Veterinary Economic Issues Research Articles

Executive summary of phase 2 of the Bayer veterinary care usage study

published earlier this year 1 identified 6 key factors that have contributed to a 10-year-long decline in patient visits to veterinary practices. The 6 factors were fragmentation of veterinary services, with more points of care and a wider variety of veterinary services available to pet owners; increased use of the Web by pet owners to obtain information regarding pet health issues, rather than calling or visiting a veterinarian; the negative impact of the economic recession of 2007 to 2009 on spending for veterinary services, which exacerbated an existing issue; inadequate understanding of the need for routine examinations on the part of pet owners; the cost of veterinary care; and feline resistance (ie, many cat owners have deferred taking their cat to the veterinarian because the cat aggressively resisted being put in a carrier for transport to the veterinary clinic and showed signs of stress during veterinary visits). The findings were based on interviews with pet owners and veterinarians and a national online survey of 2,188 US dog and cat owners. The second phase of the Bayer veterinary care usage study was a national study of companion animal practice owners. The objectives were to measure visit trends and their impact at the practice level, confirm the findings of the first phase, measure current use or interest in use by veterinarians of certain service concepts identified in the first phase of the study that could potentially motivate pet owners to visit their veterinarian more often, identify factors common to practices that had had an increase in the number of pet visits, and identify opportunities for building patient traffic. Bayer Animal Health, Brakke, and the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues collaborated on the study. Ipsos Forward Research was retained to conduct the fieldwork. Methods

Enhancing nontechnical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes in the veterinary profession through the work of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues

"Enhancing nontechnical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes in the veterinary profession through the work of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues" published on 01 Jun 2007 by American Veterinary Medical Association.

Reasons for the Lack of Racial Diversity in Veterinary Medicine

Although it is obvious that there are not many veterinarians of color practicing in the United States, little demographic information is available to characterize the profession by race. Unfortunately, neither the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) nor any other national organization has collected data on how many underrepresented minority veterinarians there actually are in the United States. However, the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) estimated in 1999 that 95% of the veterinarians in traditional private practice at that time were white.

Skills, Knowledge, Aptitude, and Attitude Colloquium

Three projects recently funded by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) through the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) focused on the veterinary school applicant pool, leadership skills in the veterinary profession, and a veterinary teaching hospital business model, respectively. The Skills, Knowledge, Aptitude, and Attitude (SKAs) Colloquium was designed to present the results of these three projects, to discuss their importance for the future of the veterinary profession, and to develop action plans accordingly. In all, 24 veterinary colleges were represented at the workshop and a total of 72 attendees participated, achieving a broad representation of the veterinary profession ( both academic and non-academic). Through an orchestrated combination of general sessions and facilitated small group discussions, recommendations for implementation and initial action plans for next steps were developed. From these, a list of potential AAVMC follow-up activities was developed, including advocating and facilitating programs across schools to engage and educate faculty regarding the results of these projects; developing realistic information on careers in veterinary medicine; organizing an AAVMC leadership consortium; working toward further development and implementation of the veterinary teaching hospital (VTH) business model; coordinating and sponsoring a national forum on the future of the VTH; reviewing admissions processes; integrating leadership into veterinary curricula; and organizing opportunities for faculty development in leadership.

Hospital Management Principles Applicable to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital

The Skills, Knowledge, Aptitude, and Attitude (SKA) Subcommittee of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) has identified the need for veterinary teaching hospitals (VTH) to be at the forefront of progressive business management to serve as a model for both students and practitioners to emulate. To provide a foundation for developing a model, this study reviewed pertinent literature applicable to the management of a VTH. Much of the literature relevant to VTH management relates to work completed for the human side of medicine (academic health centers, or AHCs) or to the private sector. This review explores management practices in strategic planning, financial management, human resource management, marketing, pricing, operations, and legal issues. It is concluded that strategic management is important to provide the foundation for success in the VTH. In addition, periodic financial reports are recommended, as are the development and use of benchmarks for financial management. Establishing positive, motivating human resource practices is also suggested, along with development of a marketing plan based on a clear understanding of VTH core competencies and the market's specific needs.

The Zodiak workshop: an innovative model for teaching financial management through partnership with industry.

