Noncompetes under fire
In April, the Federal Trade Commission sent businesses large and small scrambling with the announcement that an FTC panel voted 3-2 to ban noncompetes. “Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”
The FTC argued that noncompetes are a widespread and often exploitative practice imposing contractual conditions that prevent workers from taking a new job or starting a new business. “Noncompetes often force workers to either stay in a job they want to leave or bear other significant harms and costs, such as being forced to switch to a lower-paying field, being forced to relocate, being forced to leave the workforce altogether, or being forced to defend against expensive litigation. An estimated 30 million workers—nearly one in five Americans—are subject to a noncompete,” the FTC stated in a release.
The ruling was set to go in effect September 4, but at the last minute, a district court in Texas issued an order stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule.
Could it still happen? Possibly. The FTC indicated it was considering an appeal. The decision does not prevent the FTC from addressing noncompetes through case-by-case enforcement actions. Lawmakers in individual states are also beginning to introduce legislations that addresses noncompetes.
Rising vet prices draws ire of lawmakers
A Massachusetts Senator commenting on the veterinary industry — in Rolling Stone Magazine –made for an odd combination this summer. But what Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said garnered a lot of discussion among veterinary stakeholders.
The Senator, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to a German-owned private equity firm that acquired specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals, asking for details on their interests in the veterinary industry.
Warren and Blumenthal expressed “concerns about the rapid consolidation of veterinary care in the United States,” and say that private equity firms, including JAB, “have spent billions on buying up veterinary practices and then profiteering while reducing quality of care, increasing prices for pet owners, and making working conditions even harder for veterinarians.”
“Given that more than two-thirds of U.S. households own a pet, corporate consolidation of veterinary care and an accompanying rise in prices represents a major issue for American consumers and a life and death issue for their pets,” the senators wrote, adding, “Private equity rollups of veterinary practices harm veterinarians and customers alike.”
You can read the original article here.
The increase in corporate and private equity groups buying veterinary practices has coincided with an increase in prices for consumers, according to an Atlantic report. Americans spent an estimated $38 billion on health care and related services for companion animals in 2023, up from about $29 billion in 2019, the magazine reported.
“Even as overall inflation got back under control last year, the cost of veterinary care did not,” the article noted. “In March 2024, the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers was up 3.5 percent year over year. The veterinary-services category was up 9.6 percent.”
AI in vet medicine
Trying to get a handle on the potential uses of artificial intelligence in your veterinary hospital? You’re not alone. What started as a buzzword in 2023 exploded on the scene in new products and services for veterinary professionals in 2024.
Here are a few ways AI is being incorporated into veterinary clinics:
- Diagnostic Assistance. AI tools can help veterinarians with diagnosing diseases like fractures, tumors, lung diseases, and other conditions.
- Predictive Analytics and Preventative Care. AI can be used to analyze large amounts of patient data (like medical history, lab results, and behavioral trends) to predict potential health issues in animals before they become serious.
- Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring. AI is being integrated into telemedicine platforms, allowing pet owners to consult with veterinarians remotely.
- Virtual Veterinary Assistants. AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots are increasingly being used to support veterinary staff.
- Drug and Treatment Recommendations. AI is being used to analyze vast amounts of data to help veterinarians recommend the most effective treatments for specific conditions.
- Behavioral Analysis. AI-based systems can be used to monitor and analyze animal behavior, such as signs of pain, anxiety, or distress.
- Supply Chain Management. In veterinary clinics, AI can assist with inventory and supply chain management, ensuring that essential medications, vaccines, and equipment are always in stock.
- Personalized Pet Health Plans. AI tools can analyze the health data of pets over time and help create personalized health plans for each animal.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Medical Records. AI technologies, including NLP, are being used to streamline the documentation process in veterinary practices.
- Research and Drug Development. By analyzing large datasets and clinical trial results, AI models can help identify potential treatments for diseases affecting animals.
More retailers enter vet services space
Calling the pet category “one of the most dynamic in retail,” major national retailer Walmart
announced expansions to its core pet care offerings, including five new in-person Walmart Pet Services centers in Georgia and Arizona, virtual veterinary care, pet prescription delivery, grooming services, pet food and supplies.
“The pet category continues to be one of the most dynamic in retail, with a projected annual spending growth of 7% by 2030 and household expenses expected to reach $1,445 per pet by 2026,” Walmart said in a release. “Veterinary services are now the second largest pet spending category after consumables and is expected to see continued growth as pet owners prioritize their pets’ wellbeing.”
Walmart Pet Services centers will offer routine veterinary care (vaccines, wellness exams and minor medical services), and grooming (baths, nail trims, teeth cleaning, ear cleaning and basic hair trims), in collaboration with PetIQ. Walmart has plans to continue to expand its Pet Services centers, the company said in a release.
Also in October, Tractor Supply Company announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Allivet, a privately held online pet pharmacy. The acquisition will allow Tractor Supply to introduce a convenient, low-cost pet and animal pharmacy solution for its 37 million Neighbor’s Club members. For the last several years, Allivet’s PetRx platform has been a partner with Tractor Supply to offer digital pet pharmacy service under the Tractor Supply brand.
And Chewy, already a major online player in the vet space, announced in late December 2023 the opening of several Vet Care locations in 2024. The practices offer a wide array of services, from routine wellness care to urgent care and surgeries. Chewy also offers membership plans at its Vet Care sites for wellness, sick, and urgent care exams and priority scheduling.
More vet schools on the way
The AVMA Council on Education (AVMA COE) was busy this year. In March the AVMA COE said it had a full slate of visits to prospective veterinary colleges in 2024. Among those receiving consultative site visits to proposed veterinary programs vying for accreditation were:
- Clemson University’s proposed College of Veterinary Medicine
- Arkansas State University’s proposed College of Veterinary Medicine
- Chamberlain University’s proposed School of Veterinary Medicine in Stockbridge, Georgia
- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), a historically Black college and university (HBCU) in Princess Anne, Maryland
- Rocky Vista University’s (RVU) proposed College of Veterinary Medicine in Billings, Montana.
Nearly a dozen newly proposed veterinary colleges were announced in recent years, which represents a sizeable potential increase to the existing 33 U.S. veterinary colleges.
The AVMA said a consultative site visit provides the proposed veterinary college with an unofficial report on the plan’s readiness to apply for a letter of reasonable assurance. Once any deficiencies in the plan have been addressed and documented to the council, the proposed veterinary college can then apply for a comprehensive site visit to determine if the plan meets the criteria for a letter of reasonable assurance.
“A letter of reasonable assurance is not a pre-accreditation action but indicates that the proposed veterinary college may gain accreditation in the future if the program completes all the plans it presents to the AVMA COE,” the association noted. “Receiving this letter allows the institution to begin enrolling students.”