Tuesday, April 13 at 12–1pm

Ensuring Practices Flourish: Transitioning from Pandemic to Post-Pandemic Operations

by  Darren Osborne, MA

The veterinary recovery that occurred in the latter half of 2020—following the first pandemic shutdown—was nothing short of meteoric. Practices initially reacted to the shutdown with a “nobody move until this goes away” attitude but quickly surveyed the big picture and launched one of the most successful operational pivots imaginable. The transition from classic service/retail to telemedicine, e-commerce, and curbside was swift and pain-free for pet owners. Within a month, most practices were operating at full speed and, after two or three months, were cruising even faster.

As wage pressure builds and an economic slowdown looms, 2021 will present new challenges for veterinary managers, including identifying creative fee increases to cover rising expenses and capitalizing on the technology and procedures that helped so much during the shutdown. This lecture will focus on pinpointing strategies to address rising costs, maximizing the efficacy of current technology, and establishing staffing requirements to return to pre-pandemic operations.

Participants will be well-equipped to better handle post-pandemic operations and help their practices move forward.

Darren Osborne is the Director of Economic Research for the Ontario VMA and Economic Consultant for the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, several State VMAs, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and veterinary study groups across North America. Darren attended York University and completed his Master’s Degree in Economics in 1992. When he is not crunching numbers, you can find Darren trying to make the best of the pandemic shutdown by building a golf simulator in his garage.