CE DAYTIME SESSIONS
AMPHIBIAN MYCOBACTERIOSIS AND CONSERVATION CHALLENGES Kimberly Rainwater, DVM 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | Room 208 Nontuberculous mycobacteria, also known as atypical mycobacteria, are ubiquitous in the environment. Some species are emerging pathogens capable of causing disease in humans such as M. abscessus. Because these organisms can be found in soil and water, zoological collections also come in contact with them regularly. Disease has been seen in amphibian populations due to multiple atypical mycobacteria species such as M. chelonae, M. fortuitum, and M. immunogenum. Lesions typically encountered are soft tissue granulomas, arthritis, osteomyelitis, and pneumonia. Often when these lesions are found, the disease is in an advanced state and treatment is not successful. If an individual is deemed to be genetically important, treatment may be attempted with granuloma excision, if possible, and long-term medication administration based on antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the mycobacterial isolate cultured. Surveillance of amphibian captive assurance colonies is useful to minimize the chance of introducing possibly novel mycobacteria species into wild populations. PRACTICE MANAGEMENT/ OFFICE PERSONNEL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 TOP 10 GLITCHES IN REACHING THE PRACTICE PURCHASE CLOSING GOALPOST Chris Allen, DVM, JD 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM | Room 212 AB It is said that time is the killer of all deals. Practice sales encounter numerous opportunities to go off the rails, including failures to be specific in letters of intent, bank errors, attorney scheduling issues, overly busy surveyors and emotional outbursts by parties. This session will clue attendees into potential delay factors and provide guidance on how to bypass them. PRESENTING A PRACTICE PURCHASE OFFER THE SELLER WILL EMBRACE Chris Allen, DVM, JD 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM | Room 212 AB Presenting a purchase offer to a practice seller is more art than economics. It can be a science, though: namely psychology. This session will cover important aspects of the effort to get a practice seller to entertain an offer which could be alternatively viewed as reasonable, generous or insulting – depending on the nuances of the buyer’s approach. Discussed will be the emotions of a seller, who might be the best person to present an offer, essential documents to support the terms of the offer and when it is simply time to move on to the next seller. WHAT TO DO WHEN THE PRACTICE IS GREAT BUT THE REAL Real estate issues can torpedo an otherwise win-win practice purchase/sale, whether it be a private buyer or a corporate acquisition. When the clinic is in a shopping center, banks get nervous about lending without a long-term lease which the building owner may resist. An excellent practice may be saddled with a facility rent cost that is so high that it makes it difficult to show a stellar profit and thereby attract potential buyers. An interested DVM may be loan-qualified for a great practice business but be out of the running to buy the realty which the owner insists be part of the sale. This session will cover many common problems associated with practice real estate sales and potential solutions. Time will be allotted to address specific questions from attendees as well. TELEMEDICINE LIABILITY FROM A TO Z Chris Allen, DVM, JD 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM | Room 212 AB Tele-medicine seems to be all positives and no negatives. General practitioners get access to input from specialists, clients can avoid long trips to specialty hospitals. But the field is developing fast – faster than veterinary regulatory law. Who pays if a tele-specialist makes a mistake and a generalist follows his advice to the detriment of a patient? Does a tele-provider need ESTATE IS PROBLEMATIC Chris Allen, DVM, JD 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM | Room 212 AB
GET YOUR PHARMACY BACK Wendy Myers, CVJ 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM | Room 213 AB
to be licensed in every state from which he receives requests for medical or surgical input? Will a malpractice insurer decline to pay if an insured clinician acted improperly on a case due to input from a specialist tele-vet? This session will cover ethical, legal and vicarious liability issues associated and emerging in the tele-vet medicine universe. WHAT PRIVATE PRACTICES CAN LEARN FROM CORPORATE Private veterinary practices don’t have in-house counsel and/or access to Wall Street law firms to guide them in the development of their employment agreements with associates, partners and staff. But that doesn’t mean that non-corporate hospitals can’t take important cues from the corporate veterinary world and its access to sophisticates contract-drafting advice. This session will offer tips and suggestions for designing employment contract terms and provisions which can enhance fairness in the employee-employer relationship. Also covered will be contract language which can augment a clinic’s ability to enforce contractual provisions, including non-competition and non- solicitation prohibitions. WHAT EVERY ASSOCIATE AND OWNER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PRO-SAL COMPENSATION Chris Allen, DVM, JD 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | Room 212 AB ASSOCIATE CONTRACTS Chris Allen, DVM, JD 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | Room 212 AB When a veterinarian is paid a straight salary, the compensation element of her employment contract is crystal-clear. However, with the introduction of corporate veterinary medicine into the picture, straight salary pay formulas are disappearing rapidly. “Production/salary” or “pro-sal” remuneration is now the standard in corporate veterinary clinics and is fast becoming dominant in private practices as well – primarily because it shifts the risk of poor practice profitability from management to the employed doctors. This session will look closely at what a fair pro-sal compensation formula and reasonable contract language should look like. It will review the traps associates