WEBVTT
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Flight Plan Quick Consult is sponsored by PI Midlantic and Joan Marshall.
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Predictive Index helps veterinary leaders better understand what drives their people so they can hire more thoughtfully, improve communication, build stronger teams, and lead each employee more effectively.
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Joan is a former human resources executive who used PI within several companies before becoming a PI Midlantic consultant nearly 25 years ago.
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To learn how Joan can support your practice, contact her directly at jmarshall at Pimidlantic.com.
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Welcome aboard Flight Plan Quick Consults, the podcast designed to bring busy veterinary leaders practical ideas, fresh perspectives, and actionable takeaways in 25 minutes or less.
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I'm your host, Prenda Tasma Medina, and today's episode is Future Proofing the Practice.
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New services, new opportunities.
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Let's buckle up for takeoff.
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Today's guest panelists include practice owner Dr.
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Marty Career, Practice Manager Maggie Holcomb, and Operations Guru Michelle Winter.
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Michelle, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.
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Sure.
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So I'm a lifer in this field.
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Started way back in the kennels, way back when I was a little teenager.
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Kind of worked all the positions except DVM and uh landed in education for quite a while, helping practices learn how to do all the things that we're all struggling with.
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And then came to Encore, did some education for a while, and now I'm the vice president of operations.
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Well, thanks for being with us today, Michelle.
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Next up is Maggie.
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Hi.
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I, like Michelle, have been in VetMed since I was 19 years old.
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Um started in the kennel, and I've I've done it all except be a veterinarian.
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Um, worked my way up to being a practice manager.
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Uh, got my C VPM about two years ago.
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And um I have been with Encore Vet Group uh for about four years now as the practice manager at Ronaldo Veterinary Hospital.
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Well, we're glad to have you here today, Maggie.
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And rounding things out, Dr.
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Greer.
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Hi, so thanks for having me.
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Um I didn't really mean to start off as Kennel help, but I started off as a receptionist.
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And um I love it when my staff says we haven't trained them because my first day on the job at a two-doctor veterinary practice in Omaha, Nebraska was hi, this is the person that you're going to be working with today.
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Today's for last day.
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Here's the phone, here's the appointment book.
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This was in 1976.
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Here's the appointment book, here are the records.
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Good luck.
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Go for it.
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That was my training.
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That was the two sentences of training.
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Um, since that time, I was I was working there because I wanted to go to veterinary school.
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I was fortunate to get into veterinary school, went to Iowa State, graduated in 81.
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Um, was always going to move west, but instead I moved east to be with the person who turned out to be my husband.
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So he was doing dairy.
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So we moved to Wisconsin where he was from.
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I started a small animal practice in 1982, and we ran that for about 35 years, joined VMG, and during VMG, I had you know colleagues that would look at me and say, Why do you only have one vet clinic?
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So we went from one to four pretty quickly.
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So we now have four locations.
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Um, we do a lot of canine reproduction in uh one of the practices, so that gives us an area of some expertise, and we can draw quite a few clients from areas around us.
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We actually are in a cornfield in rural Wisconsin.
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So when I say I'm in a cornfield, I'm not joking, we're in a cornfield.
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Um, I went to law school and graduated in 2010.
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So um we've got two kids, I've got two grandkids, and we travel a lot and we're just kind of nuts all the time.
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So it's always there's always a moving part in my life.
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And I've been into your practice, and I love your signage, which is a giant billboard in the middle of that cornfield right off the highway.
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Yeah, well, some years it's a bean field, you know, it depends.
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We bought it from one of my husband's farm clients that it truly is, it was zoned agricultural when we bought it, and it's it's very agricultural where we are.
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Well, thank you all for being here with me today.
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Um, we all know that veterinary practices are under pressure to evolve.
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Um, we've got client expectations that are changing, affordability remains a concern.
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It's a hot topic we've been talking about all year.
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Team members are looking for new ways to use their skills and grow their career paths, and technology is changing how care is actually delivered.
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Um, our practice leaders are being asked to think several years ahead rather than simply solve whatever problems sitting in front of them today.
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So, adding a new service, it can create meaningful growth, it can improve access to care, and it can strengthen team engagement while differentiating a practice.
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But a new service, as we all might know, can also consume time, money, space, and energy without ever becoming sustainable.
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So for this episode, I've brought together some leaders who've actually developed and implemented new veterinary services.
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They've all learned along the way, and I'm confident that they can offer insight into how those experiences should influence strategic planning for 2027 and beyond.
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So I'm gonna start things off with my first burning question.
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Um, and I'll kick it to Michelle to begin.
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But as practices plan for 2027 and beyond, where do you see the greatest opportunities for new veterinary services?
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So this was an interesting question for me.
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I recently read an article that is stuck in my brain, and I can't help but try to continue to solve this problem, and it's that veterinarians and veterinary practices have been the authority of veterinary care for so many decades.
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Where we need to move to in this world of information is available everywhere, is more being a trusted advisor.
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Now, this isn't necessarily a new service set, although it can be.
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So bear with me for just a second as I talk through this.
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I am envisioning a world where technicians are playing a bigger role.
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And what I mean by that is rather than clients going to Google, going to Chat GPT, or wherever their their information pathways are coming from right now, I am feeling like now is a time to invite them back to just reach out and ask your vet tech.
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They'll get you some information that can send you on a pathway, um, let you know if your pet should be seen, get you the guidance that you're probably seeking through Chat GPT.
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So for me, this is technicians playing a bigger role in teletriage and advice and opening that wide open.
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Like maybe it's a um something that comes with your wellness plan packages.
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As many times as you want to call our vet techs, now we all know we've got a few clients who might take advantage of that.
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That's gonna happen no matter what.
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So I would be happy if they would start to reach to us when we can say, hey, check chat GPT, but let me give you a couple of prompts so that you get the right information.
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Because everybody's out there thinking they're getting the right information, and then they think, oh, I need to come in, I don't need to come in.
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They've already made a conclusion.
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We've got to backpedal that anyway.
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So if we can get out in front of it, that would be really spectacular.
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And this doesn't necessarily take away from doctor's time.
