Equine & Livestock Product & Promotions Guide

5 June 2021 | Product and Promotions Guide Tips for starting an emergency cooperative Tips for forming an emergency veterinarian cooperative • Meet with potential partners to ensure you can agree (in writing) how to handle all aspects of the cooperative. • Ensure that all members have the same ideals for treating horses and clients. • Determine how often each vet is on call and the hours (i.e., Friday from 5 p.m. to Monday at 8 a.m.). • Figure out how vets can "swap" on-call duty, if needed. • Create a calendar of on-call services and agree where it will be kept and how it will be updated (i.e., a shared Google calendar). • Use a phone service so that no matter which vet is called, it goes to the veterinarian on emergency duty (i.e., a service such as Grasshopper). • Create a method to share files and exam notes between emergency and primary veterinarians. • Determine how payments will be handled. • Educate clients on how the emergency cooperative works and introduce colleagues who will be handling those calls. • Determine how to handle a client who might want to switch to the emergency veterinarian instead of retaining his/her primary veterinarian Concerns of vets There are concerns that will need to be addressed in order to form a successful cooperative. A survey by the AAEP Wellness Committee noted that the most typical concerns surrounding starting an emergency cooperative included: • Worry about client loss; • Losing control of patient care; • Decreased revenues; • The need to treat animals other than horses; • Challenges of a bigger area of coverage for emergency calls. Figuring out how to share emergency services among solo or small practices might make the difference in keeping talented veterinarians in the equine industry. The number of new graduates entering the equine veterinary sector has fallen, and nearly half of those entering equine medicine leave the equine field within five years of graduation. Therefore, using emergency cooperatives in equine veterinary practice might make the difference in keeping the quality of life high enough to retain practitioners. One of the most onerous things about equine practice is providing 24/7/365 coverage to horse owners. With 35-40% of American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) members practicing solo, and with 53% of practices having just one to two veterinarians (according to the 2016 AAEP AVMA Economic Impact Study), serving clients after hours and for emergencies can drive some practitioners away from equine practice. Unfortunately, some practitioners have very competitive relationships with other solo or two-person practices in their areas with whom they might in other circumstances form an emergency cooperative. Sometimes that can be overcome by sitting down and agreeing— in writing—how a cooperative could be formed and managed. However, if that doesn't work, you might be able to hire someone who only wants to handle emergency services instead of being in full-time practice each day. HARNESSING PRACTICE HEALTH Adapted from an EquiManagement AAEP report by Amy L. Grice, VMD, MBA.

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