery is a rapidly developing discipline in veterinary medicine, thanks to its widespread use in human medicine. During the past 20 years, veterinarians have watched a temporally similar development with arthroscopic surgery. While minimally invasive surgery has many advantages over traditional open surgery—including reduced postoperative pain, reduced recovery times, and improved operative results—there is a caveat: It requires specialized training and considerable experience. In this article, I'll focus on one particular minimally invasive technique—intracorporeal suturing.

They might even have to turn off their cell phones and occasionally work a little unpaid overtime for the common good.

What does your staff think of your practice? Are staffers proud of their work? Do they think you offer good services and that you provide value? Do they enjoy working for you? Do they want a career with you, or are you just a temporary paycheck? What do they see as your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Will the answers from lay staff differ from those of associates?

We live in a time when polymer chemists work magic with different suture materials to give them specific properties that benefit surgeons. Today's sutures absorb within a consistent time frame every time veterinarians use them, possess specific handling characteristics, demonstrate good knot security, and cause minimal tissue inflammation.

Imagine exploring the thoracic cavity and performing surgical interventions without using an intercostal or a median sternotomy.

Meeting the three standards, I was ready for euthanasia.

In the past year, I've learned that a little laziness and a lot of assuming can cost big bucks. First it was our radiology badges-I assumed we all paid about the same price for this service. But when an astute colleague asked about the going rate in our area, I learned I was paying four times more than some of my colleagues!

Is it reasonable to charge a holiday surcharge for boarding pets? Hotels charge more during holidays. I want to be fair to my clients, but I also want my clients to be fair to us!

Long before my father was born, the world must have marveled at the steam engine.

IIf my mental calculator is not askew, Caryn and I have just completed Veterinary Productivity's 350th in-house, on-site, out-of-town, hotel food AGAIN, practice productivity consultation. Each one of these veterinary entrepreneurs asked us to help improve their bottom lines. Oh, they said they wanted to streamline their services, make sure that they weren't missing any client service opportunities, yada yada yada. What they all really wanted was more money to play with at the end of each month just in case, however unlikely, they ever decided to retire.