Business

Veterinarians should chart the progression a cat may experience while on the diet.

You can create a small, successful exotic ward with no more space than an unused storage room and boost the service you offer owners of exotic pets, says Dr. Jennifer Graham, Dipl. ABVP. "Clients are beginning to ask, 'Are the exotics kept separate from the other pets?' and 'What special treatment can you provide?' " Dr. Graham says. "Clients know these issues are important and will evaluate the practice on team members' responses."

Almost all tips for interviewing are written to help the person being interviewed do well. What if you're the boss and the one conducting the interview?

Senior wellness screenings reveal abnormalities in 23 percent of dogs and 17 percent of cats with normal physical exam results, according to a 1999 study conducted by Antech Diagnostics. Dr. Daniel Brod, co-owner of Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colo., uses this statistic during wellness exams to communicate the importance of annual senior testing to clients. He says that in about one of four senior dogs he tests, he identifies early disease processes, such as renal, liver, or thyroid disease-that's about 15 percent higher than in younger dogs at his practice. And he says that the study results mirror his findings in senior feline patients as well.

"John called me last night. He has been offered a position in a practice near his girl friend, and he thinks he must accept it. He says he only learned of it a few days ago. He will be leaving in two weeks."

Several years ago I attended a seminar entitled "Employee Discipline and Performance Mistakes." Afterwards, I wrote up a simple, step-by-step plan for dealing with common employee discipline problems, like tardiness, not following the dress code or standards of conduct, failing to compete tasks or checklists.

Professional reward... is closely aligned with a thoughtfully managed hospital.

Negative incentives can also be enforced, like subtractions for tardiness... and incomplete worksheets.

Baby steps won't get you the facility of your dreams, these doctors say. Take the plunge, anticipate your future needs, and center the entire plan on your practice mission.

All doctors who plan to build hear from colleagues who've been there before that they should build bigger than they think they need to. Drs. Kate Knutson and Steve Barghusen took those words to heart--working in an extra 3,700 square feet for future expansion.

Teaching proper dental care is part of the program at Pet Crossing Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic in Bloomington, Minn. And they aren't just teaching their staff members. Co-owners Drs. Katherine Knutson and Stephen Barghusen are using a dental lecture series to help practices statewide improve their standard of dental care and improve client compliance.

Bringing on a new associate, making an associate a partial owner, selling out to an existing associate or bringing in an outside owner all will change the dynamics within a team.

Practice owners need to strategize on employee compensation.

Englewood, Colo.-Dr. Patricia N. Olson will lead the Morris Animal Foundation as its executive director.

The point is to increase the risk of detection to a point that most of those with the inclination to steal will be discouraged.

How do we reconcile that financial limitations are a significant burden to our patients?

You must consider your ability to continue investing through periods of high and low price levels.

There ought to be a long line waiting to "pony up" for the good of the profession.

Generally sales taxes apply on the sale of just about anything to just about anyone.

Plan now to simplify year-end tax preparation

Our society is losing the war on obesity. And bad eating habits have spilled into the pet population. No matter how hard you preach, many clients don't seem to heed the warnings. In fact, client compliance with nutritional recommendations for therapeutic foods ranks at a dismal 12 percent compliance rate out of the the 59 percent of all dogs and cats that have visited a veterinarian and would benefit from treatment with a therapeutic diet, according to last year's American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) study. It was the worst compliance category. The survey estimates lost revenue in excess of $110,000 per veterinarian per year for therapeutic pet foods alone.

Setting goals for saving and developing a plan early helped these doctors develop the perfect new facility for West Park Animal Hospital just six inches away.

Screening senior cats for evidence of renal insufficiency is a rewarding undertaking.

Alex Martin was raised in a dog-friendly home. As a child, he shared a bedroom with his brother and a 60-lb Labrador retriever. Most of his family photos include various dogs the family owned over the years, but no cats are in the portraits. "Cats hung around the house, but were never considered part of the family," Martin says.

My annual visit compliance has skyrocketed to 94% within 18 months of sending out reminder cards.

Dogs can't wait to get through the front door of Chanhassen Veterinary Clinic in Chanhassen, Minn. For 12 years, the clinic has been throwing free puppy parties in its reception area. And month after month the team finds that when you correct unwanted puppy behavior with a reward-based approach, you build long-lasting family bonds, and in the process, pets' bonds with the practice and with other pets. “Puppies literally come running into the clinic looking for their party pals,” says Dr. Deanne McCabe, one of three practice owners.

Manhattan, Kan. -Kansas State University (KSU) researchers say recent water samples they've taken in the Kansas River basin indicate that current treatment methods aren't good enough to eliminate common antibiotics in the state's surface waters.

Your homework assignment: Learn and apply the following practice mathematical rules and ratios by this time next month.

our practice budget is a living, breathing, vibrant part of the practice. It is the underpinning of successful implementation of the practice mission statement and business plan.

Last year our purchased feed costs ran over $6 per hundredweight of milk. That number is just killing us. You've got to find a way to get that down, or we're going to be out of business."