Adopting subscription models to align client needs with practice goals

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The economic landscape is continuously shifting, and with it, the way clients manage their finances. For many pet parents, the rising costs of living have heightened the need for more predictable and manageable budgeting, extending even to the critical area of their pets' healthcare.

This evolving consumer behavior is not just a trend; it represents a significant opportunity and challenge for veterinary practices across the nation. As dvm360's article “Many pet owners cannot afford veterinary care, survey finds" highlights, the affordability of veterinary care is a critical issue for many pet owners, directly affecting their ability to provide optimal care for their companions.

Given these evolving financial realities, an alternative solution is emerging: subscription-based pet health plans. These models offer a refreshing alternative for pet owners, enabling them to make predictable, manageable monthly payments for a range of veterinary services. Additionally, a subscription model offers a solution for pets who are ineligible for traditional pet insurance due to age, pre-existing conditions, or breed.

This transition from reactive, lump-sum payments to proactive, budgeted care creates a vital financial framework for pet owners while also offering significant benefits to veterinary practices.

For practices, adopting subscription models can lead to several key advantages:

• Increased access to care: When financial barriers are lowered through predictable payments, pet caregivers are more likely to follow recommended wellness schedules, preventive care protocols, and early intervention strategies. While access to preventative care clearly drives improved outcomes, subscription care can also be leveraged for sick visits and unexpected in-hospital expenses. This improvement in access to care can decrease delays in treatment and the management of acute issues.
• Healthier, consistent revenue streams: Transitioning from a purely reactive, fee-for-service model to a recurring revenue stream provides practices with greater financial stability and predictability. This facilitates improved resource allocation, staffing decisions, and long-term business planning. Subscription-based health plans enable hospitals to consider their patients’ compliance and spending behaviors more holistically throughout the year as opposed to traditional transaction-based metrics that focus on single care episodes. Care plans should be designed and structured to drive improved pet parent behavior and a higher compliance rate with care, ensuring that care plan patients are a source of revenue growth over time.
• Enhanced client loyalty: Offering financial peace of mind through subscription plans strengthens the bond between pet owners and their veterinary team. As pet care expenditures become more fragmented due to market competition, care plans help consolidate spending and encourage pet parents to stay loyal to their veterinary practice. Clients appreciate the transparency and ability to budget for their pet's health, which builds trust and fosters long-term loyalty. This can also provide critical market differentiation, attracting new patients, improving client retention, and reducing client churn.

However, the move to a subscription-based model requires careful consideration. Organizations exploring this approach should thoughtfully focus on how subscription-based health plans can support their hospital’s overall strategy goals and key business metrics.

Health care plans aligned with your practice goals

Plans should be designed to meet the needs of your patient base and current market environment. Subscription care plans are most effective when they balance your clinical areas of focus with a high degree of flexibility for how patients can access them. Based on your patient mix, geographic area, and other factors, you want to design plans that are intended for use.

Care plans that drive revenue through high utilization create the highest value proposition for both pet parents and hospitals alike. The best subscription care plans are those that are utilized and allow pet parents to say yes more often to care.

Additionally, the care plan should consider market pressures and competitive threats when identifying revenue streams that are at the highest risk of practice revenue erosion. Ultimately, you want subscription plans that will attract a broader client base while increasing access to care throughout a patient’s life.

Effective pet parent education and marketing start in-house

Clients have a variety of competing products and options available when seeking to pay for pet care and rely on their veterinarian’s recommendations. Practices should promote solutions that best serve both their patients' needs and their own business goals. These practices should utilize various channels, including in-clinic signage, website content, social media, and direct client conversations. Additionally, they should emphasize financial predictability, comprehensive care, and overall value proposition. Effective pet parent education will continue to grow in importance as clients seek improved and alternative payment options for their pets’ care.

Team engagement is critical

Team engagement and buy-in start with your team understanding the goals for the practice and how care plans can influence critical business metrics. Focus on areas of clinical compliance that care plans can help improve, such as annual laboratory work and dental care. Owners of patients on care plans often say yes to proposed treatments and experience less emotional fatigue when discussing payment terms and estimates with pet parents.

Ensure all team members, from receptionists to veterinarians, are thoroughly familiar with the details of the subscription plans and how the practice aims to drive change. They should confidently answer client questions and effectively communicate the benefits.

Fostering internal enthusiasm for the subscription plans is key to their successful adoption, which begins with team education and buy-in.

Leveraging business insights

Subscription-based care plans must offer significant value for both pet owners and practices. Pet owner behavior patterns, compliance strengths and weaknesses, and the financial performance of care plans should be regularly monitored to ensure they support your specific business goals. Partnering with an expert who provides ongoing business insights helps you adjust strategies and achieve sustained growth. The market is ever-changing, so your offerings should adapt accordingly.

The rise of subscription-based pet health plans reflects a broader trend toward predictable healthcare budgeting. For veterinary practices, understanding and carefully evaluating this model could offer a strategic way to improve client relationships, increase revenue, and ultimately support the long-term health of the pets they care for.

Heather Moore, CEO, PetCentric Health. (Image courtesy of PetCentric Health)

Heather Moore, CEO and founder of PetCentric Health, started her entrepreneurial journey to transform how pet healthcare is accessed in a way that is accessible, smart, and sustainable for veterinarians, their teams, and clients. PetCentric helps veterinary teams create and implement subscription-based care plans designed to cover the entire spectrum of primary care needs from both the veterinary and client perspectives. Today, as PetCentric’s CEO, Moore brings passion and focus to empowering veterinarians, improving pet health, and offering a brighter healthcare future where both veterinarians and clients benefit. Moore is also a dedicated animal lover, and her fur babies include dressage horses, dogs, cats, hamsters, fish… and her trusty office chameleon, who knows all the secrets!