Veterinary Chain to Get New Majority OwnerJuly 18, 2014 National Veterinary Associates, the owner of 244 hospitals in 39 states, is being sold to a private equity fund for an undisclosed price. Summit Partners, a Boston-based investment company, will transfer its holdings in National Veterinary Associates to Ares Management of Los Angeles. The chain’s senior managers will retain a minority stake, Ares reported Thursday. National Veterinary Associates, which was founded in 1996 by Stanley R. Creighton, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, bills itself as the largest private owner of independent freestanding veterinary hospitals in the United States. The hospitals enjoy considerable freedom in how they operate and keep their original names, such as Countryside Pet Clinic in Andover, Kan., and Martin Downs Animal Hospital in Palm City, Fla. “As part of its mission, [National Veterinary Associates] provides the tools and resources for its veterinarians to deliver high-quality care and client services that cater to the needs of its hospitals’ local communities,” Ares reported. When he began acquiring independent hospitals, Dr. Creighton believed that “veterinary medicine is best practiced when veterinarians craft their own hospital and community-specific strategies,” National Veterinary Associates states on its website. The chain is headquartered in Agoura Hills, Calif. Bennett Rosenthal, …
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10 Tips to Improve Your Staff's Communication SkillsJune 9, 2014Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews When phone shoppers or existing clients call your veterinary hospital, your goal is schedule every exam or surgery. Did you know 53 percent of receptionists fail to convert calls into booked exams? Find out how to confidently ask for the appointment every phone call in this video. When you communicate with confidence, more clients will accept the care that their pets need. Here are excerpts from my new book, “101 Communication Skills for Veterinary Teams: Speak with confidence over the phone and in exam room conversations.” Share these scripts with your team so you can be effective communicators. 1) Deliver A Welcoming Phone Greeting Let callers hear the smile in your voice and eagerness to help. Slow down and enunciate your words rather than sounding like you’ve just finished a triple espresso. Answer the phone promptly — first ring is best. Never go beyond three rings. The longer your phone rings, the less important your caller feels. An effective phone greeting includes a salutation, business name, employee’s name, and an invitation for service. Say, “Thank you for calling [your veterinary clinic]. This is [your name]. How may I help …
Why A Bunny Eating Raspberries and Other Animal Videos Are So Popular With Your ClientsMay 27, 2014 My daughter was the first one to show me the adorable YouTube video of the little bunny eating raspberries (and then his lips look like he’s applied lipstick! So cute!). Then my partner saw it, and said “why do people like to see little animals eating?” Well, of course, it’s because they are just ADORABLE! Yahoo reports today that more than 6.6 million people have watched that little bunny with his berries. It is a good question; just why is this simple, short video so popular? In my opinion, it’s because we all long for those moments that take us away from ourselves, our worries, our issues and errands, and just get to say “Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.” We don’t get enough Aws in our life. But those of us in veterinary medicine get the opportunity to say “Awwww” much more often than regular folk. But do we always stop and appreciate those moments when we’re at work, in the thick of it? Not often enough, because there is so much to do, so little time, and so many animals and people needing our help. I heard from a manager once who’s very first job in veterinary medicine …
Interpret The Signs Of FLUTD In Feline PatientsMay 6, 2014 Are your feline patients trying to tell you something? When they visit the clinic with their owners, who bring them in with complaints about their pets' irritable moods and poor litter box habits, the cats may be presenting with a one of several medical conditions associated with feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD, says Jacqueline Neilson, DVM, Dipl. ACVB, of Animal Behavior Clinic LLC in Portland, Ore. "FLUTD is a catch-all term to describe any disorder affecting the urinary bladder or urethra," she explains. "It's quite common. In fact, for years some kind of lower urinary tract disease sign has been the most common medical reason policy holders of pet insurance take their cat to the vet." Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, associate director, scientific affairs and technical information services for Hill?s Pet Nutrition in Topeka, Kan., adds that for veterinarians, the signs associated with FLUTD can be linked to a number of underlying issues—and that makes pinpointing the cause and treating it a challenge. "No matter the cause, they often have the same signs, and that's the frustrating part about [FLUTD]," Dr. Forrester says. "Any disease that affects the lower …
Moist Food, Environmental Enrichment Can Fight FIC In Your Cat PatientsMay 6, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. For cat-owning clients, caring for a pet with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) can be frustrating. As one type of feline lower urinary tract disease, FIC causes a range of aggravating clinical signs in cats, signs that often lead to trips to the veterinary office—or to the local shelter. "FIC is an unfortunate disease," says Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, of Wamego, Kan., president of the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians. "Owners don't quite understand what's happening when their pets [eliminate] outside the litter box. It ends up being one of the top reasons owners bring their cats to the veterinarian, and then why they relinquish them to shelters." Besides describing signs like urinating outside the litter box, clients with FIC-afflicted pets may also report frequency or straining when their cats urinate, vocalizing or perceived pain when they urinate, or blood in the urine, says Claudia Kirk, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVN, head of the department of small animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Veterinarians and their health care teams can help, Burns says. "We in the profession can help …
