Income harvest: Let's pick the low hanging fruit (Proceedings)

Before you schedule the cherry picker to come to your practice, let's see if we can fill your basket with some of the "low hanging" fruit.

Minding the Client Base

     A. Identify all the clients that have not had services rendered during the past 12 months

          1. Send a purging card or letter

          2. Contact the client directly

     B. Evaluate your reminder system for its effectiveness

          1. Determine patients seen yet missing future reminders

          2. Effectiveness of current system

          3. Methods for improving effectiveness

     C. Target marketing

          1. Geriatric target marketing

          2. Dental target marketing

          3. Other

     D. Acknowledge your referrals

          1. Graduated thank you for referral system

          2. New client thank you cards or letters

          3. Acknowledge referrals from other hospitals

Create Profit Centers Within Your Practice

     A. Retail sales

          1. Point of Purchase Display

     B. Boarding Service

          1. Limited boarding

          2. Value added services

     C. Grooming

     D. Developing Your Medical and Surgical Services

          1. Marketing of dental services

          2. Wellness programs

          3. Laser surgery

          4. How are clients to know about these services if we do not inform them?

               a. Photo mural

               b. Hospital brochure or folder

               c. Web site

               d. Target marketing

               e. Sign in front of practice

Effectively Charging for Your Services

     E. How to determine what to charge for "Shopped and exposed" services

     F. How to determine your in-hospital fees

     G. Evaluate for appropriate charging of pharmacy items

Reduce Your Expenses

     A. Inventory

     B. Support staff

     C. Expense analysis

Fee Capture – Is Your "Bucket" Leaking?

     A. Embezzlement – One out of ten practices are embezzled from each year!

          1. End-of-day procedure

          2. Itemized audit trail

          3. Bank statements

          4. Credit card reconciliation

          5. Password protection

          6. Inventory control

          7. Being aware and attentive

     B. Internal controls

          1. Out-patient procedures

               a. Patient visit form

          2. In-hospital procedures

               a. Tracking form

          3. Manager must oversee these internal control processes

Increase Client Transactions

     A. There are basically only two ways to increase per client transactions

          1. We can sell another ________ or ________

     B. Make sure you offer a full service approach

          1. Pre-exam checklist

          2. CDC Recommendation on strategic de-worming

          3. Passive marketing in the exam room

          4. Every office visit presents an opportunity to educate a client about another product or service

     C. We need to charge for our knowledge and develop the professional service aspect of our practice.

          1. Can you afford to lose 20-25% of your annual income?

          2. Break out your comprehensive physical exam charge from the vaccine charge

          3. How effectively are you charging for the following services:

               a. Hospitalization

               b. Daily doctor professional care

               c. Operating room usage and materials

               d. Surgeon's time

               e. Anesthesia

               f. Puppy and kitten series

               g. Radiology

               h. Other

Continued Success

     A. It's not how many clients you bring in the door, it's how many come back to you

     B. Remember price is only an issue in the absence of value. Accentuate value, not price, to your clients

     C. Success is contagious

VMC Veterinary Hospital

30792 Southview Drive, Suite 200

Evergreen, CO 80439

(303) 674-8169

November 26, 2009

Dear April Jones,

It's been over a year since we've seen you at VMC Veterinary Hospital. We know that your pet probably doesn't enjoy a doctor visit any better than the next pet, but they are necessary for continued good health. Animals age much faster than people, so an annual checkup for your pet is like a person only going to the doctor once every 5 to 7 years.

Please let us know why you haven't been in:

     ⃞ I simply forgot—time flies! I'll call to make an appointment right away.

     ⃞ The pet no longer lives with me. The new owners are_______________________________and their address is_______________________________.

     ⃞ Cash is tight around here, but please keep my file active. I will call as soon as possible to make an appointment.

     ⃞ I was unhappy with something last time I was there. Please describe (we'd like to know)_______________________________.

     ⃞ I have selected another veterinary hospital—please send a copy of my records to_______________________________ so that my pet's medical history remains complete.

     ⃞ My pet has passed away. (If this is the case, we're terribly saddened to learn about it—we'll inactivate his/her file.)

If you would prefer to talk with us instead of replying by return mail, please call the hospital at 674-8169.

Sincerely,

Your Health Care Team, VMC Veterinary Hospital

Sherbert's Big Day at the Dentist

My family complains of …

     ⃞ Bad Breath

     ⃞ Brown Teeth

     ⃞ Loose Teeth

I complained of …

     ⃞ Bleeding, sore gums when I chewed

     ⃞ Pain from broken teeth or cavities

     ⃞ Infection, making me feel bad

I have been diagnosed with …

     ⃞ Gingivitis

     ⃞ Periodontal Disease

Today, Dr. Name and Name, my technician, cleaned my teeth and treated my gums.

I can't wait to kiss my Mom!