Practice Management

08 June

Unionization for staff at Seattle Blue Pearl location

wsvma   |   Practice Management

After months of preparation, eligible employees at Blue Pearl in north Seattle last week voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the National Veterinary Professionals Union (NPVU). It’s NVPU’s first contract. Efforts began in April when signature cards requesting representation by NVPU were collected from 86% of the non-supervisory hospital employees followed by a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to supervise an election. Of the 52 eligible employees, 92% voted in favor of the contract. Going forward, the staff will...

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11 May

A “short and sweet” reminder about pre-booking appointments

wsvma   |   Practice Management

“We’ve tried to pre-book appointments with clients, but it’s not working.”   We have received a few calls like this and what we have learned is that the success of pre-booking is determined in how it is communicated.  It is ineffective to ask a client if they want to book their next appointment.  For example, Mrs. Smith and Fluffy are paying their invoice and the receptionist asks Mrs. Smith “Can I book you for your wellness exam next year?”  Mrs. Smith...

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04 May

Overcoming Communication Challenges

wsvma   |   Practice Management

“Help! We’ve been really busy lately and staff are getting frustrated with each other because no one seems to know what is going on and we look really disorganized in front of clients. How do we fix this?” While it’s great to be busy, it can be challenging to maintain a necessary level of communication between staff. Communication challenges are common for any business, so applying regular team communication opportunities is imperative – even when the clinic is busy. Consider implementing the...

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27 April

The disconnect between what you say and what clients hear

wsvma   |   Practice Management

Have you heard the latest about The Opportunity? The Opportunity is an exclusive online Partners for Healthy Pets (PHP) practice tool that is designed to help you identify communication gaps between what your health care team says and what your clients hear. For example, did you know that 73% of practices routinely assess for pain but only 45% of pet owners believe that they do? This is one of many communication gaps identified during a preventive healthcare exam. This is not a client satisfaction...

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20 April

Scam alert: Beware callers impersonating the DEA

wsvma   |   Practice Management

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has shared that registrants have been receiving fraudulent telephone calls and emails from con artists claiming to represent the DEA or other law enforcement agencies. The callers have masked their telephone number on caller ID by showing the DEA Registration Support 800 number. According to a press release issued by the agency, “The impersonators inform their victims that purchasing drugs over the internet or by telephone is illegal, and that enforcement action will be taken against them unless...

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13 April

Advancing Patient Care Through Team Commitment to Forward Booking

wsvma   |   Practice Management

The Roaring Fork Valley provides some of the best fly fishing in Colorado, and the town of Carbondale – with its 6,500 residents located in the mountains 170 miles west of Denver – lies at its center. Resting in the magnificent shadow of 12,953-foot Mt. Sopris, Carbondale offers plenty of activity and enjoyment for tourists and residents alike. Carbondale also provides the home to Alpine Animal Hospital, a thriving, AAHA-accredited mixed animal practice with five veterinarians and 12 staff members. Mary...

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16 March

Ending the visit on a high note

wsvma   |   Practice Management

Have you ever gone grocery shopping and paid the cashier, only to review the bill as soon as you were in your car because the total was so much higher than expected? In many instances, the same thing is happening to your clients after they visit your hospital.  After the receptionist announces the total, the client pays the bill and quickly leaves while trying to hide their shock – then reviews the invoice once in their car. In addition to checking...

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02 March

Filling the Appointment Book : Managing Logistics & Creating Flow

wsvma   |   Practice Management

Past WA Veterinarian articles have addressed various ways to fill the appointment book, including pre-booking the client’s next appointment, making booking calls and following up with clients regarding recommendations made when they were in last with their pet.   Many clinics have had great success in adopting these new strategies using the following methods: 1.        Start pre-booking now.  The sooner your team starts to pre-book clients for their next appointment, the sooner your clinic will start to see how easy it is...

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23 February

What can we learn from millennial staff members?

wsvma   |   Practice Management

The characteristics of each generation are a result of their upbringing and environment. Some have experienced wars, been parented by a single mother working two jobs, subjected to a parent losing a job due to an economic crisis, etc. All of these experiences shape an individual and can become a consistent group of characteristics for a generation. While no one wants to be painted with a broad brush, it is true that different periods in time give rise to people...

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02 February

Protect Now to Prevent Expense Later

wsvma   |   Practice Management

What would you do if a fire, flood or computer virus destroyed all of the digital data in your hospital? According to Price Waterhouse Coopers, seven out of ten small businesses that experience a data loss go out of business within a year. The Disaster Preparedness Council reports 20 per cent of the companies they surveyed suffered $50,000 to $5 million dollars in downtime losses following a complete wipe out of digital files. Nancy Dewitz, Veterinary & Marketing Technology Consultant with...

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