Improving Practice Efficiency: 5 Levers You Can Pull

You’ve seen the data: High-efficiency practices can see almost twice as many patients per FTE veterinarian each day than low-efficiency practices.¹ In a recent members-only workshop, VMG members identified five basic levers that can be used to increase efficiency in veterinary practice. They are: 

• Training programs  
• Leadership 
• Structural processes 
• Process efficiency  
• Employment practices 

Each lever can help your practice function more effectively. Yet for all their power, pulling them doesn’t have to be expensive.  

Training program analysis 

Good training is more than sending people to a clinical conference every year. It includes a mix of taught courses, on the job training, and independent learning. Adults learn best when their training is problem-focused and relevant to their current needs, and when they are able to apply the lessons and learn from any mistakes.²

To pull this lever, evaluate your entire training program, for every team member. In private practice, most veterinarians receive paid continuing education and time off to pursue it.³ Staff members might not receive the same benefit. What are you doing for your CVTs, veterinary assistants, office manager and client support staff? How do you decide who is trained on what? What skills are cross-trained, and to which team members? Do you use a mix of training techniques?

Effective case management requires veterinarians, CVTs, veterinary assistants, and client care specialists to work together. Team-based training can improve team effectiveness, which will also improve patient care.

Everyone on the practice team should have annual learning goals and be supported in, and rewarded for, achieving them. Training is the foundation upon which your team builds its patient care practices. Invest in it and you will see the results: better patient care, better client relationships, and more satisfied, loyal employees.

Leadership Development 

Critical leadership skills in veterinary practice include motivating and empowering team members, knowing when and how to delegate effectively, giving feedback, rewarding or correcting performance, and handling difficult clients. Communication skills are central to good leadership.

Everyone on the practice management team needs leadership and communication training. That includes you, as the practice owner: Team members look to you for how to behave, and to see whether good performance is rewarded and valued, and bad performance is tolerated or addressed. What they see changes how they think and act at work.

Look for training programs specific to the veterinary profession, and some that are more general. Leaders in all types of businesses need problem-solving, motivation, delegation, and performance management skills. VMG members have access to dedicated, expert-led professional development programs.

Leaders were seen as critical to establishing a collaborative environment and support network that promoted team cohesion, respect, and accountability.⁴

Leaders set the culture of the practice, and the culture affects employee satisfaction and retention. Associates working for someone with positive leadership skills are significantly more likely to stay in their practice.^5,6

 

Assessing structural processes 

Digging down to your practice’s structural foundations can generate tremendous leverage. Start with people: How do you define roles and assign responsibilities? Are you making the most of each team member’s skills? Many practices admit to underutilizing their CVTs, and CVTs cite underutilization as a major reason for leaving a practice.^7,8 Yet 87% of clinics that improved efficiency in the practice said they did it through better utilization of non-veterinary staff.⁹

Review the latest Technician Utilization guidelines from AAHA and your state regulations; you may find that your CVTs could handle tasks currently done by veterinarians.⁸ Similarly, non-credentialed veterinary assistants, kennel staff, customer care specialists and receptionists might be able to do more than you think.

Review your appointment plans. Do you schedule appointments of different lengths, depending on the patient’s requirements? Or does every patient get 20 minutes with a veterinarian, regardless of the reason for the visit? Within an existing VCPR, some short rechecks can performed by a CVT, rather than requiring a veterinarian. Some could even be done virtually, if your state practice law permits that.

Are your tools and equipment still fit for purpose, or are they outdated and slow? Consider investing in new equipment to make patient care faster and more effective. Do a careful financial analysis first, so that you only invest where it makes sense.

Process efficiency 

Many of the processes that underlie common tasks in veterinary practice can be made faster, easier, and more convenient for clients and team members. Administrative processes can be easy wins. Consider testing artificial intelligence tools to improve the efficiency of scheduling appointments, ordering prescription refills, and even completing patient records. Read more about AI tools that can improve your veterinary practice efficiency here.

