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Upcoming Seminars
It's What's Up Front That Counts... and More!
- 5/9 - Memphis, TN
- 6/3 - Harrisburg, PA
- 6/10 - Las Vegas, NV
- 7/15 - St Louis, MO
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Smart Moves For Technicians
- 5/6 - Minneapolis, MN
- 6/10 - Atlanta, GA
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HR Boot Camp
- Nov 7-8 - Chicago, IL
- Nov 28-29 - Dallas, TX
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Level I VMC School of Veterinary Practice Management
If you have not yet attended our school, now may be the time. Enrollment is
open for the October 2007 Level I school to be held from October 29-November 2.
The VMC School of Veterinary Practice Management is a one-week, highly
intensive training program for veterinary practice managers. We strive to teach
practical practice management. You won't learn about Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs but you will learn how to motivate your team and effectively delegate.
The school is taught by individuals who have been where you are. They have
practiced what they teach. Your instructors are Mary Ann Vande Linde, DVM;
Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT; Monica Dixon Perry, CVPM; Gary Glassman, CPA
and Mark Opperman, CVPM. Experience five days of intensive training in all
aspects of practical veterinary practice management in a room filled with
motivated managers like yourself. Invest in your career and your practice.
Registration is limited to 20 students per class to accommodate individual
instruction. We hope to see you in October.
For More Information:
Online:
www.vmc-inc.com
Email:
ksmith@vmc-inc.com
Phone: 303-674-8169
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The monthly Financial Tip and QuickBooks Tip are courtesy of
Burzenski & Company, P.C.,
Certified Public Accountants and Financial Consultants.
Gary I. Glassman, CPA, is a Principal with the firm. Melody Mann Fox is
the Director of Client Services, Specializing in Veterinary Medicine.
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To Contact Us:
VMC, Inc.
30792 Southview Drive
Suite 200
Evergreen, CO 80439
Phone: 303-674-8169
Fax: 303-670-3899
email: vmc@vmc-inc.com
Website: www.vmc-inc.com
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The Pet Food Recall
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Well it's supposed to be springtime but here I am in
Ithaca, New York teaching at Cornell University with the snow blowing
outside-and guess who does not have an overcoat, boots or gloves? The joys
of traveling!
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In this month's newsletter I wanted to talk about the pet food recall.
Just today I heard that additional pet foods are being recalled. There
is the possibility that it's not just the wheat but something else that might
be contaminating the food. My question is, "What are we, as a profession,
doing about this?" Many practices are getting numerous phone calls but I think
we need to be more proactive. I think we need to take the lead in keeping
our clients informed and be the patients' advocate. To accomplish this, VMC has
advised many of their clients to be more progressive and proactive in dealing
with this unfortunate situation. To be honest, at first I thought it might
be opportunistic to do what I am now recommending but when I read in the
newspapers how many animals had been affected and have died, my thoughts have
changed. Instead of being opportunistic, I now believe that if we do not educate
our clients about this very serious problem and what to do about it, we are
negligent. After all, we are supposed to be our patients' advocate and THE
source for accurate health care information.
Therefore, what we have advised our clients to do is write a letter to their
clients informing them about the pet food recall. In the letter we provide the
client with web sites they can visit in order to get up-to-the-minute information
about the foods being recalled. The letter will then go on to educate the client
about symptoms to watch for in their pet if they suspect the food that they have
been feeding has been contaminated. The last section of the letter suggests that
if the client is concerned they can and should bring their pet to the practice
for a comprehensive physical exam and, if the doctor believes it is appropriate,
blood work and a urinalysis.
In many of our consulting practices this letter is being sent to every patient
we have seen in the past twelve or eighteen months. Other practices have been able
to identify specific patients who, according to their records, have been fed
affected foods and they are not only sending them this letter but contacting them
by phone as well. Another method of contacting the client about this problem
would be to e-mail them a letter or post this information on your web site.
It is really too early to tell the overall effectiveness of this educational
program but early results have been very favorable. Clients appreciate that their
veterinarian has taken a proactive approach to educate them about the problem
and tell them what they can and should do to protect their pet. Some practices
with whom we consult have opted not to send the letter to every client they
have seen in the past twelve or eighteen months but are instead educating them
when they visit the practice and suggesting their pet have blood work done at that
time if there are any concerns on the owner's part. I personally do think that,
as a profession, we need to step up and take the lead on this problem. We need to
be proactive and educate our clients as well as inform them of what they can do to
determine if their pet has been affected. If you would like a copy of this letter,
click here
to download it for your practice. It is a Word document, so you can modify
it to suit your own practice situation. Let's be proactive and take the lead in
educating and informing our clients. After all, is that not our responsibility?
Mark Opperman
President, VMC Inc.
Let us hear from you - tell us what you'd like to see in future issues. You can
contact us at vmc@vmc-inc.com
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Feature Article: by Mary Ann Vande Linde, DVM
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Client Expectations For Veterinary Care In the Future
Technology is changing all our lives at a breakneck pace. We are virtually
connected to the world by the press of a button. We can email, converse and
research anytime, anywhere. Every year, we have more sophisticated diagnostic
tools and techniques and increasing efficient means to mange client and
practice data. We are also faced with clients that are more highly educated
than ever and have access to a scope of information that is unprecedented...
