The impact of "vetflation"

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On this special Friday afternoon addition of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes Michael Tokiwa, DVM, to the show to discuss the rising cost of veterinary products and services due to tarrifs and inflation, or 'vetflation.' Throughout the show, Christman and Tokiwa chat about the importance of clear communication with clients about price increases and flexible payment options, pet insurance, and to be compassionate and transparent when veterinary teams are discussing financial constraints with their clients.

Below is a transcript, edited lightly for clarity

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: I want to expand on this of an issue that's in veterinary medicine, where we're calling it vetflation. You know, we're talking about tariffs, inflation and economic anxiety. So let's chat about that. I mean, how are some of these global forces showing up in the exam rooms across veterinary hospitals?

Michael Tokiwa, DVM: well, Adam, it's actually showing up everywhere, because we have to talk about the basics of basics of costs, of the basic items we use, like syringes, surgical gloves, even the lab heartworm test. Everything is going up in price. And when you you're dealing with something that happened in times of [COVID-19]. The last time we really dealt with this was [COVID-19], but, but we, we had a reason for that. It wasn't a a political thinking that is affecting a worldwide issue here. And you know, it's it's like, if you're running a petty yard and you suddenly run out of oxygen masks, what are you going to do? And the downside about this, and what I tried to explain my clients is that with these increases pricing, we have to in order to continue to provide best medicine. Unfortunately, the price is going to be passed on to the consumer, the clients.

What's unique to our profession, though, is sometimes we actually absorb some of those prices just just so that we can continue. But that is not good for the profession, and so what I want to do is I want to preemptively let the clients know that these are coming. So the latest is that the tariffs with China are 30% so we're looking at an increase of everyday items. You go on Tiktok and you look at the Tiktok shop, they're saying, 'hey, buy this blanket now, because it's going to be 34% higher in a couple months.' So those are the things we need to seriously talk about in order to stay afloat as a business and continue to provide the best medicine. So it's hitting at every level

EDITORS NOTE: This podcast was recorded on May 8, 2025.