Business

Medical lawsuits might be a declining trend if communications were strengthened between practitioner and client, says Thomas E. Harris, Ph.D., veterinary consultant and professor at the University of Alabama.

I left the exam room for just a few minutes to get a shot of penicillin for her dog. By the time I got back, Mrs. Quibble was hopping mad.

Editor's Note: The following companies and organizations are now offering some form of staff training in a specific area of veterinary medicine. (This is by no means meant to be an inclusive list, but rather a starting point for practices in need of training information.)

Violence in the workplace is a much greater threat to your hospital than most practitioners realize, experts say.

Employment manuals: Are they the glue that bonds the relationship between employer and employee? Or are they the grim reaper of future litigation?

VE board member reports from the trenches of 9/11.

Q. I'm a female practitioner, and I want to borrow about $250,000 to start a practice. Do I qualify for any special small-business loan programs for women?

Dr. Bill Wodiske, a 1982 Washington State University graduate and owner of three veterinary hospitals in the greater Phoenix area, has worked with architects and contractors to complete five separate building projects, including three leasehold designs, a leasehold remodel, and a free-standing facility. And apparently, the fifth project was the charm: Mountain Park Ranch Animal Hospital and Pet Resort took home a Merit Award in Veterinary Economics' Hospital Design Competition.

Canines and felines with diabetes mellitus require a considerable investment in time for both the client and clinician.

Washington - Of the nation's 114 licensed veterinary laboratories, only two house anthrax cultures and both microbes are harmless, federal officials report. In the wake of the Florida anthrax-induced death, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandated that all laboratories provide an inventory of their anthrax cultures. USDA officials add the sources of anthrax that have infected people in Florida, New York and Washington could not have been from the labs.

Mrs. Johnson awaits your entrance draping her head over her usually trembling rat terrier named Wiggles.

Q. I've owned a small animal practice in a suburb for nearly a year, and business is fair. There's one big problem, though: No one can find my practice. It's not on a main thoroughfare or a corner lot, so we don't attract many new clients--if any--from drive-by traffic. Even my established clients complain the hospital's too far off the beaten path. Are we sunk in this location? Is there anything we can do to try and make it work?

I know I must meet Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) requirements when building my new veterinary practice, but how much will these standards affect my design plans?

If you're thinking of relocating your hospital, your current clients can "point" you in the right direction. Post an area map on corkboard in your reception area and invite clients to mark their neighborhood with a pushpin, says Dr. Sue Summers, an associate in Midwest City, Okla.

At Cat Clinic of Destin, cats are considered top dog, and Dr. Dorothy Flynn designed her Florida hospital to accommodate feisty felines and their occasionally finicky owners.

Milwaukee - Republican veterinarian J.A. "Doc" Hines, DVM, who is running for the 42nd Assembly District of the Wisconsin legislature, says, let the debates begin.

This has been a difficult year for horses and weather. First we had spring forest fires in the west that lead to emergency evacuations and disruption of pastureland for horses in that area.

Veterinarians are advised to take precautions against the bacteria Pasteurella multocida as a New England Journal of Medicine article reveals the microbe can be transmitted through somewhat casual contact with pets.

As a senior in veterinary school, Dr. Glenn Park worked on a class project with an architecture student to create the hospital of his dreams. Eleven years later, Dr. Park made his project a reality. And his 10,000-square-foot Courtyard Animal Hospital won a merit award in Veterinary Economics' 2001 Hospital Design Competition.

Cleveland - Miami's tropical locale is a hot spot for tourists, but when it comes to overall pet health it's a much chillier place according to consortium ranking "pet-friendly" cities.

IRS takes special interest in corporate loans to shareholders

You open the door to the exam room. On the other side of the table and occupying what seems to be half the room sits John Smith, 20 minutes late and weighing 350 pounds. Beside him is his similarly obese Saint Bernard, Ranger- restless and salivating onto all flat surfaces

Everything you read today indicates an overwhelming opinion consensus that veterinarians are paid abysmally as compared to other professions and even occupations.

When Dr. Marcel Florax set out to find a new practice site, he knew that not just any property would do. He wanted the flavor of his hospital to shine through. A 3,500-square-foot barn from the mid-1800s ended up being the perfect home for his 150-year-old practice--one of the oldest in England.

Q. I'm considering building my own clinic. What should I ask when hiring an architect? A. Hiring the right architect is one of the most important decisions you'll make during the building process, say Sal Longo Jr. and Michael Crosby, co-owners of Crosby Longo Architecture studio in New Orleans, La., and designers of the 2000 Hospital of the Year.

Title familiar? O.K. Maybe you have a life. For the rest of our readers, this Swahili mistranslation says basically no worries!

Minnesota and Wisconsin state organizations are in the preliminary stages of teaming with dairy veterinarians to better define the best role and best practices dairy veterinarians should follow in dairy practice, following the recent passage of a Minnesota resolution.

Lexington, Ky.-In mid-June, equine practitioners say cases of pericarditis and unilateral eye problems are still impacting a wide range of horse breeds.

Converting a 7,200-square-foot shell into a high-tech surgical hospital required skill, patience, and compromise from the six owners of Veterinary Surgical Associates in Concord, Calif. The resulting clinic took home a Best Specialty Hospital Award--a new category in the Veterinary Economics 2001 Hospital Design Competition.

The expense of using a portion of your home "exclusively" for business purposes is, as everyone knows, tax deductible.