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So what I'm thinking is um this becomes part of a wellness plan, additional service or the subscription model style.
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And my hope is it can tackle two birds with one stone, well, three birds with one stone.
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Number one, good information.
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Number two, relying on your veterinarian instead of alternate sources of information.
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Number three, if techs lead this, guess where they could do this from?
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Potentially home.
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It could be a a day at home.
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Do we have a burnout problem?
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Do we have a, you know, like that could be a whole retention strategy with our vet techs.
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So that's where my brain went on this one.
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I like that.
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I like that.
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I I I can remember launching a service about 10 years ago.
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Well, now it's a little bit longer than that, where my technicians volunteered to man a triage line in the evenings.
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And they gobbled those shifts up and it gave our clients great peace of mind, but essentially they were triaging those questions.
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And if they needed to be seen on an emergency basis, they sent them there.
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And if they didn't, they were scheduling them for the next day when the practice was open.
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So I like your I like your your wave of thought there.
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Dr.
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Greer, what about you?
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Oh, well, I kind of have a a pet one of these, uh, and that's to change how we look at spaying and neutering for our pets.
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There's an increasing trend that has developed to do younger and younger space and neuters.
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And from a population control perspective, for uh some of the dogs that come through rescue and shelters, I understand and I think it makes sense.
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But for a lot of the people who have different intentions for their dogs, doing um delayed spaying and neutering or preventing pregnancies by doing vasectomies on the males and ovary-sparing space on the females, I think has a multitude of advantages.
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We can point to a number of studies that show the health advantages to leaving the hormones intact, to hormone-sparing procedures.
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It's a procedure that's not terribly difficult for a veterinarian to learn, but there are some specific things that have to be done differently, particularly with the ovary-sparing spay over a regular spay.
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You can't just leave the ovaries and take out some of the uterus because of the risk of stump pyometra, but with the right training, and that's available online.
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You don't have to go any place special for it.
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Um, Parmesus Foundation has the information on that.
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So you can very easily learn to do this procedure.
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You can do it with an open abdomen, you can do it laparoscopically.
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Um, obviously, the vasectomy, there's no advantage to doing it with a scope because the incision is less than a centimeter long anyway.
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But this allows our clients to have the ovary or the hormone-sparing procedures, reduce some of the health concerns that we see associated with removing hormones, but then be able to render these patients incapable of reproduction.
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So we're accomplishing the goals that the rescue organizations and the breeders and other people have for these dogs not being turned into dogs that are in the breeding pool.
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It doesn't take a lot of extra scales, it doesn't take a lot of extra time, it doesn't take any extra equipment or any extra space.
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The procedures take a little bit longer, but not a lot.
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And we are, in our practice, we see virtually no cruciate ruptures in our patients.
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Um, I've had colleagues say to me, Well, I think you're missing them.
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I'm like, no, you know, I'm pretty sure I know what a cruciate looks like.
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When a dog comes in three-legged lame, I'm I'm pretty sure I got that.
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So it doesn't um leave them with some of the health concerns that we have with these space and neuters.
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It's easy to do.
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Clients are very aware of this.
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They, if they start thinking about it, especially people who are in the healthcare fields, I find those are typically the ones that are most interested in this are physicians, um, dentists, you know, people that have a healthcare background.
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Clients are finding this information.
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They're calling around, they can't find anybody that's doing this in their community.
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And I think it's a great opportunity.
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We charge a premium for it because it does take a little bit longer.
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So we charge a premium for it.
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And I have an algorithm that I can share with people if they want the information about how we screen to make sure that these dogs and their lifestyles that it's appropriate for them because it's not appropriate for every dog, it's not appropriate for every lifestyle, and we certainly don't want to do it on cats.
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So cats are a whole different topic.
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No one wants a vasectomized tomcat in their house.
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But it really does have some significant advantages health-wise, and there's lots of information out there.
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There a few years ago at some of the meetings like VMX, they had overflow crowds in the rooms, and then those overflowed into overflow rooms, which overflowed into other overflow rooms, and so that's kind of dropped off a little bit, which concerns me.
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But there are some definite health advantages, and I can go right down the list and say there's less prostate cancer, less mast cell tumors, fewer osteosarcomas, less lymphosarcoma, fewer hemangiosarcomas.
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I can go right down the list, and those are the things that kill dogs, and those are the things that are difficult to diagnose and there aren't good treatments for.
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So I think it's really clear we see less thyroid disease, less allergies, less hip dysplasia, less orthopedic diseases in general, not just cruciates.
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So there's a lot of really significant health benefits, and our clients are educated enough to know this.
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So we need to start talking to people with a six-month-old golden retriever that she shouldn't be spayed as soon as she turns six months.
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So we need to start pushing these procedures out or doing the alternative procedures.
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So I've got lots of information, including the algorithm, which helps because it doesn't work for everyone.
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But the people at work for they absolutely are devoted to the they're committed to this type of procedure.
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Yeah, I can remember when I visited your practice, all of your team was speaking to this when they were talking to those, you know, third and fourth visit puppy visits, and they educated me a lot on it, to be quite frank about it.
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So thank you for that.
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Um, Maggie, your thoughts on this?
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Um well uh Michelle touched on uh a big one that came to my mind um as far as tech utilization.
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Um, so I won't I won't go any further into that.
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Um but I think some of my thoughts were not necessarily new services, but to um expand on those services or make them more readily available.
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Um, you know, I think we're seeing as medicine advances, um, technology advances, that pets are living longer.
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We they people have more access to veterinary care now.
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Um, and so I think senior care, pain management, rehab, those sorts of things is a big market that we could really expand on to help increase the quality of life on our patients.
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Um, I know at my practice we offer acupuncture, and um, you know, there's a mobile surgeon that comes in and does T pillos and a lot of other orthopedic surgeries, but many of those they go home and you know they come back and for their recheck x-rays and things like that, but we don't have a rehab facility to offer.
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Whereas, you know, in human medicine, if that same thing happened, you know that you're gonna go to PT and you're gonna have exercises to do and all of those sorts of things.
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So I think um, you know, expanding on those rehab services, um, you know, that also helps to incorporate your therapeutic laser and you know, various things like that.
