Corporations in Veterinary Medicine
Lisa Pinn McFaddin, DVM, GDCVHM, CVSMT, CVMRT, CVA
Veterinary Author, Practicing Integrative Veterinarian
Upon practicing veterinary medicine —emphasis on practicing— for the past 11 years; I have worked as a small animal intern, a general practitioner, an emergency practitioner, practiced Western and Eastern medicine, and worked in a full-time, part-time and relief capacity. Throughout my career in the veterinary industry, I have had the pleasure of working the gamut from very small, family-run businesses, to larger corporations. Every single job has had pluses and minuses. Each career choice provided a valuable learning experience and molded me into the veterinarian and woman I am today.
Over the past decade I have noticed an increasing trend, for better or worse, toward corporate veterinary medicine. The American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) noted in 2017 that 85-95% of veterinary hospitals remain privately owned. My suspicion is, over the next 10-20 years, we will see a stronger shift towards a corporate-backed veterinary practice model. The biggest reason for this projected change is the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. So many veterinarians of that generation struck out on their own, purchasing or creating their own animal hospitals. Some hospitals are small, single doctor practices; while others are larger, multi-doctor and multi-hospital enterprises. Unfortunately, many of these Baby Boomers do not have individual buyers for their practices. In most cases their son or daughter has elected to not follow in their footsteps. This is where corporations come in, with a larger entity purchasing the practice from the retiring Baby Boomer. And thus, corporate veterinary medicine propagates.
One thing is certain: the veterinary medicine industry has begun, and will continue, to include more corporate players in the space. But is this really a bad thing? Let’s take an honest look, based on my personal experience, at the pros and cons of corporate veterinary medicine.
We will begin with the pros…
Pro #1: Proper business management.
In my opinion veterinarians, as a general rule, make poor business managers. After all, we spend 8-12 years of our young-adult lives studying medicine, not business. Then we graduate and spend the next 20-40 years trying to practice medicine. Being a veterinarian is literally a full-time job that does not leave much room for business management.
Within most corporations each hospital is considered its own entity with its own profits, losses and budgets. The existence of the corporation does not mean the individual hospital can spend limitlessly. What it does is set concrete guidelines and budgets for each hospital. Having this structure and access to business professionals improves hospital profitability which improves patient care. Having finance and human resource departments streamlines the process with which payroll, taxes, and benefit payments are handled.
Veterinarians struggle daily with the guilt of charging appropriately for services; which unfortunately hurts our bottom line and negatively impacts patient care. Many corporations help guide or design fee schedules and payment options for individual hospitals, helping veterinarians charge appropriately for their services.
Pro #2: Proper HR management.
Veterinarians frequently have a hard time dealing with interpersonal conflict and workplace mistakes that can affect patient safety. Conflict resolution is key when operating successful business which employs more than one person. Having an established human resources department provides excellent resources for employee management and tools to deal with employee conflict.
Pro #3: Improved employee benefits.
I have observed that the larger the business, the better the employee benefits. All too frequently affordable health insurance, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and retirement benefits are not offered by owners of small veterinary hospitals; but do come as part of the benefits package offered by many veterinary groups.
Pro #4: Improved employee safety.
Strict adherence to workplace safety regulations and OSHA guidelines should always be followed, but it seems they are enforced more strictly when working for a larger entity. This improves workplace safety and reduced time-off due to injury.
Pro #5: Improved advertising and marketing presence.
Many veterinary corporations have a marketing department which helps individual clinics with their online presence and multi-media marketing. This improves clinic visibility, improves client retention, and improves profitability.
Now let’s examine the cons…
Con #1: Stigma of corporate dictated medicine.
Many veterinarians fear corporations will dictate the type of medicine they can practice. I have worked for 3 different corporations, 2 in a relief capacity and 1 full-time. None of these entities dictated how I should practice medicine. I have heard rumors that some corporations have more strict guidelines for case management, but I have not experienced this first hand. Personally, I believe veterinary corporations should handle the financial, HR, and marketing side; leaving the medicine to the veterinarians. Just because veterinary corporations are and will continue to be more common does not mean all corporations are created equal. My advice for those who are concerned about corporate dictated medicine: Do Your Research. Ask Questions. And take the time to find a group with a culture and values that match your own.
Con #2: Loss of the family feel.
