Business

Dynamic evaluation of operation can be enough to ignite change

Pay close attention to deadlines, dates and expirations

The time has come the Walrus said to speak of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax and other inconsequential things.

AAHA study proof positive that practitioners too passive, optimistic about client compliance

Take five minutes to quiz your budget acumen

Knowing over-the-phone sales tactics can help you weed out helpful calls from time-wasters

When Dr. Dermot Jevens, Dipl. ACVS, moved from Pittsburgh to Greenville, S.C., in 1997, he decided he needed to get to know the area before building a hospital. So he leased space for his specialty practice from an emergency clinic. Animal Emergency Clinic (AEC), owned by 37 shareholders, welcomed Dr. Jevens and Upstate Veterinary Specialists (UVS) into the AEC facility.

Five years ago Dr. Neil Shaw and his 14 associates worked from a 1,500-square-foot facility. They had so little exam space they were forced to consult with clients over a picnic table or across the seat of a client's car. Dr. Shaw knew he needed more room, so he built an 11,575-square-foot facility to house 75 staff members in 1999-a facility that won a 2000 Merit Award from Veterinary Economics.

If you think it takes $50,000 to update your facility, think again. We've got project ideas for limited budgets, from free to $6,000. Just check out this list:

Peer review system could help stymie legal actions; get involved

Port Richey, Fla.-Dr. Bob Hase trusted he was current with his taxes, certain he paid on time, every time for purchases in his clinic.

Qualified plans simple to administer; offer benefits to employees, owners

The initial two articles in this series on associate employment contracts dealt primarily with legal details of the contract; contract periods, renewal provisions and other esoteric elements that are commonly ignored when a new associate is considering a job offer.

Why is it that a fat chance is a much smaller chance than a slim chance? Huh?

Six animal management systems work together to drive performance

Spreading out single appointment improves diagnostics, revenue

Dr. Steven G. Paul had owned three practices before he built his fourth. And while he had commissioned work on his previous facilities, Wiles Road Animal Hospital in Coral Springs, Fla., is the first practice he has built from the ground up.

Clients seeking 'special privileges' can suck time, money, energy from practice

Successful practices and practitioners are alive; they vibrate with positive energy and enthusiasm.

A Chambord martini is made by combining 2.5 ounces of vodka with a half-ounce of Chambord liqueur, shaken with ice and poured off the ice.

Not many people find the opportunity to purchase an area landmark. But when a restaurant went on the market in Salem, Ore., Dr. Tom Van Meter snatched it up; the 1-acre lot featured a 40-foot fir known locally as the holiday tree. "I fell in love with the site," says Dr. Van Meter. "The location offered lots of parking, space to expand, and 30 mature trees, which give the area a park-like feel." In a little more than a year, Dr. Van Meter turned Chelsea's Restaurant into a high-tech veterinary facility that won a merit award in the 2002 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition.

Remember, clients really want a forever healthy companion

Help producers create profit

Rabies ratio convenient method to determine earnings per patient

It would be wise to seek council and advice from those who have gone before you.

Create 'maximum opportunity' to follow doctor's orders; confused clients can't comply

You can break the isolation barriers our society has built

I always knew I wanted to own a practice, but I never guessed that the perfect location would be a strip mall," says Dr. Jean M. Oberg, owner of My Animal Hospital of North Dover in Toms River, N.J. "In 1984, I started cutting hospital design articles out of Veterinary Economics, and when it came time to build, I had hundreds of designs."

Over the past 10 years, we have become accustomed to some roller coaster milk prices. They actually have been rather favorable for producers for much of that period. At present time, however, they are very low, and it looks as if they will remain low for some time.

Cleveland-Veterinarians say letting technicians take on some routine duties of farm calls can build a practice and improve healthcare delivery efficiency.