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Um, these are also things that your technicians, you again can utilize your technicians to do those, um, do some of those appointments and that education.
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Um, so I think I think that would be a big one that we could expand on.
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Um and then another one that is close to my heart, um, are exotic patient care.
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I think um that's that's so limited in our community.
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There's like one other practice other than us that sees exotics.
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And um along that same line, urgent care for exotics because so many emergency hospitals only see dogs and cats.
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They don't see your birds, your bunnies, your reptiles, and they have emergencies too in the middle of the night.
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Um, and so I think that is something that needs uh we need to focus on as a profession because there are more uh more people that have those pets.
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And I think there's um there's so much more education that has come out about them as well, that it's not just you get the bunny and stick it in a cage and feed it a little bit.
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Like, you know, I mean, I think there we we have moved beyond the you know, the bunny in the cage in the backyard.
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So um I think expanding care to those sorts of things would would be very beneficial.
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Well, you know me, I'm all about the birds.
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Yeah.
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But talking about what Maggie's talking about, I think you hospice care for technicians is a great field for them to get a chance to go into home euthanasias.
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I think the wearables, I think it'd be really cool to have a wearable that your practice selected so that you have real expertise in it.
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And that's going to help monitor some of these patients as they age, as they move less, as they're diabetic, or whatever their medical condition happens to be.
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And I think if you had a technician that was really tuned into one wearable, you could really capitalize on the information that comes from that because they're kind of just a gimmick at this point, but I think they could be so much more.
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So, Dr.
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Greer, I'll I'll I'll have you segue into the next question.
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How does a practice know a new service is worth pursuing rather than it being just simply an interesting idea?
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Because I know you've tried a lot of things.
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And and we have.
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Um, you know, we've done some things, we've we've had some things that really flourished and we've had some things that really didn't flourish.
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Um, so I think some of these things that don't cost a lot of money that aren't high risk are pretty good places to start.
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But also I think you need to listen to your clients and start letting your technicians and your doctors come back to you and say, you know, I've heard three times this week that a client wished we did XYZ, whether it's after hours care or whether it's the triage that your technicians were doing, or whether it's wearables, or whether it is um wait a weight loss program, whatever it happens to be, some of these aren't expensive.
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And and you really need to find out what the interest of a staff member happens to be.
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So if you have a technician or a doctor that's gonna grab this and run with it, I mean, those are those are impressive.
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We have one person in our VMG group who um does a a youth program and they've done tremendous things with it.
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That they've had students come in on a weekend and they they get them all into scrubs and they teach them all kinds of things.
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And these are kids in, you know, FFA and and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and all those things.
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And so if you have a staff member that's devoted to this and it looks like they've got staying power in your practice, I think that's the place to start listening.
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Is what does your staff want to do?
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Because it it doesn't work if it is your idea and it's just words.
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Gotta have a champion, right?
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It has to be buy-on, it has to be champion, and it has to absolutely have great buy-in.
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And then, you know, you ask the rest of the clients, ask the next 10 clients that have kids that come in if that's something that they're interested in, or if they're gonna be like, no, we've already got so many soccer games and baseball games and tennis matches.
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We we can't.
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So look at what look at what the client base is looking for as well.
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Michelle, you work with 55 practices.
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You know, how do you know something is worth pursuing versus a great idea?
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I have a good answer for this.
00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:09.599
Um, I always encourage practices to track what they're referring out.
00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:16.160
Whatever those trends are, the highest numbers are a huge opportunity for you because you're already recommending the care.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.920
It's it's taking place, so why not offer it yourself?
00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.880
And that that doesn't mean that you're trying to be a specialist.
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:30.720
I'm not saying that at all, but there are things, there are certain orthopedic procedures that are very repeatable that happen a lot.
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.319
You know, maybe it's time for that.
00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:34.240
It might be reproduction, uh, like Dr.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.000
Beer had mentioned, it could be exotics, like Matt Maggie mentioned.
00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.640
Physical therapy is certainly in there.
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.799
Um, advanced dentistry, endoscopy, ultrasound if you don't have it.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:51.039
If you're referring it out in any quantity, you probably need to be considering bringing it in.
00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.480
And I'd be looking at probably the cheapest ways to get there.
00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.000
Like, and I I don't mean like I might not start with ultrasound.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.200
That that's a got a big price tag and a higher learning curve.
00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.400
Maybe I start with something else that's a little easier, um, you know, for my team.
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.799
And and this goes for medical, I mean, that's medical, but then there's also ancillary.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.200
I know a lot of practices closed boarding after um COVID.
00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.319
I understand why.
00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:20.000
There's different factors at play now than there were then.
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:25.680
But boarding, grooming, and training, those are still foundational needs for a lot of pet owners.
00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.279
Look at your patient base.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:31.839
If it's all she's with haircuts, offer haircuts.
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:33.279
Right?
00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:36.640
So like Maggie's Maggie was talking about having a surgeon come in.
00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.240
We can have an internal medicine or an ultrasound person come in on a regular basis.
00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.480
Those are services that you can keep in house.
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.039
The clients appreciate it, there's continuity of care.
00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:50.400
Those are opportunities that you may have someone that does a mobile practice in your community and they're looking for a home base.
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:56.559
Maggie, I know that you're limited in your practice in terms of space and size.
00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.759
So, how are you, you know, determining?
00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:08.000
What's worth growing or launching versus, oh, that's a really great idea, but I don't have the space for it.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:14.799
Yeah, um, I feel like that's a topic that we have very regularly at our practice.
00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:28.640
Um so I mean, I think uh it comes when you're looking at space, is obviously you're not gonna bring in an MRI whenever you have when you have very limited space.
00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:33.200
So I think the equipment piece um is is key to that.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:43.599
Um you know, for rehab, that is something that like we've talked about doing, but you do need some some space to do that.
00:22:44.079 --> 00:23:00.559
Um we can, you know, we've talked about expanding on some piece of those services, like um, again, that the acupuncture, the therapeutic laser, the different, you know, exercises and technician education, that sort of thing.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:06.400
Um, but you know, there's no space for underwater treadmill and and and things like that.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:18.880
So um I think I think that is um a big piece is the equipment and you know where you can use that and where you can put it in that in a practice.
