About the Author
Practice Smarter columnist Mark Opperman is the president and founder of Veterinary Management Consultation Inc., director of veterinary practice management at Mission Veterinary Partners, and founder of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association. His column won first place in the Florida Magazine Association’s 2020 Charlie Awards.
Written By This Author

Practice Management
Learning to Leverage Your Team
Smart doctor and staff scheduling can improve a veterinary practice’s efficiency and boost income.
Practice Management
To Motivate, You Must Cultivate
Getting the most out of team members requires positive reinforcement and that they feel secure and supported.
Practice Management
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Better marketing and even a referral rewards program can draw new and lapsed clients to your veterinary practice.
Practice Management
What Kind of Practice Do You Actually Have?
Veterinary hospitals range from the basic to the elaborate. Any type can succeed when you and your team are aligned.
Human Resources
Batting a Thousand
The CVPM credential’s 30th anniversary and another milestone highlight how far the practice management field has come.
Patient Care
Efficient and Proficient
A problem facing many veterinary practices as clients come back inside clinics is exam room efficiency.

Veterinary Education
Student Sentiments
Our profession’s future veterinarians have many questions and concerns.

Practice Management
Rise to the Challenge
Some issues complicating a practice manager’s job are within the person’s control, while others require a clinic owner’s involvement.
Human Resources
4 Staffing Solutions
Rethink how you use veterinary team members and schedule appointments. Vendors can assist with some back-office tasks.
Practice Management
In Our Employees We Trust
If you delegate something, you as the practice owner or manager are ultimately responsible for it. You must ensure that things are done correctly.
Practice Management
All for a Good Cause
Charitable groups need to know that while you want to be supportive, your practice does not have unlimited funds.
Finance
How to Counter Fee Feedback
Paying team members, increasing salaries, maintaining the clinic, purchasing new equipment and enhancing profits require you to increase your fees.
Practice Management
It’s Checkup Time for Your Practice
Bonding rate is the percentage of clients who return within 18 months of their last visit.
Practice Management
The Next Chapter
Our profession has done well during the pandemic. We need to continue to do well after it.
Innovation/Technology
Improve Your Feel for Fees
Not raising your fees annually or every six months is not a sound business decision.
Practice Management
Less Is More
Having an appropriate management team in place would fall under the umbrella of practicing smarter, not harder.
Practice Management
Learn to Share
Veterinary teams deserve more than a paycheck. Employees need to know the financials, be thanked, and hear what they can do to improve the practice’s performance and their own.
Practice Management
My Dog Broke His Leg
Sure, veterinary practices are super busy, but curtly turning away emergency cases or making pet owners endure long, silent waits won’t endear clients to your hospital. Video or audio visits, anyone?
Practice Management
Diminishing Returns
A client bonding rate of 60% is nothing to celebrate. Use surveys, mystery shoppers, reminders and other tactics to get pet owners to come back to your clinic time after time.
Practice Management
Switching Gears
COVID-19 forced veterinary practices to forgo clinic walk-ins and instead move to parking lot transfers. You can make such non-traditional interactions even better for the client.
Finance
Don’t Shortchange Yourself
Practice owners, just like their staff, deserve fair compensation. Revenue is key, of course, but you can increase it by regularly adjusting your fee schedules and eliminating giveaways.
Finance
It’s Self-Exam Time
All hospitals need an occasional health check. Dive into the numbers, inspect the surroundings and review your digital presence to discover what ails your practice.
Human Resources
Who’s managing your practice?
Employees can’t run on autopilot. They need proper training, oversight and feedback. You’re not doing your job if policies aren’t enforced and necessary discipline isn’t meted out.
Practice Management
What really, really annoys me
Common mistakes veterinary practice managers make in running their veterinary clinics.
Human Resources
You’re Not a Babysitter
Veterinary practice managers are hired to manage. Often, the best approach is to direct team members to make decisions and resolve conflicts on their own.
Practice Management
Be an employer of choice
Modest improvements in benefits or pay, or both, can pay off when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. An incentive program can help.
Practice Ownership
You owe it to yourself
Practice owners need to be fairly compensated. A four-tier formula is the answer.
Practice Management
Pro on ProSal
Production-based compensation, when implemented correctly, is a win-win for the veterinarian and the practice owner.
Finance
An inside job
Many embezzlements occur because a practice has not implemented appropriate internal controls.
Patient Care
Watch and learn
Having a checklist can help make sure all the information gathered by the team member is communicated to the doctor.