Step into any veterinary clinic  post-COVID ,  and you will notice a theme: long wait times, overextended staff, and more patients and appointments than ever before. While we aren’t dealing with the annoyance of curbside as much, we are still trying to wrestle with the sheer increase in patients needing to be seen. In larger cities such as Philadelphia and Boston, the number of patients needing to be seen has increased beyond the demand of staff.

Why are veterinary clinics missing the mark when it comes to attracting job applicants online? It comes back to my favorite—often misunderstood—secret weapon for businesses: Good   branding.

Pet ownership among seniors is also on the rise. Yet while many older Americans enjoy having pets and reap the health benefits of compassion animals, the reality is that caring for a pet can become more challenging with age.

What if you could sneak a peek inside other veterinary practices’ financials  to see how you stack up? Drill down to discover whether you really have lost income to online pharmacies, or if it just feels that way? Or see into the future with “If I do this, then that happens” scenarios? Financial benchmarking can do that for you.

Make the most of your PIMS and use it to promote Check the Chip Day all year round. 

Does your practice treat working dogs? From police K9s to guide dogs for people who are blind, these special patients can present unique challenges and rewards for veterinary teams.

Veterinarians and staff have many tools at their disposal these days for treating pain. One perhaps leser-known modality is chiropractic care for your animal patients. Read on to learn more about this technique and its value to patients and your practice. 

In private practices, universities, professional organizations, legislatures, or blazing their own trail, veterinary technicians are shaping the future of the profession.

Pet insurance has been around for decades, but is still widely misunderstood. So much so that even with a more than 20% growth rate over the past five years, only 2% of Americans have this benefit for their family pet. This article explores a few cases and seeks to offer some clarity on the subject as well.  

By utilizing integrative care methods, the veterinarian’s ability to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for hospice and palliative care patients has never been more powerful.

When it comes to workplace culture, it’s tempting to focus primarily on the behavior and attitudes of veterinary practice team members. But given the link between practice culture and patient safety, it’s risky to ignore the importance of client interactions, too.

After spending so much time at home with their humans, many pups are in for a surprise when their owners go back to work. Here are some tips on separation anxiety diagnosis, client communication, treatment, management, and more from Valarie V. Tynes, DVM, DACVB, DACAW.

Becoming and staying profitable is harder than it used to be, so a business needs to understand and regularly measure the metrics that define financial success.

No one likes anesthetic complications. The most effective way to prevent complications is to establish anesthetic processes that result in high-level anesthesia care.

Clients interested in homemade diets need advice to avoid nutrient deficiencies or excesses that happen all too easily.

Providing morale and motivation boosts can be confusing and overwhelming for any professional, and especially so for busy practice owners and managers who themselves may be in a state of burnout. So we turned to  AAHA members to help us sort out some simple tips and gestures that have worked in their practices.

A 10-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat presented for acute-onset, progressive lameness of five days’ duration.

In the past, e-commerce often meant just selling products online, but we are now experiencing a new set of circumstances where services are also increasingly being transacted over the internet. Are you ready?

Veterinary technicians navigating pandemic-induced stressors are having mood, energy, concentration, and sleeping problems. Many have lost passion and empathy at work. Flexible mindsets and workplaces and better self-care are crucial to keep our essential technicians going strong.  

Six expert tips from AAHA-accredited practices from Exceptional Customer Experience: 80 Tips for Compassionate Care, Clear Communication, and Authentic Client Connections .

Frequent changes to Facebook’s advertising options, ad placement, and bidding strategies sometimes make it difficult to know the best way to use your advertising dollars. This leads us to the question, “Are Facebook ads worth the cost?” The answer? Read on!

In positive cultures, people are engaged, driven by purpose, and full of enthusiasm. These cultures have low turnover rates, low burnout rates, high team morale, and an overall sense of elevated wellbeing. They also outperform their peers.

Each month in NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine.  Although telehealth and virtual care are now on clients’ radar, and in the veterinarian’s toolbox, the key is to get clients to actually take advantage of these services and allow practices to care for their pets in this “new normal.”

Each month in NEWStat, we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine.  The most important thing to know about cannabis in veterinary medicine is that things continue to change. By waiting for a definitive decree from national or state organizations or accepting prior statements as final, veterinarians may find themselves far behind in their knowledge of how cannabis-derived products such as cannabidiol (CBD) affect patients’ lives. Saying nothing may no longer be viable.

Each month in NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. Offering multiple payment options to clients can help forge stronger relationships, create a more profitable and efficient business, and ultimately let you focus on providing quality veterinary care. This article discusses the various ways clients can pay, including pet insurance, wellness plans, nonprofit programs, and payment plans.

Each month in NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine.  Pet Specialists of Monterey owner and founder Greg Marsolais, DVM, MS, DACVS, knew he wanted to open a referral hospital that adhered to the highest standards of veterinary excellence. So he built it from the ground up to be an AAHA-class referral hospital. Their strict adherence to AAHA principles is one of the reasons Pet Specialists of Monterey was named the 2019 AAHA-Accredited Referral Practice of the Year.

Each month in NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine.  As pet parasite problems pop up all over, experts suggest that everyone needs to up their game on what’s happening. But what is happening? Is global warming the cause? Global temperatures in 2018 were “only” 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean.