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.880
But print definitely factors.
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:21.839
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:38.559
Um, but I also I also we had two people in our VMG, we had two people in our VMG group that were able to go across a parking lot into another not on this, not a contiguous piece of the building, but across the parking lot that were able to expand their practices.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:42.400
And I've looked at tiny homes as another way to do like an addition.
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.640
And so I think there's some creativity.
00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:46.799
Yeah, we're getting a pod.
00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:48.640
So there you go.
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:49.839
There you go.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:24:02.559
Um, so I yeah, I think that is that's a big piece of it, but I think also um another piece is just the cost of the staff training and education that goes with this.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:11.839
Um, you know, you can't bring in a new service if you don't have somebody that knows what they're doing and is gonna sell that service.
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:23.440
Um, so I think uh, you know, whether it's doctor CE or technician CE, um, and then bringing that back and training the rest of the staff on it.
00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:33.759
That was that was we brought in exotics this past year, and um, you know, we had a doctor that knew how to do exotics, but our our technician team didn't.
00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.039
Um, so there there is a huge learning curve there with that.
00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:38.079
Absolutely.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:51.519
Maggie, before our listeners start running down the road with a lot of ideas, um, let's help them with what's harder about implementation than they might think or or might expect.
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.160
I think you know, change management in itself is hard.
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.920
Um, change is hard.
00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:02.319
People uh don't tend to like change.
00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:17.200
Um, so I think having a good grasp on that, you know, having um having a very organized process, we're gonna do this and this and this and this um before we get here.
00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.000
Um and I think I think staff buy-in is huge.
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:26.000
Um, not just this is one more thing that we have to do.
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:39.359
Um in the veterinary world, you know, we we have a problem with burnout, and asking your team to do more, uh, you need to be very thoughtful and strategic about how you do that.
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:46.720
Um, so I think explaining the why, uh for me, it's bringing it back to why we're all in vet med.
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:57.359
Um not just how much more money can we make, but how does this improve our patients' lives, how does this improve our client experience?
00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:13.039
Um, and I think once you once you get that buy-in, um, then you're gonna have a team that's motivated to learn, that's motivated to do the training and is motivated to um to provide that service for your clients.
00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.160
Thank you.
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:14.799
Dr.
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.960
Greer, same question.
00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:22.480
You know, what what should our our listeners be on the lookout for when it comes to implementation?
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:27.359
Yeah, I I think Maggie really has hit the high points of change management.
00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.160
That is a challenge.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:35.920
And so maybe you need a change manager person in a position to manage that, or it needs to be that that person that buys into it.
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:39.200
So it it you don't want it to be a burden.
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:53.119
You want it to be something that's exciting and and fun for them and that gives them a newfound joy in the practice of veter veterinary medicine, whether it's a a lay staff member, whether it's a technician, whether it's a doctor, it really needs to have that.
00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:54.799
It has to be organic.
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:56.799
It can't come just from the top.
00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.279
So it really has to be something that they're excited about.
00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.960
I have a staff member that wants to do hospice, in-home hospice care.
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.839
So those are the things that you you know, you try and pick up on those conversations, give them the tools.
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:15.839
Um, and it's it's oftentimes not a huge investment of time or money, but it does require pulling them out of a role that they're currently in.
00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:26.240
So that means finding someone else to fill their shoes uh to make that happen so that they have the freedom um mentally and and time-wise to do what they need to do.
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.799
Yeah, thank you for that, Michelle.
00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.079
Yeah.
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.440
Implementation.
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:32.240
Okay.
00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:35.519
For me, it comes down to role clarity.
00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:37.039
And let me explain that.
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.119
As was mentioned by both Maggie and Dr.
00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.480
Greer, there's almost always a champion behind something.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:45.519
And that champion is usually crystal clear on stuff.
00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:46.720
But what's the CSR's role?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.000
What's a vet assistance role?
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.519
How are they to promote these services?
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:52.640
How and when will they be promoting the service?
00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:08.880
And um, the reason this is incredibly important is because as we know we're probably going to be spending money to begin a new service, we're gonna, there's gonna be a period of time that this is costing us money, not making, there's there's not gonna be a net profit for a while.
00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:16.640
We finally get to a breakeven and then we become profitable in that, which helps us grow the next service category, which is important to us.
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:28.640
And so the more people who are on board and understand the positioning and where to make recommendations and and how to make these services happen in the practice, the faster we get beyond breakeven.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:31.119
Thank you for that.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:39.759
Um, well, thank you all for being a part of the guest panel today, and thanks to our listeners for flying with me today on Flight Plan Quick Consults.
00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:44.880
And a big thank you to Joan Marshall with PEI Midlantic for sponsoring today's episode.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:55.200
I hope something from today's conversation gave you a new idea to consider, a question worth asking, or a next step that you can put into action in your own practice.
00:28:55.359 --> 00:29:00.319
Until next week, keep your mission clear, your team aligned, and your practice soaring.
00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.720
Flight Plan Quick Consult is sponsored by PI Midlantic and Joan Marshall.
00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:27.359
Predictive Index helps veterinary leaders better understand what drives their people so they can hire more thoughtfully, improve communication, build stronger teams, and lead each employee more effectively.
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:37.359
Joan is a former human resources executive who used PI within several companies before becoming a PI Midlantic consultant nearly 25 years ago.
00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:46.320
To learn how Joan can support your practice, contact her directly at jmarshall at Pimidlantic.com.
00:00:50.880 --> 00:01:00.799
Welcome aboard Flight Plan Quick Consults, the podcast designed to bring busy veterinary leaders practical ideas, fresh perspectives, and actionable takeaways in 25 minutes or less.
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:06.719
I'm your host, Prenda Tasma Medina, and today's episode is Future Proofing the Practice.
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:09.359
New services, new opportunities.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:11.120
Let's buckle up for takeoff.
00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.079
Today's guest panelists include practice owner Dr.
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Marty Career, Practice Manager Maggie Holcomb, and Operations Guru Michelle Winter.
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Michelle, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.
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Sure.
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So I'm a lifer in this field.
