Chapter 6 Overview
Veterinary teams are facing significant challenges, driven by a growing demand for care that exceeds the capacity of current practice models and the constraints of a tight labor market. While these structural issues existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis accelerated and intensified their impact, pushing some practices to their limits. If these trends continue—considering labor market factors like retirements and the entry of new graduates into the field—it is estimated that veterinarians may need to increase productivity by up to 40% to meet care demands by 2030.
To address this, IDEXX conducted the largest empirical study of its kind, involving input from over 750 practices and data analysis from more than 4.2 million clinical visits. This research led to the development of the Veterinary Practice Productivity Index™, a data-driven framework designed to enhance practice productivity across workflow, technology, and culture without compromising the quality of care. Practices leveraging this framework could save up to 2,000 hours per year, equivalent to adding a full-time veterinarian, while boosting clinical revenue and promoting work-life balance.
After completing this Chapter, a veterinary practice will be able to identify multiple operational systems that can be enhanced to increase efficiencies. This will allow team members to work smarter, not harder, and focus on the clients and patients who need their expertise.
Did you know
Operational inefficiencies lead to increased team turnover, employee burnout, client attrition, patient errors, and decreased revenue and profitability of the business. The inefficiencies itself lead to stress, further compounded by the factors listed, as well as change management. Help your staff (and yourself) proactively manage stress.
Resource: Provet Cloud: Stress Management for Veterinary Practices ebook