Category Archives: Publications
Effective Team Training Embraces Differences
Many veterinary practices, like most small businesses, do not have a human resources (HR) department, and veterinarians and managers often overlook training while focusing on hiring issues that appear more pressing. An effective training program is an essential component of a successful practice and can help make the most of the existing team when executed […]
Read MoreFeeling Stuck With Heartworm Prevention?
Ready to create a heartworm prevention program that works for everyone? Use these checklists to get your, err, foot in the door and move clients to get on board with heartworm prevention. You can use some—or all—of the ideas below to craft a plan that works for you, your team and your clients. To read more […]
Read MoreHow to Set Practice Service Fees
The better the veterinary team knows the practice’s fees, the easier it is to present them to clients with confidence and without anxiety. Following is a brief journey into the methods and mechanics of setting veterinary service fees. Opinions vary regarding the best way to evaluate and set fees, but in the author’s experience, the […]
Read MoreShould Your Practice Have an Online Pharmacy?
Clients today are trying harder than ever to save money, and ordering veterinary drugs online rather than through human pharmacies has increased in popularity. Pharmacy income is a significant component of overall practice health; thus, meeting clients’ evolving demands by developing your own online pharmacy service should be seriously considered. To read more of this […]
Read MoreWays To Improve Patient Care
In these three posts on patient care on DVM360.com, Pam helps explain how you can put your best food forward: 5 Ways To Improve Patient Care (tips on enhancing your patient’s wellbeing) What’s Your Role? (no matter what your job title) Build Better Puppy And Kitten Kits (and what to include inside!)
How To Prevent Hypothermia; How To Screen Out Parasites
When you have a pet, there are many things you need to treat and look out for. In two different articles on DVM360.com, Pam gives advice on How to Prevent Hypothermia in pets and how to Screen Out Parasites when it comes to veterinary clients.
Read MorePractice Management Overhaul In Four Parts
Pam worked with Veterinary Economics on a 4-part practice overhaul series called Practice Management Overhaul, and here are the links from DVM360.com: Practice Management Overhaul: Your Sneak Peek Announcing The Practice Management Overhaul Winners Practice Management Overhaul Forms Overhaul Outcome: Finding The Tools For Success
Cut Excuses To The Core; Collect On Past Due Accounts
Dealing with patients can be extremely rewarding, but it can also present some challenges, too. In Cut Excuses To The Core, Pam offers advice on how to work with clients who are less than forthcoming with the real reason behind their words. In A Dun Deal: Collect On Past Due Accounts, Pam gives tips on […]
Read More5 Ways To Work Smarter; How To Conduct A Time Study
Pam gives helpful tips on how to manage inventory, update patient records, avoid missed charges, and streamline discharge appointments in 5 Ways To Work Smarter on DVM360. Along with working smart, working efficiently is important too. In How To Conduct A Time Study, Pam shares 5 ideas that will help you analyze your practice’s outpatient […]
Read MoreOne Appointment, Three Pets; How To Overcome 4 Common Client Excuses
Sometimes patients make appointments for one pet, then bring the rest of their pets along with. When this happens, what do you do? In this One Appointment, Three Pets, Pam answers this question. And what do you do with common client excuses? In How To Overcome 4 Common Client Excuses, Pam helps answer questions from […]
Minimizing Team Conflict
This article from Veterinary Team Brief looks at what causes conflict, along with how to prevent conflict and keep it to a minimum. It also provides six steps you can take towards conflict prevention. To view the article in full, you can either read it on Veterinary Team Brief* or download the PDF version. […]
Read MoreTurn Up The Dial On Client Education
When I discuss client education topics, I feel like clients are tuning me out. How can I make them listen? Engage clients with questions like, “How did you choose Sparky?” says Pamela Stevenson, CVPM, a consultant with Veterinary Results Management in Durham, N.C. Find out what they know about pet care and their past pet […]