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Started way back in the kennels, way back when I was a little teenager.
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Kind of worked all the positions except DVM and uh landed in education for quite a while, helping practices learn how to do all the things that we're all struggling with.
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And then came to Encore, did some education for a while, and now I'm the vice president of operations.
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Well, thanks for being with us today, Michelle.
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Next up is Maggie.
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Hi.
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I, like Michelle, have been in VetMed since I was 19 years old.
00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:07.519
Um started in the kennel, and I've I've done it all except be a veterinarian.
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.800
Um, worked my way up to being a practice manager.
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Uh, got my C VPM about two years ago.
00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:23.919
And um I have been with Encore Vet Group uh for about four years now as the practice manager at Ronaldo Veterinary Hospital.
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Well, we're glad to have you here today, Maggie.
00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.719
And rounding things out, Dr.
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Greer.
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Hi, so thanks for having me.
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:38.639
Um I didn't really mean to start off as Kennel help, but I started off as a receptionist.
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And um I love it when my staff says we haven't trained them because my first day on the job at a two-doctor veterinary practice in Omaha, Nebraska was hi, this is the person that you're going to be working with today.
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Today's for last day.
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Here's the phone, here's the appointment book.
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This was in 1976.
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Here's the appointment book, here are the records.
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Good luck.
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Go for it.
00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:03.919
That was my training.
00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.080
That was the two sentences of training.
00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:10.400
Um, since that time, I was I was working there because I wanted to go to veterinary school.
00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:15.520
I was fortunate to get into veterinary school, went to Iowa State, graduated in 81.
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Um, was always going to move west, but instead I moved east to be with the person who turned out to be my husband.
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So he was doing dairy.
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So we moved to Wisconsin where he was from.
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I started a small animal practice in 1982, and we ran that for about 35 years, joined VMG, and during VMG, I had you know colleagues that would look at me and say, Why do you only have one vet clinic?
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So we went from one to four pretty quickly.
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So we now have four locations.
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Um, we do a lot of canine reproduction in uh one of the practices, so that gives us an area of some expertise, and we can draw quite a few clients from areas around us.
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We actually are in a cornfield in rural Wisconsin.
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So when I say I'm in a cornfield, I'm not joking, we're in a cornfield.
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Um, I went to law school and graduated in 2010.
00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:12.879
So um we've got two kids, I've got two grandkids, and we travel a lot and we're just kind of nuts all the time.
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So it's always there's always a moving part in my life.
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And I've been into your practice, and I love your signage, which is a giant billboard in the middle of that cornfield right off the highway.
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Yeah, well, some years it's a bean field, you know, it depends.
00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:40.399
We bought it from one of my husband's farm clients that it truly is, it was zoned agricultural when we bought it, and it's it's very agricultural where we are.
00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:43.759
Well, thank you all for being here with me today.
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Um, we all know that veterinary practices are under pressure to evolve.
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:54.879
Um, we've got client expectations that are changing, affordability remains a concern.
00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:57.759
It's a hot topic we've been talking about all year.
00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:07.519
Team members are looking for new ways to use their skills and grow their career paths, and technology is changing how care is actually delivered.
00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:16.079
Um, our practice leaders are being asked to think several years ahead rather than simply solve whatever problems sitting in front of them today.
00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:28.160
So, adding a new service, it can create meaningful growth, it can improve access to care, and it can strengthen team engagement while differentiating a practice.
00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:37.519
But a new service, as we all might know, can also consume time, money, space, and energy without ever becoming sustainable.
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:44.399
So for this episode, I've brought together some leaders who've actually developed and implemented new veterinary services.
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They've all learned along the way, and I'm confident that they can offer insight into how those experiences should influence strategic planning for 2027 and beyond.
00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:59.600
So I'm gonna start things off with my first burning question.
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Um, and I'll kick it to Michelle to begin.
00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:11.680
But as practices plan for 2027 and beyond, where do you see the greatest opportunities for new veterinary services?
00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:15.519
So this was an interesting question for me.
00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:32.879
I recently read an article that is stuck in my brain, and I can't help but try to continue to solve this problem, and it's that veterinarians and veterinary practices have been the authority of veterinary care for so many decades.
00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:43.680
Where we need to move to in this world of information is available everywhere, is more being a trusted advisor.
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.680
Now, this isn't necessarily a new service set, although it can be.
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.560
So bear with me for just a second as I talk through this.
00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:56.000
I am envisioning a world where technicians are playing a bigger role.
00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:14.879
And what I mean by that is rather than clients going to Google, going to Chat GPT, or wherever their their information pathways are coming from right now, I am feeling like now is a time to invite them back to just reach out and ask your vet tech.
00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:26.879
They'll get you some information that can send you on a pathway, um, let you know if your pet should be seen, get you the guidance that you're probably seeking through Chat GPT.
00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:34.720
So for me, this is technicians playing a bigger role in teletriage and advice and opening that wide open.
00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:39.920
Like maybe it's a um something that comes with your wellness plan packages.
00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:45.279
As many times as you want to call our vet techs, now we all know we've got a few clients who might take advantage of that.
00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.279
That's gonna happen no matter what.
00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:58.240
So I would be happy if they would start to reach to us when we can say, hey, check chat GPT, but let me give you a couple of prompts so that you get the right information.
00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:04.480
Because everybody's out there thinking they're getting the right information, and then they think, oh, I need to come in, I don't need to come in.
00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:06.160
They've already made a conclusion.
00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:08.079
We've got to backpedal that anyway.
00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:12.560
So if we can get out in front of it, that would be really spectacular.
00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.759
And this doesn't necessarily take away from doctor's time.
00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:25.360
So what I'm thinking is um this becomes part of a wellness plan, additional service or the subscription model style.
00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.560
And my hope is it can tackle two birds with one stone, well, three birds with one stone.
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.240
Number one, good information.
00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:37.279
Number two, relying on your veterinarian instead of alternate sources of information.
00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:42.320
Number three, if techs lead this, guess where they could do this from?
00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.759
Potentially home.
00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.240
It could be a a day at home.
00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:48.080
Do we have a burnout problem?
00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:52.720
Do we have a, you know, like that could be a whole retention strategy with our vet techs.
