Veterinary Practice Management Research Articles

Current Issues and the Veterinary Medical Library

Special Libraries, Special Challenges is a column dedicated to exploring the unique public services challenges that arise in libraries that specialize in a particular subject, such as law, medicine, business, and so forth. In each column, the author will discuss public service dilemmas and solutions that arise specifically in given subject libraries, while drawing links to how such issues affect librarianship in general. Special or subject-matter librarians interested in authoring a piece for this column are invited to contact Melissa K. Aho at aho@umn.edu André J. Nault has been the head of the Veterinary Medical Library at the University of Minnesota since 2005 and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. He has a background in wildlife research and veterinary practice management. His current research interests include veterinary informatics and open access. André holds a MLIS from the University of Rhode Island and can be reached at naulta@umn.edu *****

Continuing Veterinary Medical Education Needs and Delivery Preferences of Alberta Veterinarians

The questionnaire component of a continuing-education needs assessment of Alberta veterinarians is described. A questionnaire about work characteristics, topic priorities, and program delivery preferences was mailed to all licensed Alberta veterinarians, 54% of whom responded. Topic-priority data were factor analyzed, and differences in priorities were examined using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Seven learning areas emerged: veterinary medicine, professionalism and practice management, animal welfare, livestock practice and epidemiology, prophylaxis and therapeutics, specialty diagnostics, and theriogenology. Associations between delivery preferences and work characteristics were sought using MANOVA and contingency tables analysis. Significant differences were identified in learning-area priorities and preferred program types and times when respondents were grouped by species focus, and there were significant associations between respondents' location and their preferred learning locations. There were no significant associations between location or practice size and preferred program type. Group differences support the need for events tailored by species focus. Delivery preferences suggest that workload and distance are barriers to attendance, although face-to-face events were universally preferred.

Trends in practice performance, 2000–2005

THE BVA, in conjunction with the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Practice Management Association, has been running a quarterly financial survey of veterinary practices since 2000. There...

Veterinary Students as Elite Performers: Preliminary Insights

The KPMG ''Mega Study'' (Brown JP, Silverman JD. The current and future market for veterinarians and veterinary medical services in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 215:161-183, 1999) and other studies (Cron WL, Slocum JV, Goodnight DB, Volk JO. Impact of management practices and business behaviors on small animal veterinarians' incomes. J Am Vet Med Assoc 217:332-338, 1999; Lewis RE. Non-technical Competencies Underlying Career Success as a Veterinarian: A New Model for Selecting and Training Veterinary Students. Minneapolis: Personnel Decisions, 2002) concur that improvement in veterinary practitioner performance is necessary. Improvement in practitioners' non-technical competencies is considered most vital. Little research exists that identifies underlying psychological factors harbored by veterinary students that inhibit ability to achieve sustained maximum professional performance. Left unaddressed, these same characteristics may lead to coping behaviors that disrupt or, in the worst cases, lead to voluntary or involuntary termination of professional careers. Several performance-related characteristics and interpersonal dynamics are investigated in this study that provide preliminary evidence for the long-term shortcomings addressed in previous veterinary practice management literature. Pedagogical recommendations for addressing these student psychological characteristics are submitted for consideration.

Trends in practice performance, 2000-2003

THE BVA's quarterly practice financial survey, which is run in conjunction with the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Practice Management Association, has been collecting information since the...

Response of a veterinary college to career development needs identified in the KPMG LLP study and the executive summary of the Brakke study: a combined MBA/DVM program, business certificate program, and curricular modifications

In the present market, veterinarians with a strong background in career development, practice management, and business skills have a clear advantage in achieving financial success. Although there is ample evidence that the scientific and clinical skills of veterinary college graduates are high, there are also data that suggest that additional capabilities in the business realm may promote greater economic success. As noted in the KPMG executive summary, the field of veterinary medicine must make changes in its "current business practices and attitudes" to be successful in the future. Furthermore, the KPMG study found that 36% of industry employers reported that some jobs within their companies had specific job requirements that were not met by a veterinarian with only a veterinary medical degree. The areas of additional training most often cited included business, administration, personnel management, sales and marketing, and financial skills. Yet, Lewis and Klausner found that veterinarians reported challenges in the business realm, such as "how business works and how business goals are translated into action. This challenge held true for veterinarians in industry, academia, government, and private practice." The present gender trends in the field of veterinary medicine provide additional impetus to make career development and business skills training more prevalent. Presently, women comprise >65% of the veterinary student population and approximately 45% of all practicing veterinarians. In some areas of practice, the rate is much higher. For example, in 2002, women comprised 48.2% of all small animal exclusive private practitioners. Unfortunately, the KPMG study found that female veterinarians in private practice report lower self-evaluation of business management and financial skills, compared with their male cohorts. Female veterinarians in nonprivate practice report lower self-evaluation in communication, personnel management, business management, and marketing skills than that reported by males. As a result of these pressing needs, CSU CVMBS has undertaken a major initiative to improve the veterinary practice management and business skills training of veterinary students by offering a variety of options to gain this knowledge: a combined MBA/DVM degree program, a Business Certificate Program for Health Professions, and core curriculum courses. In this way, students can select the amount of focus they want to place on career development and business skills as they earn their DVM degree, to best ensure that they become successful veterinarians.