may face and the “must-haves” they should look for in the wording of a pro-sal pay arrangement. Attendees will also be informed as to what they need to know a about a practice itself before agreeing to be paid on any type of production formula. HOW TO NAVIGATE THE MINEFIELD OF CORPORATE AND CONSOLIDATING PURCHASES OFFERS/BUYOUTS Chris Allen, DVM, JD 4:30 PM - 5:20 PM | Room 212 AB It’s the 1850’s again and animal hospitals are the new gold. Every private company and private equity investor out there is snapping up veterinary hospitals – and at record earnings multiples. What are veterinarians to do? Associates need to learn to negotiate aggressively and realize benefits from agreeing to work for corporate owners. Sellers need to be smart in dealing with multiple offers and keep from blindsiding professional and lay staff. This session will address all aspects of the corporate offer and buyout as well as provide insight into the letter of intent-contract-closing process. Attendees’ specific questions about any issue related to corporate buyouts will be welcomed. SOLVE YOUR DOCTOR SHORTAGE WITH STRATEGICALLY You’ve been trying to hire a veterinarian for months. You’re working extra hours (including Saturdays) to cover the demand, and you’re exhausted. Unemployment for veterinarians is just 1 percent. While you’re searching for an amazing veterinarian, let’s fix your temporary doctor shortage with strategically scheduled exams. You’ll see more patients per hour and stop the endless fatigue. What you’ll learn: • How to evaluate your current scheduling method and identify how many patients you’re really seeing • How to collaborate with receptionists to create structured scheduling guidelines (yes, scheduling is both an art and science) • Learn strategic schedule techniques that let you see the maximum number of patients per day • Ways to leverage veterinary nurses, using them in exams for efficiency and shifting appropriate appointments to support staff (and how to charge for tech appointments) Sponsor: SCHEDULED EXAMS Wendy Myers, CVJ 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM | Room 213 AB
Veterinarians account for 62% of sales of pet medication sales, followed by mass-market retailers claiming 20% and Internet retailers have a 12% share. Pharmacy sales represent 25% to 30% of revenue in most practices. You need savvy strategies to retain and grow your pharmacy income. What you’ll learn: • Understand the potential pharmacy income you could win back • Set up proactive refill and reminder strategies • Use texting to erase hours of time-sucking phone calls for refills • How Amazon changed pet owners’ demand for home delivery • Ways to respond when clients want prescriptions filled by another pharmacy Sponsor: BEST PRACTICES FOR FINANCIAL CONVERSATIONS Wendy Myers, CVJ 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM | Room 213 AB Your team will face financial conversations with pet owners every day, discussing the cost of preventive checkups, dental procedures, surgeries, illnesses and emergencies. Did you know 27% of pet owners don’t visit veterinarians because they fear large bills? If financing isn’t available, 43% would decline procedures due to cost. Your ability to talk about money will influence pet owners’ decisions to accept care. Rejecting care is a lose-lose result for the patient and practice. What you’ll learn: • Assessing whether clients have financial concerns before delivering services • Explaining your fees with confidence, using collaborative body language and teaching tools • Offering multiple payment choices, including credit cards, third-party financing, preventive care plans and automatic bank withdrawal programs • Sharing financial policies upfront on treatment plans, new client forms and emergency authorization forms • Asking for a commitment to treat today • Showing empathy when clients have financial worries – and offering resources that get you paid Sponsor: HOW TO SUCCEED WITH DEMANDING CLIENTS Wendy Myers, CVJ 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM | Room 213 AB Your team strives for mutually respectful client relationships but sometimes pet owners are RIDICULOUS! Scream inside your head, not at clients. Then use my conflict-resolution techniques to help you provide solutions to these real-life practice situations. You’ll rescue client relationships, get patients the care they need, and be seen as a respected professional. You’ll learn to solve: • “Not- getting-my-way Nadine” questions why her pet needs an exam annually to refill a prescription • “Not-testing Tina” questions why you won’t refill chronic medication when her pet is overdue for diagnostic tests • “Doc-didn’t-do-exam Doug” complains he’s not paying for an exam because the doctor “just petted my dog” • “Coming-here-for-years Carrie” wants a discount because she paid for the west wing of your hospital (or so she thinks) • “Last- minute Lisa” demands that her sick pet is seen at 2 PM on a Friday after waiting a week to call you and doesn’t want to go to the emergency clinic • “Backout Bob” signs a consent for treatment but refuses to pay because it costs too much Sponsor: USE TECHNICIANS AS PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AND MULTIPLY YOUR REVENUE Wendy Myers, CVJ 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | Room 213 AB Despite signing bonuses, student-loan payoff assistance, shortened workweeks, and enticing salaries, private and corporate practice owners are grappling to hire associate veterinarians. Just as physician assistants are fulfilling the gap in human healthcare, veterinarians should consider the same strategy. A survey found for every credentialed technician that a practice employed, the hospital generated $161,493 more in gross revenue. Learn how to leverage technicians and assistants to work at the top of their licenses and skillsets: • Identify the type of appointments technicians and assistants will see • Understand your state practice act guidelines on which duties staff may perform • How to charge for technician appointments and show value to clients • Create scheduling guidelines for
SWVS 2021 ON-SITE GUIDE 53
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