Being passionate about your vocation as a Vet is one thing, turning it into a profitable venture is another, especially in private practice. There’s no disputing that the daily demands of clinical practice are high, and add to that the business responsibilities of managing cash flows, maintaining supplies and keeping staff happy - it’s adding another full time job. So when corporates come along offering to buy out an individual practice and take over the business administration side of things, it’s an understandably tempting offer to consider.
The Corporate Way
Many practice owners sell out to the corporate way of doing things. From a business perspective it often does make a lot of sense. Having the backing of a big company, benefitting from their buying power and marketing, and having administrative and business support, but it does also come at a cost. For a start, practice owners lose the autonomy of making all the decisions within the business and this reaches further than many Vets think it can when they’re signing the dotted line.
Corporates are all about policies and procedures, and they’re very serious about profits. This results in a very prescriptive approach to how patients are handled and strict clinical protocols being established. There may be opportunities for better training and moving up into bigger practices or areas of specialisation within a corporate, but promotions will require all the boxes to be ticked before that can happen.
Corporates may go as far as to measure the average transaction value (ATV) of each Vet, which places them under pressure to perform. Often it leads to Vets upselling treatments and products or recommending certain tick and flea treatments over others based on their price, just to be able to maintain their targets – and ultimately their future in the organisation.
Can culture impact the business?
Initially when becoming a corporate practice there may not immediately be any visible changes, other than rebranding the practice. Deals are often concluded with the previous owner staying on for a period of time to ensure that clients are retained, but slowly the changes start to become evident and can affect patients and clients.
One of the policies that corporates often put in place is to prescribe which medications the practice may use. Imagine you have a client with an elderly cat that is on chronic medication, except that the corporate policy now dictates an alternative, more expensive medication. How do you explain to your loyal client that you can no longer provide the medication they’ve been using for years, very effectively, with little to no side effects, and that the new medication will also be more expensive? Most clients won’t want to find another Vet right away, so they’ll grudgingly take the new prescription. But the confidence they once had in the practice won’t be there anymore and in time they may choose to go elsewhere.
Compare this to a small practice where clients and patients are treated with genuine care. In many families, pets are the dearest of companions and when they get sick it’s a very emotional time for pet owners. Take a case where a small breed 12 year old dog was discovered to have developed a heart condition after having collapsed on a walk one day. By the time he was diagnosed there was little to be done except prescribe medication to help stimulate the heart and manage water retention. After 1 ½ months the Vet asked to see the patient every week to be able to adjust the medications and manage the water retention. The client was nervous of an escalating Vet bill but on enquiry was advised that there would be no further consultation fees. After 3 months, the beloved dog passed away. On settling up the last of the Vet bills for the medication, they informed the practice of the event. Not only did they receive a personalised and compassionate reply from one of the practice owners, two hours later a beautiful floral bouquet was delivered – with love. On telling friends about this amazing experience, it was discovered others had had a very similar experience. A compassionate and empathetic approach were simply part of the culture of the practice. And in the small community where they operate, it’s what keeps clients coming back to them.
Positive client experiences like this are what set certain Vet practices apart from others, and for small practices that feel like they can’t compete with corporate practices, it is the key to building a strong business. A profitable practice is not only achieved by focusing on the bottom line. It can be achieved by putting patients and clients first and by focusing on building positive relationships in the community and industry.
Is there a middle ground?
As a final thought, you may be wondering if there is a middle ground, where a practice can benefit from corporate support and buying power but still have the autonomy to be able to run the practice as they see fit. A model that has seen a great deal of success in the industry is that of a joint venture partnership. Operating as a franchise model, each practice is still independently owned and can focus on their preferred area of specialisation. Some are hospitals with the latest in technologies while others are smaller 2-3 Vet practices. While guidelines on clinical practice and prescriptions are provided, they are not set in stone. Vets still can decide on the treatments in accordance with what they feel will be in the patient’s best interests.
Ultimately it’s about your personal definition of success and what’s most important for you. Not everyone is cut out to have their own private practice. If you’re driven by monetary goals and don’t mind adhering to strict policies to achieve that, then the corporate model may be the best option for you. If your focus is more on the client experience but are concerned about managing a private practice on your own then a joint venture partnership may be a consideration.
Have you been a dedicated and loyal team member, only to find out on Monday morning that there's been a change of ownership?
Have you been in discussions with your employer about partnership, only to find out they sold for a much higher price to a corporate company?
Whilst this might not have an immediate affect on your career, we are seeing more and more vets developing a disconnect to what was once a practice they had put their heart and soul into and considered themselves to be part of, based on a change of ownership and subsequent changes in culture, day to day systems and processes and the unavoidable gradual turnover of staff that comes as a result of this.
We're not suggesting you turn your back on the practice the moment you find out there could be changes afoot, but it's sensible to think about the long term impact of these changes on your career happiness and job satisfaction.