Boost your veterinary practice's bottom line with wellness plans

Heading off disease. Managing conditions early. Catching subtle signs of trouble before symptoms become life-threatening. These are your hopes.

But clients must bring in their pets for these hopes to become reality. Unfortunately, that’s happening less often. In fact, statistics show that people are getting more and more pets but fewer pets are visiting veterinary practices. One possible solution is an annual wellness plan that bundles services and allows clients to pay monthly fees toward this annual care.

Dr. Karl Salzsieder of Yelm, Wash., first introduced a wellness plan at his practice seven years ago. He says the annual wellness plan is a client education tool as much as a tool to help clients spread out payments and encourage them to come in. “We’re telling the owner this is what our veterinarians recommend you need every year,” he says. “Do this, and you’re doing the necessary minimum.”

But, like anything your practice offers, wellness plans will require client education. Consider this trio of talking points to get the conversation started.

1. Enjoy payment flexibility. Clients can pay all at once or spread out payments over 12 months, easing the strain on their wallets and their minds.

2. Get great care. Because wellness plans include not only two comprehensive exams but also other wellness care services and unlimited office visits, patients get the care they need.

3. Avoid higher costs later. Skipping wellness care and preventive medicine can mean big bills later—not to mention harm a pet’s quality of life if it experiences an issue that could have been prevented with routine care.