00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.039
So that's where my brain went on this one.
00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:56.320
I like that.
00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:57.120
I like that.
00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:01.120
I I I can remember launching a service about 10 years ago.
00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:09.519
Well, now it's a little bit longer than that, where my technicians volunteered to man a triage line in the evenings.
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:18.399
And they gobbled those shifts up and it gave our clients great peace of mind, but essentially they were triaging those questions.
00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:22.879
And if they needed to be seen on an emergency basis, they sent them there.
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:27.600
And if they didn't, they were scheduling them for the next day when the practice was open.
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.080
So I like your I like your your wave of thought there.
00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:32.960
Dr.
00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:34.480
Greer, what about you?
00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:42.240
Oh, well, I kind of have a a pet one of these, uh, and that's to change how we look at spaying and neutering for our pets.
00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:48.159
There's an increasing trend that has developed to do younger and younger space and neuters.
00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:55.840
And from a population control perspective, for uh some of the dogs that come through rescue and shelters, I understand and I think it makes sense.
00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:11.519
But for a lot of the people who have different intentions for their dogs, doing um delayed spaying and neutering or preventing pregnancies by doing vasectomies on the males and ovary-sparing space on the females, I think has a multitude of advantages.
00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:19.840
We can point to a number of studies that show the health advantages to leaving the hormones intact, to hormone-sparing procedures.
00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:28.639
It's a procedure that's not terribly difficult for a veterinarian to learn, but there are some specific things that have to be done differently, particularly with the ovary-sparing spay over a regular spay.
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:36.000
You can't just leave the ovaries and take out some of the uterus because of the risk of stump pyometra, but with the right training, and that's available online.
00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.320
You don't have to go any place special for it.
00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:42.080
Um, Parmesus Foundation has the information on that.
00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.960
So you can very easily learn to do this procedure.
00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.480
You can do it with an open abdomen, you can do it laparoscopically.
00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:54.799
Um, obviously, the vasectomy, there's no advantage to doing it with a scope because the incision is less than a centimeter long anyway.
00:10:55.039 --> 00:11:09.600
But this allows our clients to have the ovary or the hormone-sparing procedures, reduce some of the health concerns that we see associated with removing hormones, but then be able to render these patients incapable of reproduction.
00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:19.679
So we're accomplishing the goals that the rescue organizations and the breeders and other people have for these dogs not being turned into dogs that are in the breeding pool.
00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.559
It doesn't take a lot of extra scales, it doesn't take a lot of extra time, it doesn't take any extra equipment or any extra space.
00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.679
The procedures take a little bit longer, but not a lot.
00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:35.120
And we are, in our practice, we see virtually no cruciate ruptures in our patients.
00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:38.240
Um, I've had colleagues say to me, Well, I think you're missing them.
00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.799
I'm like, no, you know, I'm pretty sure I know what a cruciate looks like.
00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.080
When a dog comes in three-legged lame, I'm I'm pretty sure I got that.
00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:49.919
So it doesn't um leave them with some of the health concerns that we have with these space and neuters.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:51.279
It's easy to do.
00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:53.039
Clients are very aware of this.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:12:04.720
They, if they start thinking about it, especially people who are in the healthcare fields, I find those are typically the ones that are most interested in this are physicians, um, dentists, you know, people that have a healthcare background.
00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:06.399
Clients are finding this information.
00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.679
They're calling around, they can't find anybody that's doing this in their community.
00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:11.360
And I think it's a great opportunity.
00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.480
We charge a premium for it because it does take a little bit longer.
00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:15.840
So we charge a premium for it.
00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:31.600
And I have an algorithm that I can share with people if they want the information about how we screen to make sure that these dogs and their lifestyles that it's appropriate for them because it's not appropriate for every dog, it's not appropriate for every lifestyle, and we certainly don't want to do it on cats.
00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.200
So cats are a whole different topic.
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.519
No one wants a vasectomized tomcat in their house.
00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:43.759
But it really does have some significant advantages health-wise, and there's lots of information out there.
00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:55.120
There a few years ago at some of the meetings like VMX, they had overflow crowds in the rooms, and then those overflowed into overflow rooms, which overflowed into other overflow rooms, and so that's kind of dropped off a little bit, which concerns me.
00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:07.519
But there are some definite health advantages, and I can go right down the list and say there's less prostate cancer, less mast cell tumors, fewer osteosarcomas, less lymphosarcoma, fewer hemangiosarcomas.
00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:14.559
I can go right down the list, and those are the things that kill dogs, and those are the things that are difficult to diagnose and there aren't good treatments for.
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:23.360
So I think it's really clear we see less thyroid disease, less allergies, less hip dysplasia, less orthopedic diseases in general, not just cruciates.
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:28.080
So there's a lot of really significant health benefits, and our clients are educated enough to know this.
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:34.639
So we need to start talking to people with a six-month-old golden retriever that she shouldn't be spayed as soon as she turns six months.
00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:38.559
So we need to start pushing these procedures out or doing the alternative procedures.
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:44.399
So I've got lots of information, including the algorithm, which helps because it doesn't work for everyone.
00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:50.480
But the people at work for they absolutely are devoted to the they're committed to this type of procedure.
00:13:50.799 --> 00:14:04.720
Yeah, I can remember when I visited your practice, all of your team was speaking to this when they were talking to those, you know, third and fourth visit puppy visits, and they educated me a lot on it, to be quite frank about it.
00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.320
So thank you for that.
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:09.600
Um, Maggie, your thoughts on this?
00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:18.879
Um well uh Michelle touched on uh a big one that came to my mind um as far as tech utilization.
00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.960
Um, so I won't I won't go any further into that.
00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:36.480
Um but I think some of my thoughts were not necessarily new services, but to um expand on those services or make them more readily available.
00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:44.480
Um, you know, I think we're seeing as medicine advances, um, technology advances, that pets are living longer.
00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.399
We they people have more access to veterinary care now.
00:14:48.799 --> 00:15:05.039
Um, and so I think senior care, pain management, rehab, those sorts of things is a big market that we could really expand on to help increase the quality of life on our patients.