Ask your staff for their suggestions on how to make everyone’s work more efficient. Be willing to look at every policy, every process, every task. Are your most used items easily accessible, or do team members have to go hunting for them? Do you have dedicated phone consultation hours, or are your veterinarians pulled out of the exam room every time a client calls? Does a veterinarian have to return every call, or can some information be relayed via a staff member?

Once you identify a potential improvement, test it out and then ask your team for feedback. Did the change help? Can they think of other ways to improve it? Make process improvement a regular part of your clinic culture.

Employment practices 

In your quest to improve practice efficiency, remember that your team members are people, not widgets. Pay them appropriately. Be transparent and fair about what they need to do to receive a raise or a bonus. Money is one of the biggest stressors for veterinary associates and staff; clear communication about it is essential.^10,11 Because money matters, consider educating all staff members on important aspects of practice finance, so they can better understand how their work affects practice profitability.

Consider your employee’s human needs too: Can flexible scheduling be a win for you and a valued staff member? Can any work be done virtually? What else can you do to help reduce stress on your team members? Some veterinary practices have opened their own daycare centers – watch for more on this in an upcoming blog post.

Nothing slows a practice down like being understaffed. To hire for the long term, look for more than clinical skills. Anyone joining your team needs to fit the practice’s personality. Does your team like to joke around? Look for someone with a similar sense of humor. Hiring for fit, even if it means teaching new skills, makes your new hire more likely to be happy working in your practice. Have an effective onboarding plan for new hires, so that they can quickly learn how your practice works. Happy employees stay longer and provide better client and patient care.

Start pulling the levers that matter 

These five efficiency levers can help you make your practice work more efficiently and more effectively. They are fundamental aspects of every veterinary business. Use them to make your practice a better place to work.

References 

1. Ouedraogo, F. B., Weinstein, P., & Lefebvre, S. L. Increased efficiency could lessen the need for more staff in companion animal practice. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2023, 261(9), 1357-1362. 

1. Machynska, N., & Boiko, H. Andragogy–The science of adult education: Theoretical aspects. Journal of Innovation in Psychology, Education and Didactics, 2020, 24(1), 25-34. 

1. Doherty C, McKay C, Ouedraogo FB. American Veterinary Medical Association, 2024 AVMA Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession, 2024. 

1. Fletcher, K. N., Bergman, M. E., Austin, J. W., Marks, S. L., Fingland, R. B., Dallap-Schaer, B., et al. Survey indicates addressing workplace environment, work-life balance, and flexibility are key to attracting and retaining veterinarians in academia. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 2024, 85(9) 

1. McKay, C. H., & Vaisman, J. M. Psychological safety, purpose, path, and partnership reduce associate veterinarian desire to leave current employment. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2023, 1(aop), 1-7.  

1. Kogan, L. R., Booth, M., & Rishniw, M. Factors that impact recruitment and retention of veterinarians in emergency practice. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2022, 260(15), 1986-1992. 

1. Salois M., O’Neill C. VMG Opinion Survey Summary: The Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA) Program. June 2024. Data on file.  

1. Boursiquot N., Prendergast H., Boudreau L., Cital S. N., Mages A., Rauscher J., et al. (2023) 2023 AAHA Technician Utilization Guidelines. American Animal Hospital Association. Published 30 September, 2023. https://www.aaha.org/resources/2023-aaha-technician-utilization-guidelines/. 

1. Brakke Consulting 2024 Animal Health Industry Overview. Presented 18 February 2024 at VMX, Las Vegas, NV. 

1. Volk, J. O., Schimmack, U., Strand, E. B., Reinhard, A., Hahn, J., Andrews, J, et al. Work-life balance is essential to reducing burnout, improving well-being. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2024, 1(aop), 1-8.  

1. Volk, J. O., Schimmack, U., Strand, E. B., Reinhard, A., Hahn, J., Andrews, J., et al. Merck Animal Health Veterinary Team study reveals factors associated with well-being, burnout, and mental health among nonveterinarian practice team members. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2024, 262(10), 1330-1337