Life, Tech, Vet and time…..

Corporate Veterinary Medicine has been an issue that has been growing for veterinarians world wide.   America was probably the first country to have to face this issue and it has never really gone away.  Australia is now facing the first of what will probably be a few corporate buys.   As always there are two sides to every coin and I hope to examine the issues facing both the veterinary client and the veterinarian.

Issues facing Veterinarians…..

I am 55, I have been the sole owner of a two man practice for the last 15-20 years.  The practice has a nice annual turnover and I do okay.  BUT.  I am the sole provider for my family,  I have put 2 kids through school and I live in a nice suburb in an average to good house, which I don’t own yet but I am pretty close.  I have about $300,000 in super which has recently taken a massive beating on the stock market to half in value!

While this is completely fabricated, there is a certain reality to it that will ring true in a number of veterinary owners.   What options do they have?  They can ask the associate if they would like to buy into the partnership, and then plan a sucession.  They can sell the practice outright.

Selling outright has its issues with the transfer of goodwill and the valuation.  The partnership process can be stressful and owners used to answering only to themselves can find the concept of shared decision making affronting.    Plus associates now days leave university with massive debts to repay from their education and find it hard to cover the funds that veterinary practice owners expect to receive.   Enter the Coporation…..they are often flush with cash and have motivation in buying certain practices beyond the turn over of the individual practice.   Who can blame the overworked, stressed out and tired practitioner taking the money and running…..

….The Veterinary Employee….

So I need a job….I have a 70k debt from uni….I want a practice that will support my development and provide good working conditions, I am not particular fond of working after hours.

The sole practitioner looking for an associate is going to have a hard time convincing this person to work for them…they need and expect a associate to put in the same hours and hard work they did…its a rite of passage to owning a practice…..

The corporate beast however can offer excellent working hours…with no after hours or very minimal as they can spread the load across their clinics.

Where would you go…..

Issues for the Client…..

So what do we lose.

We lose the community nature of veterinary practice….the local vet was a member of the community.  He usually was found supporting the community after all they represented his income…

We lose the continuity of care a sole practitioner could provide, the unique rapport  they develop with clients.  Sure the corporate practices are not going anywhere but I would say they normally experience a moderate amount of staff turn over so the vet you saw last year may not be there next year.

We lose market competition.  You can argue what you like but there is no doubt that the trend to large corporate owned supermarkets has lead to less competition and increasing prices in the consumer experience.  It’s not hard to see how that can be applied to any industry.   There is no doubt we will see market pressure applied to smaller practices to force them out….

I could go on….

I am seeing a number of clients leaving the corporates to go back to the local practitioner who runs a solo practice, but in the same breath I see people who in this consumerist society don’t give it a second thought and in the process of yearly and routine checkups it wont really affect them…but when the cookie crunches and there pet is sick and they need to find the compassion financially they are going to be left with a bitter taste.

In the end it will be a community and public decision voted with feet.  Where would you prefer your pet get treated?

benjiC vet Business, Corporate, partnership, vet