Since last December, over 200 practitioners responded favorably to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's invitation to log on to www.canadianveterinarians.net and participate in the CVMA National Benchmarking Program. Evidently, more and more practice owners understand the correlation between economic data and benchmarking, and realize the importance of such tools in the sound management of their veterinary enterprise. Not only does the online National Benchmarking Program allow you to measure the success of your practice, it also provides the feedback you need to help you to improve it.
In this article, we look at 2 more of these online tools and explain what you can learn from each.
Tool name: Do my clients like me — do they really like me?
What you will learn: Examine data that indicates your level of client service.
Clients expect more from veterinary clinics than they used to. In addition to quality medicine and surgery, they expect outstanding service and a high perceived value for their dollar. In fact, many clients judge the medical quality of a practice by service factors.
This particular tool compares variables that correlate with good client service among practices. Some of these variables include client waiting time, appointment duration versus time actually spent with a veterinarian, veterinarian and staff continuing education, and facility appearance. The “Why is this important?” and “Recommended treatment” sections discuss what clients expect from a clinic in the way of service and how veterinarians and support staff can meet these expectations.
Tool name: What's my bottom line?
What you will learn: Compare your bottom line with the rest of the profession.
This benchmarking tool provides the answer to the question owners most often ask, “How truly profitable is my practice?” This isn't always an easy question to answer given the difference in accounting methods and tax choices made by practices. In addition to profitability analysis by transaction, veterinarian hours, square footage, and other variables, the “Recommended treatment” section gives suggestions for improving profitability and recommends other tools that may be helpful.
To measure your practice's success, log on to www.canadianveterinarians.net and enter the Exam Room! For additional information, contact the CVMA Director, Programs at 1-800-567-2862, extension 18, or at slavictoire@cvma-acmv.org
(by Suzanne Lavictoire, Director, Programs, CVMA)
