• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Upcoming dvm360 Conferences
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
Veterinary Heroes
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Letter to Veterinary Economics: Combat falling drug revenue with these practical tips

August 25, 2015
Robert Pope, DVM

One practitioner shares his thoughts on how to handle the smaller portion of income his his veterinary practice's pharmacy generates.

In reference to “Has your pharmacy taken a hit in sales?” (August 2015), I've had drugs as 23 percent of my revenue at my practice in Wisconsin, but I see this decreasing monthly.

The pressure is great and requires my attention daily for requests like, “Can't I just pick up some medicine at ---mart?”

Worse are clients who just want another round of medicine for their pet that “has the same symptoms they had six months ago.” They don't want another office visit. And clients get angry if you say no. Here is what we are doing to help but it is by no means enough:

> First, if at all possible, I use medication that is approved for dogs and cats, such as Biomox instead of Amoxicillin, which is for humans.

Advertisement

> All medical records show the number of refills the doctor allows (this may be law in my state).

> I've cut my percentage markup to compete with commonly prescribed medicine.

> On all prescriptions I write, “No substitutions” and “For animal use.”

> Every prescription that leaves my clinic comes with an “About this medication and warning” handout that my computer drug program provides.

> I insist on monitoring blood work for all patients on long term medication. I also try to bundle the cost of the lab work with medication from my clinic as one price.

> I've increased my exam fee to recoup some of the income.

> I no longer fax prescriptions because often the fax is not received at the “---marts” and the pet owner gets mad when their medicine is not ready when they arrive. Sometimes we'd fax the prescription three or four times without success to some human pharmacies.

I have not been totally successful in my approach, but this is a start.

Robert Pope, DVM

Mosinee Veterinary Clinic

Mosinee, Wisconsin 

Related Content:

Business
Build your first veterinary hospital
Build your first veterinary hospital
The Vets appoints Dr Zach Mills to VP of Medical Performance
The Vets appoints Dr Zach Mills to VP of Medical Performance
Purina announces its 2023 Pet Care Innovation Prize winners
Purina announces its 2023 Pet Care Innovation Prize winners

Advertisement

Latest News

Meet the BlackDVM Network

Study finds certain canine breeds should be screened for cancer at young ages

AVMA releases 2 videos informing pet parents on pet dental care

Clinical research: the oral microbiome for earlier disease detection

View More Latest News
Advertisement