Read MoreSample Script: Offer Smooth Discharge Visits
Pam Stevenson, CVPM, a consultant with Veterinary Results Management in Durham, N.C., offers this script for efficient discharge appointments: You: Hello, Ms. Worrysome. I see you’re here to pick up Fluffy after her ovariohysterectomy. Let’s review Fluffy’s experience while she was in our care. (Summarize Fluffy’s stay at your practice.) Now, let’s discuss how to […]
Read MoreMake A Punctuality Pact With Team Members
My employees are always late to work. How can I stop this? Everyone is occasionally late for one reason or another, but there’s only one cause when it comes to chronic tardiness, says Pam Stevenson, CVPM, owner of Veterinary Results Management in Durham, N.C. “It’s a choice,” she says. And one that doesn’t honor employees’ […]
Read MoreHow To Have A Feline-Friendly Practice
My newest article for Veterinary Team Brief* is out, and is on how to have a feline-friendly practice! Share what you are up to in making your practices feline friendly! *In order to read the article you need to have a Veterinary Team Brief account, which is completely free (sign up here) and gets […]
Read MoreThe Challenge Of Providing Multigenerational Benefits In Veterinary Practices
My newest article for Patterson Veterinary Insight* is now online! If you’re reading this via a mobile device, click here to read the piece. If you’re reading this via a desktop or laptop, either click on the photo above or click here to read it (pages 13-14). *Pamela Stevenson, The Challenge of Providing Multigenerational Benefits […]
Read MoreStop Judging Clients
Some clients are difficult, but labeling them as such and guessing who will comply doesn’t help anyone, especially pets. Take a gavel to judgmental thinking and you’ll soon be letting clients—even the “bad” ones—off for good behavior. He approaches the front desk with a groan. Slowly bending down to pick up his toy poodle, the […]
When Should You Act As The Jury?
Never. Because, as this real-life example illustrates, most judgments don’t involve open-and-shut cases. Every practice has one—or two, or three, or four: A client who just doesn’t get it. This type of pet owner declines recommendations for flea and tick preventives because the dog only goes outside to go to the bathroom. Judging clients like […]
Read MorePayment Procrastinators
Q. What do you do when clients say at checkout they want to pay later? First, establish, communicate, and enforce protocol for collecting payment for services and products, says Pam Stevenson, CVPM, a consultant with Veterinary Results Management in Durham, N.C. Then consider the situation. Is this a new client? Has she visited at least […]
Great Expectations
Q. In the past, I occasionally gave discounts to friends and family. Now they expect the same generosity every time they visit. What do I do? Some veterinary practices do offer their team members a discount on veterinary products and services. “And it’s wonderful when we can extend that discount to family and friends,” says […]
Read MoreOne Appointment, Three Pets
Q: Clients sometimes schedule an appointment for one pet and show up with several. What should we do? “It depends,” says Karen Sabatini, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and a receptionist at Ardmore Animal Hospital in Ardmore, Pa. “We usually handle these clients as we would drop-ins. Unless it’s an emergency, we try to schedule an […]
Read MoreI’m Sick Of Overtime!
Q. No one follows our time schedules—I regularly work at least 30 minutes after my shift was supposed to end. Is this fair? “Rather than asking, ‘Is this fair?’ I recommend tracking the reason your shift isn’t ending on time for 30 days,” says Pamela Stevenson, CVPM, a practice management consultant who owns Veterinary Results […]
Read MoreFeeling Underappreciated
Q. The doctor doesn’t recognize or appreciate me. How can I let her know everything I do? “You need to show the doctor results,” says Pamela Stevenson, CVPM, a practice management consultant who owns Veterinary Results Management Inc. in Durham, N.C. “For example, perhaps you reorganized the pharmacy to make it easier to locate inventory. […]
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Should I Fire My Veterinary Team Bullies?
When teams work well, things seem to go brilliantly. But what about when they don’t? In Should I Fire My Veterinary Team Bullies on DVM360.com, Pam answers a reader question on how to deal with team bullies.