Each month in NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine.  Many nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) go unnoticed, according to the 2018 AAHA Infection Control, Prevention, and Biosecurity (ICPB) Guidelines. That means “solely relying upon the awareness of outbreaks as a measure of effective ICPB practices results in a false sense of security and unnecessary patient and staff health risks,” the guidelines warned. 

When I tell people I’m a veterinarian (which we all try not to do, right?), people usually respond with that happy “awwww” noise. But when they find out I’m a feline specialist, I’m usually greeted with a polite silence or maybe even a confused “why?” Even veterinary colleagues seem to be frequently baffled why anyone would want to work with just cats. And I get it. Cats can be difficult, sharp, and ungrateful. Throw a complex disease like diabetes into the mix, and it can drive anyone a little nuts. This article provides pointers on how to set your clients, your staff, and your patient up for diabetic management success.

Each month in  NEWStat , we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of  Trends magazine . There's never a dull moment in a veterinary general practice, as patients are seen from the moment the doors open until long past what should be the end of the day. So where does behavior medicine fit in?

Each month in NEWStat, we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. Mention “inventory management” to some veterinary professionals and you’re liable to hear some groans—about the detail required, the neverending monitoring, and the inevitable inventory bloopers, like the time you realized that the eye ointment your practice sells had conflicting prices.

Each month in NEWStat, we highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. It’s a confusing world for veterinary healthcare teams when it comes to genetic testing. There are now panels available that will screen for dozens or even hundreds of different genetic variants and markers. At the same time, most genetic tests today are also available directly to consumers, so clients can request such testing themselves, just as they do with companies like 23andMe and other, similar services.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. There’s no such thing as “just a tech.” Of course, you already know that. From assisting veterinarians in the surgery suite to educating pet owners in the exam room, technicians are critically important to daily practice operations and invaluable members of the medical team. Just ask any practice owner or manager, and they’ll be quick to tell you just how hard a great technician is to find—and, these days, even more difficult to keep.

It’s been known for some time that samples tested immediately, in-house, provide better results than those tested later. As more practitioners use in-house equipment to review samples within minutes of collection, the case for the trueness of in-house readings is resounding louder. Are you convinced yet that an in-house laboratory could be a valuable part of your veterinary practice? Whether you have one or you are thinking about acquiring one, make sure that you follow these five steps to a better lab.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. “He’s one of those dogs that needs a job,” Stacia Smith said as she described her dog Max. Smith adopted the now-10-year-old mixed-breed dog from a shelter when he was a puppy, and he has excelled in agility ever since. “He’s a little hard on his body,” explained Smith, who lives in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. “Ever since he came home, he’s been an on-the-go dog.”

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. February is upon us, and that means veterinary practices across the country are knee deep in dentals. In January, Trends tapped social media experts for marketing tips to help fill your schedule.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. National Pet Dental Health Month is just one month away. If your February schedule is not already fully booked, now’s the time to ramp up your promotion. The good news is, there’s more to dental health month than offering discounts to attract clients. Trends asked several social media pros to share their ideas for National Pet Dental Health Month. The result is a simple plan to increase dental bookings without denting your bank account and to make your clients champions of pet dental care all year long.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. To meet the growing expectations of veterinary clients, it’s important to understand new deal-breakers that may drive people away and what strategies customer service researchers have pinpointed that correlate with the greatest gains.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. If getting cats in the door of your veterinary hospital is like, well, herding cats, you’re not alone. Statistics from the Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study III: Feline Findings, conducted in collaboration with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) in 2012, showed that only half as many cats receive annual exams as dogs—and most new feline patients who do visit the veterinarian don’t return.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. A relief veterinarian can be a powerful resource for today’s practices and hospitals. Utilizing these trained professionals as part of a human resources strategy can help create opportunities for work-life balance and give staff the ability to recharge and come back with renewed energy for the work at hand. This story discusses key strategies that can help ensure a successful experience for the relief veterinarian, practice staff, and the client.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. Apple first told us that "there’s an app for that" in 2009. Since then, there are even more apps for that – an estimated six million between the Google Play store and the Apple App store, including apps for veterinary medicine and pet owners. And within the larger explosion of pet-related apps, there are now client-facing apps that make it easy for veterinarians to move to a digital mobile practice. But which apps should a veterinarian who wants to take their practice mobile look at?

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. Laboratory services provided at veterinary hospitals continue to evolve. Just look at the changes over the last 40 years: Parvo used to be identified by clinical signs and nearly absent white cell count, and red blood cell counts were done by a human (using a hemocytometer). Now, blood samples are simply placed into a piece of equipment to produce the counts. Evolution can be a good thing. New tests are being developed for old diseases, and new diseases are requiring new tests. The way diagnostic lab services are provided is evolving, and it is not slowing down.

Each month in NEWStat, we will highlight an article from the upcoming issue of Trends magazine. Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) have been around for more than a century in the human medical realm. But as more corporations dominate the business world, GPOs have expanded into other industries, including veterinary medicine. This article looks at the various GPOs that veterinary practices can join, including AAHA’s own version of the GPO, AAHA Advantage.