For over 30 years I was in private practice on the human side. Human or veterinary practice, the basics are the same...you need enough patients to pay the overhead and make a living. A number of patients who cross your threshhold think you're a zillionaire. They forget the years you spent in school and its cost. They probably don't quite understand your overhead and they may not realize all the hours you put in even on your so called "days off".

 

But that's ok. Not everyone is cut out to be in private practice and unless you've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt, you don't know what it's like. Such is life.

 

This page will be filled with practice ideas, tips, thoughts that have been gathered over the last 40 years, many from my years in practice and many from my visiting probably a thousand veterinary practices in the last four years. So feel free to use any or all of them.

 

* One of my favorites over the years was a clinic in Santa Cruz that kept a daily whiteboard of the pets coming in that day. It simply had "Rusty- Irish Setter", or "Fluffy- Siamese Cat" or "Biff- German Shepard". You may think it is silly, but as I watched, pet parents would enjoy seeing their pets name on the board.

 

* For too many years when I began practicing (back when Lincoln was president), I talked too much when explaining something to a patient. Life got much easier when I stopped trying to validate myself as a doctor and told the patient in the simpliest terms, "This is the problem and these are care options". No big words. No long, drawn-out explanations. It made a report of findings  breeze.

 

* Always be considerate of a patients time. If you're running late have a staff member call the pet parent. Be considerate. Those are the type of courtesies people tell their friends about.

 

* Pricing is always an ongoing subject in any private practice. And at any point on the pricing spectrum there are positives and negatives. Personally my rule #1 is... it must feel right with the practice owner. I mean deep down, absolutely, positively, you know this is the right price for me to charge, feeling.

   Rule #2: (again, my opinion, as all these rules are) is that you need to be able to afford your own care. You can't believe the number of doctors I've met who could not afford to be their own patient. If that's the case, how in the world do you look the patient in the eye with EMPATHY, (the key ingredient to any doctor-patient relationship) and ask them to buy what you're selling?

   Rule #3: Your staff needs to be able to afford the care in your clinic/hospital. How can you expect Mary or Steve at the front desk to ask Mrs. Badcrumble for an amount they themselves can ill afford? It doesn't mean you have to have rock bottom prices, but if you have a higher end clinic, make sure the staff is rewarded appropriately. There are many way to give staff incentives.

   Rule #4: Offer options. The days of "my way or the highway" are long gone. Pet parents have too many options to put up with that crap. You don't have to accept all patients, but the ones you do should have care options.

 

   Phone skills: I have personally made phone contact with over 7000 veterinary clinics/hospitals. And while almost everyone was at the very least pleasant, there were communication skills lacking at times. Some where the person answering the phone and some were that clinic support needed to be stepped up.

 

   One thing to remember is that you, the phone answerer, always knows what you're saying. That doesn't mean the person listening can understand you, even though you are extremely pleasant on the phone, which most clinics are. You want to make sure the prospective patient can understand the name of your clinic.

 

   #2. Tell me your name! Create a warm, fuzzy experience for me by stating your name clearly so I can immediately bond with you. I'm a prospective patient and I love my pets more than life itself. I feel good if I know with whom I am dealing.

 

   #3. Don't put me on hold for more than 60 seconds without at least touching base with me. If the clinic needs to hire another staff member for the phone, or have the phone roll over to a live messaging service that can schedule or make sure the office returns my call, then do that. But in this day and age of "help me immediately", people will hang up and call another vet. As Glenn Close said in one of her movies. "I will not be ignored."

 

   #4. Get rid of those long voice prompt messages that make no sense and waste my time as a propective patient.

 

   Sometimes you, the front desk, is having a bad day. I get that. But you need to find a way to leave it outside the front door. Without the phone ringing, the doctor has no patients. Without those patients, you, staff member, have no job. That first impression on the phone is so important...never overlook it.

 

Where to start with nutraceuticals

 

   I'm fairly often asked, "Is there some kind of starting point regarding nutraceuticals?" While that is certainly a wide open question, the following has been my basic reponse:

 

   Phase I-  Rx Zyme (digestive enzymes)

                   Hepato Support or Liquid Hepato (liver support)

                   Canine or Feline Renal Formula (kidney support)

 

   These 3 products address the 3 key areas for good health (not including improving diet). Every animal in my opinion is in need of digestive enzymes with each meal to make sure the food is getting broken down (for more see the enzyme webinar).

 

   If all blood tests on the liver are good, then use one of the liver formulas prophalactically for optimum wellness. Have your patient use it for one week, every 3 months. This helps support the liver tissue and drain out toxins. You are being proactive instead of reactive. Of course consider using the liver formulas when liver blood values are not appropriate.

 

   If blood tests on the kidneys are good, then use the kidney formulas prophalactically, too. Every 3 months have your patient use one of the Rx Renal formulas for one week to help flush the kidneys and support the kidney tissue.

 

   Phase II- along with Phase I formulas, add NutriGest (bowel healing formula) and Rx Biotic (probiotic).

In my opinion, every dog and cat that come to your clinic has some level of intestinal permeability, or leaky gut. Using the NutriGest formula can help heal the bowel wall which will, in turn, reduce stress on the immune system.

 

   Using Rx Biotic (probiotic formula) will help re-establish the friendly bacteria in the gut.

 

 

 

                                                       MORE TO BE ADDED