Practice management gets back to basics

THE Veterinary Practice Management Association (VPMA) held its 11th annual congress from February 4 to 6 in Hinckley. This year’s meeting was entitled ‘Back to basics’, a theme reflected in many of the presentations, which concentrated on the fundamentals of practice management, from recruiting and dismissing staff, through adding value to management accounts, to offering the best service to clients

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.

Taking the certificate in veterinary practice management

WITH almost 30 years' office experience under her belt, Lynda Statham moved from the building industry into veterinary practice management. A condition attached to her new post in practice was...

Trends in practice performance, 2000-2002

HAVING established a baseline of data on the performance of its participating veterinary practices, the quarterly practice survey, run by the BVA in association with the Society of Practising Veterinary...

Skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and interests for veterinary practice management: fitting personal characteristics to situational demands.

Recent studies of veterinary practices and services have suggested that more attention must be focused on business practices and on the skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKAs) of veterinarians related to veterinary practice management (VPM). Responses to these concerns have been directed at the selection and education of veterinarians in veterinary school. While this position is supported in the present article, it is argued that the values and interests of persons who are likely to enter the field, as well as the nature of the experiences encountered across the career of veterinarians, will moderate the potential effectiveness of veterinary school practices and experiences regarding SKAs in VPM. The paper explores some potential implications of these moderators on the effectiveness of selection and education for increasing SKAs in VPM.

Advances in Equine Practice Management

As equine practices move forward in the 21st century, we feel increasing pressure to manage our businesses like business people. This requires outside expertise, in-house business-trained managers, and continuing education on various aspects of practice life. Aside from the AAEP, several other organizations are providing continuing education in management, including the Association of Veterinary Practice Managers, the Veterinary Management Institute offered at Purdue University Krannert Graduate School of Management, the American Animal Hospital Association through (The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's) on-line practice management course, and the University of Illinois Equine Practice Management modules.

Veterinary practice management education in the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges member colleges during 1999.

Most veterinary students enrolled at AAVMC member institutions take at least 1 VPM course prior to graduation. These courses are characterized by widespread involvement of outside lecturers with business expertise, which likely adds to their strength. However, it remains that wide variation in VPM education exists across the AAVMC with regard to the topics addressed, the specific business expertise of faculty and administrative course specifics. As such, the situation provides several key opportunities. Foremost among these is the immediate need for profession-wide discourse on VPM education to define reasonable expectations with regard to the business skills of veterinary graduates. In addition, outcomes assessment would provide information on which of the widely varying approaches to VPM education is most likely to produce successful graduates. The opportunity also exists for development of academic research programs to support VPM education directly by strengthening the related disciplinary knowledge base. Effective leadership for these efforts will be crucial to their success.