00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:28.399
Um, I know at my practice we offer acupuncture, and um, you know, there's a mobile surgeon that comes in and does T pillos and a lot of other orthopedic surgeries, but many of those they go home and you know they come back and for their recheck x-rays and things like that, but we don't have a rehab facility to offer.
00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:36.799
Whereas, you know, in human medicine, if that same thing happened, you know that you're gonna go to PT and you're gonna have exercises to do and all of those sorts of things.
00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:52.240
So I think um, you know, expanding on those rehab services, um, you know, that also helps to incorporate your therapeutic laser and you know, various things like that.
00:15:52.399 --> 00:16:01.759
Um, these are also things that your technicians, you again can utilize your technicians to do those, um, do some of those appointments and that education.
00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:06.799
Um, so I think I think that would be a big one that we could expand on.
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:14.399
Um and then another one that is close to my heart, um, are exotic patient care.
00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:19.039
I think um that's that's so limited in our community.
00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:23.279
There's like one other practice other than us that sees exotics.
00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:33.440
And um along that same line, urgent care for exotics because so many emergency hospitals only see dogs and cats.
00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:41.759
They don't see your birds, your bunnies, your reptiles, and they have emergencies too in the middle of the night.
00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:53.120
Um, and so I think that is something that needs uh we need to focus on as a profession because there are more uh more people that have those pets.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:04.960
And I think there's um there's so much more education that has come out about them as well, that it's not just you get the bunny and stick it in a cage and feed it a little bit.
00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:12.799
Like, you know, I mean, I think there we we have moved beyond the you know, the bunny in the cage in the backyard.
00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:18.400
So um I think expanding care to those sorts of things would would be very beneficial.
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:20.720
Well, you know me, I'm all about the birds.
00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.359
Yeah.
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:30.240
But talking about what Maggie's talking about, I think you hospice care for technicians is a great field for them to get a chance to go into home euthanasias.
00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:37.200
I think the wearables, I think it'd be really cool to have a wearable that your practice selected so that you have real expertise in it.
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:45.200
And that's going to help monitor some of these patients as they age, as they move less, as they're diabetic, or whatever their medical condition happens to be.
00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:57.279
And I think if you had a technician that was really tuned into one wearable, you could really capitalize on the information that comes from that because they're kind of just a gimmick at this point, but I think they could be so much more.
00:17:57.920 --> 00:17:58.559
So, Dr.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:03.279
Greer, I'll I'll I'll have you segue into the next question.
00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:09.519
How does a practice know a new service is worth pursuing rather than it being just simply an interesting idea?
00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.440
Because I know you've tried a lot of things.
00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:12.480
And and we have.
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:18.880
Um, you know, we've done some things, we've we've had some things that really flourished and we've had some things that really didn't flourish.
00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:25.279
Um, so I think some of these things that don't cost a lot of money that aren't high risk are pretty good places to start.
00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:47.599
But also I think you need to listen to your clients and start letting your technicians and your doctors come back to you and say, you know, I've heard three times this week that a client wished we did XYZ, whether it's after hours care or whether it's the triage that your technicians were doing, or whether it's wearables, or whether it is um wait a weight loss program, whatever it happens to be, some of these aren't expensive.
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:51.759
And and you really need to find out what the interest of a staff member happens to be.
00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:57.680
So if you have a technician or a doctor that's gonna grab this and run with it, I mean, those are those are impressive.
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:05.680
We have one person in our VMG group who um does a a youth program and they've done tremendous things with it.
00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:11.200
That they've had students come in on a weekend and they they get them all into scrubs and they teach them all kinds of things.
00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:16.000
And these are kids in, you know, FFA and and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and all those things.
00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:23.839
And so if you have a staff member that's devoted to this and it looks like they've got staying power in your practice, I think that's the place to start listening.
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:25.359
Is what does your staff want to do?
00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:29.519
Because it it doesn't work if it is your idea and it's just words.
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.119
Gotta have a champion, right?
00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:35.519
It has to be buy-on, it has to be champion, and it has to absolutely have great buy-in.
00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:46.960
And then, you know, you ask the rest of the clients, ask the next 10 clients that have kids that come in if that's something that they're interested in, or if they're gonna be like, no, we've already got so many soccer games and baseball games and tennis matches.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.079
We we can't.
00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.880
So look at what look at what the client base is looking for as well.
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.400
Michelle, you work with 55 practices.
00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:02.240
You know, how do you know something is worth pursuing versus a great idea?
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:04.960
I have a good answer for this.
00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:09.599
Um, I always encourage practices to track what they're referring out.
00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:16.160
Whatever those trends are, the highest numbers are a huge opportunity for you because you're already recommending the care.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.920
It's it's taking place, so why not offer it yourself?
00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.880
And that that doesn't mean that you're trying to be a specialist.
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:30.720
I'm not saying that at all, but there are things, there are certain orthopedic procedures that are very repeatable that happen a lot.
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.319
You know, maybe it's time for that.
00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:34.240
It might be reproduction, uh, like Dr.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.000
Beer had mentioned, it could be exotics, like Matt Maggie mentioned.
00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.640
Physical therapy is certainly in there.
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.799
Um, advanced dentistry, endoscopy, ultrasound if you don't have it.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:51.039
If you're referring it out in any quantity, you probably need to be considering bringing it in.
00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.480
And I'd be looking at probably the cheapest ways to get there.
00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.000
Like, and I I don't mean like I might not start with ultrasound.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.200
That that's a got a big price tag and a higher learning curve.
00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.400
Maybe I start with something else that's a little easier, um, you know, for my team.
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.799
And and this goes for medical, I mean, that's medical, but then there's also ancillary.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.200
I know a lot of practices closed boarding after um COVID.
00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.319
I understand why.
00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:20.000
There's different factors at play now than there were then.
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:25.680
But boarding, grooming, and training, those are still foundational needs for a lot of pet owners.
00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.279
Look at your patient base.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:31.839
If it's all she's with haircuts, offer haircuts.
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:33.279
Right?
00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:36.640
So like Maggie's Maggie was talking about having a surgeon come in.
00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.240
We can have an internal medicine or an ultrasound person come in on a regular basis.