Cats And FIC: Discover The Signs And Some SolutionsMay 6, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Cats with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) are believed to have an abnormal response to environmental stressors, which may contribute to development of lower urinary tract signs including urinating outside the litter box, frequent attempts to urinate and blood in the urine. "The signs of stress in cats may be subtle and include hiding from people or other cats, conflict with another cat in the home, exaggerated startle response to sudden or loud noises, and fearful behavior," said S. Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, director of Global Scientific Affairs at Hill's Pet Nutrition of Topeka, Kan. "When a cat perceives environmental stress, it stimulates the brain and activates the stress response system." This "flight or fight" response enhances a cat's sympathetic nervous input down the spinal cord to the urinary bladder. In normal cats, the adrenal glands release cortisol, which dampens the sympathetic response. In contrast, cats with FIC have a blunted cortisol response, which fails to adequately restrain sympathetic input to the bladder. "Increased sympathetic input to the urinary bladder causes neurogenic inflammation and increased permeability of the bladder," Dr. Forrester …
Marketing 101: Open Letter To New (and Existing) Clients (part 2)March 17, 2014Dear Client,* Welcome to our practice. We are honored that you chose us to help you help your pet. This letter includes our top 10 tips to ensure that we work closely together to keep your pet happy and healthy. 1. As you will quickly figure out, your scheduled appointment time is merely a suggestion. Feel free to ignore it and do as you please. If you are not going to show up, please do not call. Sometimes, we run bets on which client will actually show up. Therefore, calling to inform us of your intentions would totally take the fun out of our day. 2. Give your pet medications as you see fit. We place instruction stickers on them because our label printer is super cool. And don't worry, we understand that when your pet's condition doesn't resolve, it will be our fault, not yours. 3. Verbal abuse is always appreciated. If possible, wait until the waiting room is full. And please be creative in your profanity; we like to expand our vocabulary. 4. Please be as vague as possible when you share information about your pet. Our doctor is psychic and can communicate with your pet, …
Hit A Home Run With Staff And Clients When You Make A Major PurchaseFebruary 10, 2014 The end of the fiscal year is typically a beneficial time for veterinarians to purchase new technology or equipment because of the tax benefits, but that deduction won’t be worth anything if the equipment or technology isn’t used. Introducing it to team members and clients should not be a scene out of “Field of Dreams”—if you build it, they will come. Instead, hospital owners should look at their goals and decide whether that technology or equipment will help them meet those goals, then provide the proper staff training and market the service to clients. “When hospitals start with clear goals, that is when we see the most success,” explained Mike Erickson, general manager of Cornerstone and Pet Health Network at Idexx Laboratories of Westbrook, Maine. Making a Choice Whether an associate, practice manager or veterinary technician recommends the equipment or the owner decides he or she must have it, the decision to make a major purchase should be a deliberate one, not an emotional one. “You have to determine who you are and what fits with your philosophy. I’ve seen a lot of practices who purchase a piece of equipment such as an ultrasound, …
Scrub in or rub in?January 30, 2014 Dr. John Smith is getting ready for his first surgery of the day. He puts on his cap and mask, adjusts them methodically, and starts to rigorously prepare his hands for surgery. He grabs a brush soaked with chlorhexidine scrub and goes to work, as if it were a ritual: First his fingers, then the palm of each hand, then the back, then his wrists, then his forearms, for a full five minutes, just like he has been doing for the past 15 years as a surgeon. Sounds perfectly acceptable, doesn't it? What Dr. Smith doesn't know is that his surgical scrub routine is actually detrimental to the health of his hands, increases the likelihood of contamination, and puts him at risk of developing occupational dermatitis. Meanwhile, Dr. Denis Verwilghen of Copenhagen, Denmark, is getting ready for his first surgery of the day. He puts on his cap and mask, adjusts them methodically, and starts to rigorously prepare his hands for surgery. He first gently washes his hands with a mild, non-medicated soap, dries them with a non-sterile paper towel, and then meticulously rubs a hydroalcoholic solution on his hands and arms for a couple of minutes — until they are …
Creating The Client Experience For DentistryDecember 30, 2013 Although your team recommends the best medical care for pets, sticker shock may prevent some clients from accepting dental treatments. The average dental case is $427, according to AAHA Veterinary Fee Reference, 8th edition (see Average Dental Case Bills).To get more clients to accept dentistry, we must communicate its value. "Clients want optimal dental care—a higher quality service,” says Ed Eisner, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, at Animal Hospital Specialty Center in Highlands Ranch, Colo. "We must offer competence, service and value for dentistry. When we communicate value, clients will appreciate our dental services, pay their bills, tell friends and return for annual or semiannual dental care.” Here’s how you can create a great experience for dentistry that makes clients smile. Create photo books or slideshows. Most pet owners have never seen an animal’s dental procedure from start to finish. Create dental photo books using websites such as Shutterfly, Walgreens or Costco. Place photo books in each exam room and your lobby. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) offers a book to use in exam room conversations, "Healthy Mouth, Healthy Pet: Why Dental Care Matters” (www.aahanet.org). Jan Bellows, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, of All Pets Dental Clinic in Weston, …
