Animal Health Solutions

Q2 2019 | Animal Health Solutions | 27 More at: northamerica.covetrus.com/publications Protect patients and safeguard practice financial health Veterinary communications consultant, Wendy S. Myers, says "without regular check-ups, patients could be exposed to any number of diseases and parasites. Veterinarians also could miss opportunities to diagnose dental disease, obesity, arthritis, and other chronic conditions. Besides protecting patients' health, check-ups also safeguard your practice's financial health." 1 The financial impact of neglecting repeat visits to your practice can be significant. Covetrus research shows that losing a single appointment each day can cost you over $66,000 in revenue per year. 2 This figure doesn't take into account the time and money wasted making follow-up calls to schedule and remind clients; nor does it consider money lost through no-shows. Think about how your practice could benefit from an added $66,000 to your business's bottom line – and that's just for a single missed appointment per day. Your appointment calendar may seem full at first glance, but did you know that upwards of 20 percent of patients in the average veterinary practice haven't attended an appointment in more than 18 months? And this number is growing. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) categorized 53% of dog owners and 59% of cat owners as 'inactive' in 2015. 3 What is concerning is that – instead of responding to this challenge with the basics of good practice management, including an effective reminder and recall solution – veterinarians feel the need to introduce time- and resource-hungry initiatives. These include extended hours and services, hiring additional support staff, and expanded facilities. While these are potentially good additional responses to high and increasing competition within the veterinary industry and the threat of "Doctor Google", they definitely don't fall into the category of "low hanging fruit". It pays to make sure you've ticked all the operational efficiency 101 boxes before considering additional expensive options. Why are reminders and recalls so important? Research shows repeatedly that reminders and recalls play an important role in veterinary practice success. In particular, they help with client retention and bringing patients back to your practice for additional appointments. Data makes it clear that the effective management of recalls and reminders can deliver a very healthy return on investment. This is especially true when an automated reminder and recall system is used. But, how do staff in a busy veterinary clinic take care of this important, but time-consuming responsibility? Veterinary practices are extremely busy and it's not uncommon to hear staff talk about the struggles they have trying to manage all of their day-to-day tasks, let alone call up clients to remind them of routine appointments or print and post hard copy reminders. Despite the fact that we're some way down the track of digital transformation in the veterinary industry, many practices continue to rely on traditional channels and manual methods to contact clients and schedule appointments. It's easy to forget (or ignore) that this effort takes the focus away from clients and patients in-office. With all the modern changes in technology and communication, most clients these days are used to instant, electronic messaging and they don't respond well to "old school" methods of communication any longer. As a veterinary professional, you want the animals in your clinic to experience the best possible standards of care throughout their life. However, you also want to see your business grow and thrive. One of the best ways of achieving both of these goals is to make sure you have an effective reminder and recall system in place.

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