I have spoken to many veterinarians and support staff who say they worry about corporations taking the fun and family out of veterinary medicine. Again, the three corporations for whom I have worked, all had their own workplace environments and atmospheres. This was not determined by the corporation itself but by the employees working at the individual hospitals. Veterinary medicine is both a stressful and fun profession. The emotional ups and downs force people to bond quickly. This bond creates the family feel. Surrounding yourself with hardworking, compassionate employees will keep that family feeling alive; while (regardless of the size/scope of an organization) working with toxic and negative employees will surely kill the mood.
Con #3: Loss of the individual.
A concern I personally have had about working full-time for a veterinary corporation was “Do I, as an individual, matter or am I just a cog in the wheel?”. After 2.5 years of working for a veterinary group I have concluded this feeling is all in your attitude. If I believed I was a cog then I would just chug along at my job, meeting the minimum requirements. This would perpetuate negative feelings about my job, my hospital, and my employer. Instead I have attempted to take a more positive, proactive role. I try to treat each day as an opportunity to improve the quality of life of my patients, the work environment for my employees, and improve the company as a whole. I do not feel like a cog, but instead a wheel itself—a key element in helping to keep my hospital, and my company, moving and grooving every day.
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In conclusion, the goal of this article was to reduce that ‘Chicken Little’ response when hearing the words “Corporate Veterinary Medicine”. Admittedly, I do have a positive bias toward corporations, or at least PetWell Partners—the group I’m currently a part of— at this time in my life. I have spent most of my career looking for a true workplace home. Someplace where I can improve patient quality of life on a daily basis and strive to improve veterinary medicine as a whole. I have found that home in PetWell. Although corporate veterinary groups may not be for everyone, I can honestly say I’m happy that I landed at this one. I will end this article with PetWell’s sign-off: HHP (Happy Healthy Pets).
How do you feel about corporate veterinary medicine? I'd love to hear about your personal experiences in the veterinary industry! Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
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CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
5yExcellent perspective. I work with a lot of new graduates struggling with the choice between private and corporate practices. Running a business is a full-time plus job, where the practice owner is faced with the all the best and worst parts of being the one in charge. I have friends and clients who work in both capacities and know the triumphs and struggles of each option. I agree that asking questions, more questions, and doing their homework before deciding is the best advice. Thanks!
Managing Partner at T & L Veterinary Business Consulting
6yMost of the pros for going corporate mentioned in this article can be achieved by the individually owned practice simply by hiring a competent practice manager. It is the lack of utilization of a properly trained practice manager that makes owning a practice daunting. A practice manager frees up the doctor/owner to be the doctor they want to be.
Associate Veterinarian at Moorpark Veterinary Hospital
6yI appreciate your article. My personal experience has shown the atmosphere varies by the individual clinic more than the corporation. That said, I have seen three places I have worked before and after corporate purchase. One as a tech, one as a vet student and tech, and one as a vet. A major downside I have seen on the corporate takeover is the pay for support staff. In all cases pay was frozen and raises were not given. In the clinic I worked at years before during and after the transition I was very disappointed in the compensation. The clinic had pay that was on the low end of the local area and most staff received no raises the next two years despite significant prosperity in the economy and the clinic. I had received a review that was ~4.5/5 total and my boss had to fight to get me above a 1% raise. I got a 3% raise which was not even a COLA considering inflation was above that. So that means I effectively got less of a pay cut than my coworkers. This was only explained as that’s the protocol we have. So I boil this down to the lack of emphasis on personal connection. An individual owner or manager who is enabled and invested will explain why they can or can’t pay what they would like to. The buck got lost in corporate clinic
Passionate Veterinarian, Learning Professional, and Wellbeing Advocate
6yThank you for sharing this Lisa, it is a very well written. I too have plenty of experience and agree with you on all points, the major one being what drives the culture of your clinic is you and the team, not the name on the outside of the clinic. I told my clients that many times and that it was important for them to go to a clinic where they felt they could partner well with the team. I also agree with Michael, the opportunity to actually use data to drive improved outcomes will be something that will benefit the entire profession!
President and Owner Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital
6yI'll add another pro (though I am an independent practice owner) for the corps: the ability to harness data to improve patient care. They are in a position to create significant improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic rubrics with defined outcomes, something the small independents just cannot do.