The National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) is working to enhance the non-technical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes (SKAs) of veterinarians. This report describes the development of an innovative model for teaching the principles of financial management as they apply to the veterinary practice. Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy is a "business literacy" game in which players work together in small teams (generally four people) to run a fictional multi-million-dollar company called Zodiak Industries for three "years" in order to learn principles of business finance and strategy. After finishing the 4.5-hour game, participants spend the rest of the workshop making the right "Connections"-exercises designed to connect what they have learned to business strategies, financial statements, and operational tactics drawn from veterinary practice. Issues addressed for the veterinary practice, with parallels drawn to Zodiak, included return on owner investment in a veterinary practice (vs. salary drawn by owner veterinarians); pricing (setting prices, price elasticity of demand, and relationships between volume, quality, and price); human resources and operations management as they relate to profitability and efficiency; cash flow and management of accounts receivable; and commonly used financial benchmarks. Workshop venues have included Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois, and Purdue University. Financial and in-kind support were provided through partnership with Pharmacia Animal Health (now Pfizer Animal Health) and Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Through course evaluations, participants generally rated the workshop high as an educational experience and indicated that the most important things learned were related to financial management (principles, terminology, and methods). The most enjoyable aspects of the workshop tended to be group discussions, teamwork, the dynamic/interactive environment, and the "game" atmosphere. Based on these experiences, the Zodiak workshop provides a useful model for teaching career development and practice management topics to veterinary students. The business simulation in a workshop format was especially useful for teaching these "non-mainstream" topics, as traditional classroom lecture approaches might not have engaged students sufficiently to achieve effective learning. In addition, the partnership developed between academia and industry offered substantial benefits to both parties. Similar educational approaches should be considered for additional aspects of the non-technical SKAs.

Models for teaching career development and practice management.

Published in 2002, the “Template for a Recommended Curriculum in ‘Veterinary Professional Development and Career Success’” compiled a comprehensive list of recommended topics to develop an effective complement of nontechnical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes (SKAs) in veterinary students.1 Authors of the curriculum recognized that developing an effective delivery system for the suggested material would likely present a challenge and formulated a set of recommendations to help achieve that end. These included collaborating with the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) to achieve visibility and broad-based support across the veterinary profession; seeking support from private practitioners and academic administrators in Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) member institutions; developing liaison with the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors (AVPMCA) to garner both their input and support; and coordinating meetings to help fine-tune the recommended curriculum and to work together on overcoming implementation constraints. To that end, a workshop was conducted on July 19, 2003, for veterinary college administrators, educators, and practice management consultants. The workshop had two objectives: (1) demonstrating educational methods that have been successfully used for teaching in the arena of career development and practice management and (2) developing a professional network to facilitate communication and collaboration toward effective teaching and learning. Sponsored by the NCVEI Working Group on SKAs (with additional financial support from Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc.), the program included presentations from several individuals on methods being used to successfully teach career development and practice management by their respective institutions. Each presentation was allocated 15 to 20 minutes, followed by five to 10 minutes of discussion. Summaries of several of these presentations follow.

National workshop on core competencies for success in the veterinary profession.

A workshop was designed to (1) present results of the Core Competencies for Veterinary Medicine project conducted by Personnel Decisions International (PDI); (2) discuss and analyze the implications of the PDI study results for academia, private practice, and industry; (3) identify actionable items-discuss opportunities and barriers; and (4) develop appropriate recommendations-devise specific actions for implementation as next steps. In total, 25 veterinary colleges were represented at the workshop and a total of 110 attendees participated, a broad cross-section of the veterinary profession (both academic and non-academic). Through an orchestrated combination of general sessions and facilitated, small group discussions, prioritized recommendations for implementation and initial action plans for next steps were developed. Recommendations included publicizing results of the PDI study, reconsidering current admissions policies and processes, evaluating the applicant pool and current recruitment programs, developing structured mentoring programs, enhancing DVM/VMD training programs, coordinating the development of continuing education programs, and overcoming existing barriers to change. Next steps should involve collaborative efforts across all sectors of the veterinary profession to develop plans for implementing the workshop's recommendations. Leadership for follow-up might reasonably come from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), either individually or collectively, through the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI). Partnerships with industry are also possible and should be strongly considered.

How the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues will deliver on its mission

How the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues will deliver on its mission

The skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes of successful veterinarians: a summary of presentations to the NCVEI subgroup (Brook Lodge, Augusta, Michigan, December 4-6, 2000).

mong the conclusions of the KPMG study on “The Current and Future Market for Veterinarians and Veterinary Medical Services in the United States,” published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association on July 15, 1999,1 was the finding that the economic health of the profession is not good. The National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) was established to address this problem.