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Read on...
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April Tip
by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT
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Want to reduce the client’s wait time for refilling prescriptions? Have
a sticker (or an electronic highlight) for your medical records that
identifies the number of refills allowed before additional testing or
an exam must occur. It will cut down on those times when the client is
standing at the front desk and a team member is trying to determine if
a refill can be issued. The team member knows when they see the sticker
if the prescription can be easily refilled or the pet must be seen by
the doctor.
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April Practice Manager Tip
by Monica Dixon Perry, CVPM
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Prepare in advance – Schedule Doctors First, Then the Healthcare Team
Last month I discussed knowing industry benchmarks and the importance of
controlling payroll and inventory expenses. This month I want to provide
you with an excellent resource for controlling your payroll expenses.
Controlling payroll expenses can be an overwhelming challenge despite
your efforts to staff appropriately, monitor overtime, and keep salaries
competitive as well as numerous other factors that come into play. Often
times when I am consulting with practices I see that the healthcare team
is scheduled, but there is no alignment or rhyme or reason for how they
are scheduled. It will remain a challenge for managers and those scheduling
the team members to control payroll expenses if scheduling does not use
the doctor’s schedule as the primary foundation for scheduling the team.
Believe it or not, I see healthcare teams being scheduled more often
than not without even looking at how the doctors are scheduled.
Here are some quick and easy steps to get a better grasp on your team’s
schedule:
- Prepare the doctor’s schedule first
- Give the doctors a deadline each month in which they have to
submit their requested days off. For example, if you are working
on the June 2007 schedule, have the doctor’s submit their requested
days off for the month of June by the 25th of April.
- This deadline will give you ample time to complete the schedule,
post it for the doctors to review and allow you to make any last
minute modifications before distributing the final schedule by the 30th
of each month or in this case, April 30, 2007.
- The doctors and receptionists will have the doctor’s schedule
available for the entire month of June and even better they can view
the schedule at a glance for quick reference. This also gives the
manager adequate time to enter the schedule into the computer system
for those of you that are using computerized appointment schedulers.
This allows clients to schedule follow up visits at least a month in
advance which will increase your compliance rate with rechecks or more
appropriately called medical progress exams.
- Prepare the healthcare team’s schedule next
- Give the healthcare team a deadline each month in which they have
to submit their requested days off. For example if you are working on
the June 2007 schedule, have the healthcare team submit their requested
days off for the month of June by the 1st of May.
- You will schedule the team in conjunction with the doctor’s schedule.
Therefore if you are a three doctor practice and you have two doctors
scheduled for a particular day, you will schedule for two doctors versus
one or three. This deadline will also give you ample time to complete
the schedule, post it for the healthcare team’s review and allow you
to make any last minute modifications before distributing the final
schedule by the 5th of each month or in this case, May 5, 2007.
- The team will have their schedules at least three weeks in advance
and will allow proper planning for the month of June for the entire team
as well as management.
As you can see, this approach brings structure to scheduling the doctors
as well as the healthcare team. It is much easier to align the healthcare
team’s schedule to that of the doctor’s schedule when you follow these
simple and straightforward steps. You can make life even better by utilizing
a staff scheduling software program. There are many out there, but in all
honesty, it was not until I personally used the VMC Staff Scheduling Software
in private practice many years ago that I was able to get payroll expenses
under control.
This software allows you to enter each doctor and each team member into a
Microsoft Excel program and get a week by week account of scheduled hours
including lunch/dinner breaks for your doctors and entire healthcare team.
It also allows you to key in salary information so that you will be able to
budget on a weekly or monthly basis and know your payroll expenses in advance.
In addition, the software will let you know when you have too many or not
enough staff scheduled. You can see with a quick glance who has been scheduled
into overtime so that you can make adjustments before posting or distributing
the final schedule. The software is also helpful when someone calls in sick or
asks to change their schedule in that you can open the software and view
the week in question and decide on how to most cost effectively shift and
rearrange the team to maintain the desired coverage and support. In addition,
if you see that Team Member A is scheduled for 35.5 hours the week in question
and Team Member B is scheduled for 30 hours the same week, you will know to
steer clear of Team Member A and approach Team Member B regarding covering
the person’s shift that has called in sick or requested a change in their schedule.
This simple step minimizes your chance of scheduling Team Member A into
overtime. There are so many benefits to this software, but more importantly
it allows you to manage and control your payroll expense which at some point
in time becomes a challenge for every practice manager.
For more information on this software or to order, you can visit
www.vmc-inc.com.
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April HR Tip
by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT
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Q: How can you keep up to date on rules and regulations for employers
and employees?
A: There is help out there right on the web. Here is a list of the
most helpful sites to answer your Human Resource questions:
For a downloadable, printable copy of these helpful HR links,
Right-Click Here
and select "Save Target As..."
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