How to make telemedicine work

Changing consumer shopping behaviors, and specifically the shift towards online procurement of goods and services, have altered the retail landscape of nearly all goods, including pet products and services. Whilst it is known and commonly discussed that less retail business for products and medications is being conducted in clinics than in the past, it is not well documented where that commerce is now taking place, and by what customer segments. For cats, dogs, and other pets, specialty food and food in general was purchased by a high percentage of respondents at the physical store. Sixteen-percent of dog owners, 17 % of cat owners and 14 % of other animal owners purchased prescription food at the veterinarian. Ten percent of dog owners, 10 % of cat owners, and 9 % of other animal owners purchased prescription food from the physical store. A high percentage of cat and dog owners purchased flea and tick preventative, heartworm preventative and prescription medications at the veterinarian, followed by the physical store. Using a choice experiment, both dog and cat owners were willing-to-pay a statistically significant positive amount for having their veterinarian, or a veterinarian in their community (who was not their veterinarian) on the veterinary telemedicine call or video when compared to a veterinarian from outside the community. In relation to the willingness to pay (WTP) for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with a veterinarian outside of the pet owners' community, dog owners were willing to pay $38.04 more for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with their regular veterinarian, and $13.38 more for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with a veterinarian in the dog owners' community. Cat owners had a WTP of $38.12 per call or visit for having their veterinarian as the consultant which was statistically higher than their WTP for a veterinarian in their community, $12.74 when compared to a veterinarian outside their community. When comparing the mean price adjusted WTP between cat and dog owners, there were not any statistically significant differences found. Quantifying pet owner willingness to pay for commonly discussed attributes of telemedicine, such as whether a local veterinarian is consulted (versus a veterinarian from outside the community), facilitates veterinary practice management decision making as practices adjust product and service offerings to meet the changing consumer demand of pet owners in today’s marketplace.

Veterinary practice management: teaching needs as viewed by consultants and teachers.

A study was conducted to assess veterinary practice management (VPM) educational and research needs from the perspective of consultants and teachers. An online focus group discussion was designed, involving two separate groups (consultants and teachers). One week was allocated to each group, with five to eight questions posed per day. Pseudonyms were used to provide confidentiality. Teachers were selected by inviting the primary VPM course coordinator at each AAVMC school. Consultants required at least two recommendations and were selected in a stratified, non-random manner to achieve both geographic and disciplinary diversity. Participation was stronger within the consultant group: 98 pages of data were generated by the consultants and 35 pages by teachers. Participants agreed that the sub-optimal economic conditions that characterize the veterinary profession are reflective of relatively low-level management skills. This situation establishes the need to strengthen VPM educational and research programs. Many specific suggestions were provided. It was recommended that a cooperative effort between academia and the private sector be employed. However, participants recognized that successful DVM education programs in VPM will be difficult to achieve and sustain without strong support from college administrators and faculties.

Making AMDUCA Work in Your Practice

The Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA), which established conditions for legal extra-label use of approved drugs by licensed veterinarians, took effect December 9, 1996.
 The act recognized that veterinarians need to use drugs in an extra-label fashion to alleviate pain and suffering. It contains sufficient safeguards to protect public health and food safety.
 In December 1997 the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA) executive board established a task force of 6 dairy practitioners, a University of Wisconsin veterinary clinician and pharmacist, 2 veterinary office practice managers, the WVMA office staff and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) staff person responsible for AMDUCA. The task force studied the act and gathered available information that would be needed by practitioners to comply.
 The focus of the task force was the adult dairy cow. While AMDUCA affects all species, concentrating on 1 species was more manageable. Dairy was chosen because of public health concerns about milk and dairy beef residues.
 Goals of the task force were:• gather available scientific information in 1 stand-alone report• organize withdrawal times on drug applications• develop prototypes of record systems• distribute the AMDUCA report to all dairy practitioners.

Demonstrations of the use of simulation in veterinary practice management

Demonstrations of the use of simulation in veterinary practice management

The application of simulation to veterinary practice management

The application of simulation to veterinary practice management

What veterinary practice managers can learn from other health care professions.

Joel Barker, a noted futurist, points out that the best ideas usually come from outside an industry or profession. As a management consultant, I often get new ideas from industries completely unrelated to my clients' industry. For example, companies interested in offering outstanding customer service might study Nordstrom's, L.L. Bean, or Lexus. Those interested in world class distribution might research Federal Express or United Parcel Service. Airlines, trying to minimize downtime of jets at the terminal, learn secrets from Indianapolis 500 pit crews. Similarly, in observing optometrists and dentists, there are valuable lessons for veterinarians. Dentists identified a business model or organizational structure that generates healthy profits. Independent optometrists experienced the onslaught of intense competition from huge corporate players and weathered the storm. The veterinary profession is not so unique. By studying other professions, we need not recreate the wheel.

When Customers (or Clients) Are Marketplace Illiterate

Illiteracy is a national problem that affects businesses and the marketplace in many different ways. Most of the attention has been on the producer (or seller) level with fwus on the literacy of the job applicant and employees. This paper examines the prob- lem of customer (buyer) illiteracy. The results of a study of 118 veterinary practice managers reveal that consumer (client) literacy deficiencies are problems in the marketplace.