Do I get production on flea preventives?

If you're trying to magnify your production-based pay in practice, do parasite preventives count? (Mushy/Adobe Stock)Q. I am an associate veterinarian on ProSal. A PDF I have of your methodology says original prescriptions and doctor-involved refills should be counted under the doctor, not the hospital. But my boss says that because there's no markup on flea and heartworm preventives, they won't pay me for them, even if I spent time talking to clients about how to get rid of fleas and helped them select an appropriate preventive.

Mark Opperman, CVPM, helps lead veterinary consulting company VMC in Lawrence, Kansas, and is the creator of the particular salary-plus-production concept “ProSal.” He responds:

"It's up to the practice owner what you're paid production for. This should be clearly delineated in your contract and made very clear. In fact, my team always recommends that a "Credit for Work Done" document be completed and made a part of the employment agreement, so that there are no misunderstandings about this.

"My method of ProSal compensation states that an associate will receive production credit on services the associate is formally involved in delivery of. Therefore, to receive production credit, you'd need to talk to clients about the flea and heartworm preventives and educate them about the value of that product. There should be at least a 100 percent markup on those products, so there's certainly room to pay production credit on them. But, as I said, it's up to the practice owner what's covered under production."