Making Data Work for Practice Management

“Analysis paralysis” is the old cliché that Stith Keiser, CEO of Blue Heron Consulting, calls to mind when considering the sheer volume of data available to veterinary hospitals.

In other words, practices can track almost anything, but tracking everything is not the goal. The better approach, he says, is to identify a few meaningful data points, review them consistently, and use them to guide action.

For veterinary hospitals, the most useful information often comes from a mix of operational and people-focused data sources. This includes scheduling reports, inventory records, profit-and-loss statements, compliance metrics, employee surveys, turnover patterns, absenteeism, and paid time off (PTO) use. Used well, those numbers can help leaders spot bottlenecks, improve workflow, strengthen accountability, and support a healthier workplace culture. Here are four areas where clinic and employee data can be useful.

Employee Scheduling

Scheduling data can show more than how packed the appointment calendar is. It can reveal how smoothly the day is running and whether staffing levels are adequate.

Keiser says practices should start by looking at support-staff-to-doctor ratios based on how appointments are actually scheduled. A staggered schedule with overlapping appointments, for example, might require more veterinary technician support than a schedule in which each doctor sees one appointment at a time. Practices can also track where time is being lost, such as front-desk wait times and how long clients sit in exam rooms without a team member.

Marshall Liger, LVT, CVPM, notes that appointment-flow data can also expose hidden inefficiencies in the way schedules are built. “Balance the data against reality,” he says. In some hospitals, appointments are spaced according to what staff members perceive as manageable rather than what the practice can actually accommodate. Liger said looking at the daily mix of wellness, sick-pet, and recheck appointments can help practices stagger cases more efficiently and avoid unnecessary backups.

Keiser recalls working with a three-doctor practice whose revenue was slipping. The data showed the practice simply was not seeing enough appointments per doctor, which led leadership to rethink hours of operation and scheduling habits. Once those changes were made, he said, the practice improved daily production.

Putting the Data to Work

• Review appointment flow by part of day.
• Look for repeat slow periods, overloaded stretches, and front-desk scheduling habits that might be limiting capacity or increasing stress.

Inventory Management

Inventory is one of the clearest examples of how operational data affects financial performance. It can also unnecessarily tie up cash. “Inventory is essentially cash on the shelf,” Liger says.

When practices overstock, money sits idle in products that may expire before they are used. If a product is understocked, the team may not have what it needs to efficiently deliver care. The goal is not to cut inventory as much as possible but to find the ideal balance.

Keiser notes that, as an expense, cost of goods sold is typically second only to payroll. Even a small improvement can make a meaningful difference. He cautioned against cutting inventory so aggressively that it hurts delivery of care.

Inventory data can also reveal more than ordering habits. If a product that leadership expected to perform well is not moving, the issue is not necessarily the product itself. Liger says it could point to a need for better staff training, a shift in prescribing habits, or low client
acceptance.

Putting the Data to Work

• Track turnover on key products.
• Regularly review underperforming items and determine whether the issue is inventory level, prescribing behavior, demand, or staff confidence.

Performance Feedback

Productivity and performance metrics can be helpful but only when they are tied to clear expectations and used constructively.

Keiser says accountability works best when the entire team understands the hospital’s mission, what success looks like, and why certain behaviors matter. Without that foundation, performance conversations can feel arbitrary or punitive.

Data can help leaders spot meaningful differences in how care is being offered and accepted. Keiser points to average doctor transaction as one example. It is not simply a financial metric, he notes. It can reflect the thoroughness of care, client compliance, and pricing structure. When used appropriately, it might help identify coaching opportunities or inconsistencies among doctors with similar caseloads.

Liger agrees that delivery matters as much as the data itself. He says leaders are more likely to avoid resentment when they use numbers to encourage conversation rather than shut it down. “Sometimes it’s not just telling them but showing them and helping them learn and interpret the data themselves,” he says. “That’s empowerment.”

Putting the Data to Work

• Tie performance metrics to clear expectations.
• Explain the “why” behind numbers.
• Use performance metrics as a conversation opener, not an end point.

Employee Engagement and Well-Being

Not all useful practice data comes from the financial side. Employee feedback, turnover, absenteeism, PTO use, and benefits data can also tell an important story about team well-being.

Melyssa Allen, MA, NBC-HWC, DipACLM, says turnover is one of the clearest warning signs. “If people aren’t staying, there’s got to be something going on that’s causing them to leave,” she said. It could be stress, poor communication, lack of support, or a mismatch between what employees were promised and what the job requires. Allen said absenteeism and unused PTO can also reveal whether team members are running on empty or working in a culture that does not fully support rest and well-being. Allen recommends making employee surveys mobile-friendly, short, and anonymous. Five to seven multiple-choice questions can go a long way, especially if employees believe their answers will be protected and taken seriously.

Then comes the most important part: acting on the results. “The worst is to survey staff and then ghost them without making changes because that breaks team trust,” Allen said. That does not mean leaders need to fix everything at once. In fact, she cautions against trying to overhaul too much too quickly. “Done is better than perfect,” she said.

Putting the Data to Work

• Use surveys and staff patterns to identify trends.
• Share what you learned with the team.
• Commit to one realistic next step rather than a massive overhaul.

Start Small, Stay Consistent

Keiser, Liger, and Allen emphasized the same core principle: Pick a few meaningful measures, review them consistently, and do something with what they tell you. Keiser suggests identifying a small set of data points tied to the practice’s central priorities and reviewing them on a regular basis. Liger recommends starting with two or three broad measures, such as transaction count, invoice volume, and new-client numbers, and building from there. Allen urges leadership teams to get on the same page before launching surveys or wellness efforts so the work has support from the top.

No single metric tells the whole story. Data works best when practices connect the numbers to daily reality, ask what is behind the trend, and involve the team in shaping the response. Used that way, data becomes more than a dashboard. It becomes a tool for improving workflow, supporting employees, and building a healthier practice.