00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.480
Those are services that you can keep in house.
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.039
The clients appreciate it, there's continuity of care.
00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:50.400
Those are opportunities that you may have someone that does a mobile practice in your community and they're looking for a home base.
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:56.559
Maggie, I know that you're limited in your practice in terms of space and size.
00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.759
So, how are you, you know, determining?
00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:08.000
What's worth growing or launching versus, oh, that's a really great idea, but I don't have the space for it.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:14.799
Yeah, um, I feel like that's a topic that we have very regularly at our practice.
00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:28.640
Um so I mean, I think uh it comes when you're looking at space, is obviously you're not gonna bring in an MRI whenever you have when you have very limited space.
00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:33.200
So I think the equipment piece um is is key to that.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:43.599
Um you know, for rehab, that is something that like we've talked about doing, but you do need some some space to do that.
00:22:44.079 --> 00:23:00.559
Um we can, you know, we've talked about expanding on some piece of those services, like um, again, that the acupuncture, the therapeutic laser, the different, you know, exercises and technician education, that sort of thing.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:06.400
Um, but you know, there's no space for underwater treadmill and and and things like that.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:18.880
So um I think I think that is um a big piece is the equipment and you know where you can use that and where you can put it in that in a practice.
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.880
But print definitely factors.
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:21.839
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:38.559
Um, but I also I also we had two people in our VMG, we had two people in our VMG group that were able to go across a parking lot into another not on this, not a contiguous piece of the building, but across the parking lot that were able to expand their practices.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:42.400
And I've looked at tiny homes as another way to do like an addition.
00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.640
And so I think there's some creativity.
00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:46.799
Yeah, we're getting a pod.
00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:48.640
So there you go.
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:49.839
There you go.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:24:02.559
Um, so I yeah, I think that is that's a big piece of it, but I think also um another piece is just the cost of the staff training and education that goes with this.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:11.839
Um, you know, you can't bring in a new service if you don't have somebody that knows what they're doing and is gonna sell that service.
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:23.440
Um, so I think uh, you know, whether it's doctor CE or technician CE, um, and then bringing that back and training the rest of the staff on it.
00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:33.759
That was that was we brought in exotics this past year, and um, you know, we had a doctor that knew how to do exotics, but our our technician team didn't.
00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.039
Um, so there there is a huge learning curve there with that.
00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:38.079
Absolutely.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:51.519
Maggie, before our listeners start running down the road with a lot of ideas, um, let's help them with what's harder about implementation than they might think or or might expect.
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.160
I think you know, change management in itself is hard.
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.920
Um, change is hard.
00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:02.319
People uh don't tend to like change.
00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:17.200
Um, so I think having a good grasp on that, you know, having um having a very organized process, we're gonna do this and this and this and this um before we get here.
00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.000
Um and I think I think staff buy-in is huge.
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:26.000
Um, not just this is one more thing that we have to do.
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:39.359
Um in the veterinary world, you know, we we have a problem with burnout, and asking your team to do more, uh, you need to be very thoughtful and strategic about how you do that.
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:46.720
Um, so I think explaining the why, uh for me, it's bringing it back to why we're all in vet med.
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:57.359
Um not just how much more money can we make, but how does this improve our patients' lives, how does this improve our client experience?
00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:13.039
Um, and I think once you once you get that buy-in, um, then you're gonna have a team that's motivated to learn, that's motivated to do the training and is motivated to um to provide that service for your clients.
00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.160
Thank you.
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:14.799
Dr.
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.960
Greer, same question.
00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:22.480
You know, what what should our our listeners be on the lookout for when it comes to implementation?
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:27.359
Yeah, I I think Maggie really has hit the high points of change management.
00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.160
That is a challenge.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:35.920
And so maybe you need a change manager person in a position to manage that, or it needs to be that that person that buys into it.
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:39.200
So it it you don't want it to be a burden.
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:53.119
You want it to be something that's exciting and and fun for them and that gives them a newfound joy in the practice of veter veterinary medicine, whether it's a a lay staff member, whether it's a technician, whether it's a doctor, it really needs to have that.
00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:54.799
It has to be organic.
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:56.799
It can't come just from the top.
00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.279
So it really has to be something that they're excited about.
00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.960
I have a staff member that wants to do hospice, in-home hospice care.
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.839
So those are the things that you you know, you try and pick up on those conversations, give them the tools.
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:15.839
Um, and it's it's oftentimes not a huge investment of time or money, but it does require pulling them out of a role that they're currently in.
00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:26.240
So that means finding someone else to fill their shoes uh to make that happen so that they have the freedom um mentally and and time-wise to do what they need to do.
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.799
Yeah, thank you for that, Michelle.
00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.079
Yeah.
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.440
Implementation.
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:32.240
Okay.
00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:35.519
For me, it comes down to role clarity.
00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:37.039
And let me explain that.
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.119
As was mentioned by both Maggie and Dr.
00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.480
Greer, there's almost always a champion behind something.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:45.519
And that champion is usually crystal clear on stuff.
00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:46.720
But what's the CSR's role?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.000
What's a vet assistance role?
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.519
How are they to promote these services?
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:52.640
How and when will they be promoting the service?
00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:08.880
And um, the reason this is incredibly important is because as we know we're probably going to be spending money to begin a new service, we're gonna, there's gonna be a period of time that this is costing us money, not making, there's there's not gonna be a net profit for a while.
00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:16.640
We finally get to a breakeven and then we become profitable in that, which helps us grow the next service category, which is important to us.
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:28.640
And so the more people who are on board and understand the positioning and where to make recommendations and and how to make these services happen in the practice, the faster we get beyond breakeven.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:31.119
Thank you for that.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:39.759
Um, well, thank you all for being a part of the guest panel today, and thanks to our listeners for flying with me today on Flight Plan Quick Consults.
00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:44.880
And a big thank you to Joan Marshall with PEI Midlantic for sponsoring today's episode.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:55.200
I hope something from today's conversation gave you a new idea to consider, a question worth asking, or a next step that you can put into action in your own practice.
00:28:55.359 --> 00:29:00.319
Until next week, keep your mission clear, your team aligned, and your practice soaring.
