Practice Plan- any experiences?

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Mark Hedberg — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:27:00 GMT

Well, it isn't particularly pushy. I would prefer to dispense flea and tick medication before I dispense medication for vector-borne diseases; I would prefer to deworm so nobody has to visit their GP to find out what tapeworm infestation is. ;) Routine preventative medicine is simply cheaper for the owner in the long run, and I sometimes wonder if actually it's cheaper for the vet too! (That's just me being philosophical, now!)

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Julie Innes — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:56:08 GMT

Thanks again- lots of useful info! I don't really have much of a surplus of reception staff at the moment (fairly new practice, but getting busier!) and i struggle with the admin/ paperwork as it is, so I probably would use a provider. My gut feeling is to go with it, I think, just a bit nervous of how it will pan out! I am notoriously bad at "pushing" sales (fleas, wormers etc) as I'm very wary of looking pushy and money-grabbing (I know, I know!), so it probably would hugely increase my sales of things like this. I am a sole vet, so no other vets really to convince. Hmm

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Laurence Webb — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:35:18 GMT

[quote user="John Rimmer"]

I'm with Mark but...re the consistent flow....they can always cancel the standing order. That can also be the problem with an internal practice plan....are you going to pick it up when people do? Think some of the providers monitor and let you know.

[/quote] That's one of the downsides of using a standing order - clients can alter it at will, although we haven't found that to be a problem.

We set up a separate bank account that is only used for the practice health scheme and use the client's PMS number as the reference for the standing order. We try to get all the standing orders to come out at the start of the month rather than spread around. Each month they are checked off by one of our receptionists and, so far, any missing standing orders have been followed up immediately.

Of course the cost of this is only negligible if it can be fitted in between normal reception duties. We had someone manning reception over lunch and in the early afternoon doing very little, so it made sense to use that time more productively. If you had to pay more wages to run the scheme then using an outside company may make more sense

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Laurence Webb — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:22:20 GMT

Of course you don't need to bond already loyal clients, but I'm often surprised that seemingly unbonded clients, including those visiting the surgery for the first time, often seem keen to sign up. Indeed they are often easier to convert than long standing clients. In times of recession people tend to find that a regular payment helps them budget rather than having to find the money when it is time for a vaccination etc

Clients, especially those with new pets, are keen to do the best for their animals but, whatever their good intentions, as time goes on they tend to let things slip. A while ago I looked at the proportion of booster vaccinations to primary courses and, whilst I can't remember the exact figures I was surprised to find that we only did four or so boosters per primary course, suggesting that the average owner stops vaccinating after five years. Some of them may have just had a primary course then never been seen again of course. Of those owners who used Frontline, the average use was about 3 or 4 treatments per year. Worming was pretty disappointing too.

If you can convert the average pet owner to vaccinating each year, and using flea and worming treatments at the frequency you choose rather than when they remember (or are being bitten) then that should be better for the pet and better for your income. Missing one month's Advocate or vaccinating a month late is an 8% drop income.

We notice that quite a lot of owners on the scheme forget to pick up their full quota of flea/worm treatments anyway which is their loss but your financial gain.

As we run our own scheme there was no significant set up cost, other than the cost of printing some leaflets. Make sure you decide what treatments or discounts you want included - when we were looking at companies to administer it they all seem keen to get you to include as much free or discounted stuff as possible. From their point if view it makes sense. The more people they get paying them £1 per month the better, but it's your margins that are being squeezed. The flip side is that you need to offer a discount to attract people to the scheme.

What is a big problem is getting all staff to talk about the scheme and promote it. It provides a steady income but I'm sure it could be much better if only we could get everyone on board with trying to get clients to sign up.

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Julie Innes — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:16:45 GMT

[quote user="John Rimmer"]

[/quote]

See, this is my concern- surely they are, in effect, "paying up" a vaccine etc, and if they cancel the direct debit you still have to try to reclaim the money they owe you the rep did say they notify you of any cancellations, but how do you find this works in practice? May need to speak to rep again...

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

John Rimmer — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:53:43 GMT

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Mark Hedberg — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:25:16 GMT

From a cashflow point of view it's positive; having a consistent flow of income can protect you from a cash crunch in lean times. The other thing is that people rarely come in and just buy one thing - some times it may occur to them to pick up a dental chew, an extra flea collar, or what-have-you. Footfall is king - once you're inside, you can find out what they want or need; more interaction with your clients is good.

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Julie Innes — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:38:25 GMT

Thanks all! I was quite keen, as everyone else seems to have them, and a few of my clients who have come from other practices have asked about one. However, I've just come home and my dad and husband have poured scorn on the idea, and don't think it will make me any money, or particularly bond clients who wouldn't already be fairly loyal- what do you think? Those of you who have them, do you think they are to your financial advantage? Obviously there is a set-up cost- is it worth it? All opinions greatly appreciated!

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:18:38 GMT

We are just signing up for the Denplan one.

We have set it up with a 15% discount for ongoing medication and costed in a 6 month check. That way a stable arthritic dog might not need to come in again, and I don't have to force people to come and see me for a medication check.

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

HMC — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:07:17 GMT

2 points:

Firstly, it really helps if your practice is good at paperwork/organisation. I worked somewhere where the staff were not pushing the practice plan at all as the paperwork was too difficult/the computer system too antediluvian.

Secondly, I liked the idea of combining it with a chronic medication scheme. So when you diagnose a hyperthyroid cat (for example) you can offer the client a percentage off the medical tx. It's a good way to make sure vets talk to owners about the scheme.

Re: Practice Plan- any experiences?

Laurence Webb — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:24:18 GMT

We run our own via standing order and works well. As a small practice the administration is done by one of the receptionists during the mid-afternoon lull so doesn't cost the practice anything in additional wages.

We used to use Scallywags and looked at other companies but elected to run it ourselves as you generally pay a company around 10% of the client's monthly payment for them to run it. Their marketing may be a bit better, but we found it was more attractive to clients to give them a 10% discount off they price they would pay and take a 10% hit rather than charge clients the same amount and take a 10% hit anyway (or even give clients a 20% discount and take a 20% hit!).

Our plan covers vaccinations and Frontline/Milbemax or Advocate with a couple of Droncits and clients also get 10% off food, over-the counter sales, neutering and dental work.

As well as bonding clients we have found that a significant proportion don't pick up their full allocation of flea/worm treatments, so often the 10% discount is offset.