19 Q3 2021 | Animal Health Solutions
Autoship single doses. Covetrus offers monthly delivery
of single-dose preventatives for clients who may be
forgetful or can't keep track of when they last dosed their
pet (https://bit.ly/3ycJzVV). Monthly dosing will help clients
on limited budgets as well as multi-pet families where the
client may not be able to buy 12 doses of preventatives
for six dogs at the same time. This also breaks the habit of
sharing boxes of preventatives between multiple pets.
Strategy 3: Promote
curbside pickup
Imagine you're a mother with a baby and need
medication refills for your dog. Getting a sleeping baby out
of a car seat and into your lobby, checking out, and securing
the baby for travel again could take 20 minutes or longer.
Clients with mobility challenges as well as busy families will
appreciate the speed and convenience of quick curbside
delivery of medications and food.
Send refill reminders through your practice management
software that promote curbside pickup. Text this: needs a refill of for heartworm protection.
Click here to refill in our online store with home delivery
OR reply Y to get curbside/in-clinic pick up at our hospital.
has a $XX rebate for XX doses.
Designate a parking spot for product pick up. Just as
restaurants have reserved parking for to-go orders, do
the same for pet owners picking up medication and food.
Choose the parking spot next to your handicapped parking,
which is nearest your front door. You will minimize the
number of steps that employees must take for curbside
delivery. Clients will text you when they arrive for pickup.
To speed checkout, have clients pay through an app or
link on your website. Your CSRs or pharmacy technician
can text or email the client that the medication has been
refilled and how to pay. I teach CSRs to summarize services
before stating totals during traditional front-desk checkout.
Do the same when sending payment requests through your
app or emails with links to your payment portal. Many apps
have a comment box when sending a request for payment.
Type this in the comment box of the app or in the body of an
email: "We have filled for Max's heartworm
prevention. You will receive a $XX rebate for purchasing
12 doses. Please pay through the app/website and get an
immediate receipt. Park in our curbside pickup spot and
message us when you arrive." For an extra wow factor,
deliver the medication curbside along with a dog biscuit!
To keep pharmacy prices competitive, decide how
you will compensate doctors for medication and
food sales. If your practice uses production pay for
veterinarians, consider split-rate compensation, advises
Denise L. Tumblin, CPA, of WTA Veterinary Consultants in
Columbus, Ohio.
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Well-managed practices typically pay
doctors 22% to 26% for professional services and 4%
and 8% for products. If heartworm preventatives are sold
during the checkup, the doctor is compensated for the
medication. If the client picks up a refill without a doctor
visit or orders through your online store, no production is
paid to the veterinarian. If a doctor must change a dosage
or medication, he will receive production pay.
Evaluate when to charge a dispensing fee. To keep
pharmacy prices competitive, don't charge a dispensing
fee for boxed products such as flea/tick and heartworm
preventatives. The AAHA Veterinary Fee Reference, 11th
ed., reports an average dispensing fee of $11.23.
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Charge
the dispensing fee when your technician counts pills or staff
labor is involved.
Get more training and email and text templates in my
new course on How to Compete With Online Pharmacies
(https://shop.csvets.com/2021/how-to-compete-with-
online-pharmacies-and-amazon-pharmacy/). Enrollment
includes unlimited replay, handout, online testing, and
CE credit for every employee.
REFERENCES:
1. Reynolds T. Veterinarians Outselling Online Retailers When It comes to Pet Meds—
But Not for Long. AAHA NEWStat. Published Aug. 21, 2019. Accessed Feb. 10, 2020.
2. Gavzer K. How to Profit on a Hospital Pharmacy. Today's Veterinary Business.
Published August 2017. Available at: https://todaysveterinarybusiness.com/profit-
hospital-pharmacy/. Accessed June 28, 2021.
3. Phillips-Donaldson D. Pet Food E-Commerce "On Steriods" in 2020 and Beyond.
PetFoodIndustry.com. Available at: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-
adventures-in-pet-food/post/9838-pet-food-e-commerce-on-steroids-in-2020-and-
beyond. Accessed June 28, 2021.
4. Tumblin D. What Well-Managed Practices Pay: Are You in the Ballpark? Available
at: https://wellmp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/A60-What-Well-Managed-
Practices-Pay-Are-You-in-the-Ballpark.pdf. Accessed June 28, 2021.
5. AAHA Veterinary Fee Reference. AAHA Press 2020:227.
About the author Wendy S. Myers, CVJ, has been training veterinary teams for 21 years as owner of Communication
Solutions for Veterinarians. She teaches teams to become confident communicators, so more pet owners say yes to medical care.
Wendy shares her expertise through conferences, online courses, and monthly live CE credit webinars. She is a certified veterinary
journalist and author of five books. You may reach Wendy at wmyers@csvets.com or www.csvets.com.
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