What if you could meet industry decision-makers and innovative product and service providers in one place, at one time? And then speak directly with those best suited to serve your business needs and improve your team’s efficiency! VetForum is the premier gathering for practice leaders who want to cut to the chase, interact with innovative suppliers, and hear from thought leaders and best-in-class practitioners. This year’s conference in San Antonio was the largest gathering so far, with over 30 groups representing thousands of Veterinary practices.
So, what were the buzzwords at this year’s meeting? Operational efficiency and interoperability. Interoperability and operational efficiency are related concepts, but they are not the same thing. Interoperability refers to the ability of different systems, devices, or technologies to communicate and exchange data seamlessly to ensure that data can be shared and understood across various platforms, making it easier for Veterinary professionals to access and utilize information efficiently.
Operational efficiency, on the other hand, is concerned with optimizing internal processes and workflows to achieve the best possible outcomes with the least amount of resources (time, effort, money, etc.). It aims to streamline and improve the efficiency of day-to-day operations within an organization. Operational efficiency can come in various ways – inventory management, process optimization, diagnostics, reducing administrative overhead, minimizing client wait times, using remote teams, locum relief personnel, and mid-level practitioners, and ensuring that the Veterinary healthcare team can work more effectively and at the top of their license.
The following are just some of the companies at VetForm working to improve operational efficiency:
- Scribenote – the scribe in the room for doctors and can tell the difference between a casual conversation one might engage in with a client and the actual exam and automatically creates SOAP notes. https://www.scribenote.com/
- Inventory Ally – give your inventory team a tool that reduces the time they spend on inventory tasks and can even reduce your COGs. https://inventoryally.com/
- Embark – canine DNA company that announced a new affiliate program, a partnership with VetCove, and highlighted that in a typical practice, there are a significant number of canines that have an issue that veterinarians would want to know about. https://embarkvet.com/
- Chckup – integrates with your PIMS to enable 24/7 appointment scheduling, automates reminders and confirmations, and makes it easy to conduct daily huddles to keep your team aware of the day’s activities and business challenges. https://chckup.app/
- And many more! See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bruce-l-truman-mba-a8b7594_see-everyone-at-vetforum-in-san-antonio-activity-7111728838572683264–WT-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop for a complete listing.
Operational efficiency and interoperability are important in Veterinary medicine, as they can lead to better patient care and resource utilization. However, there are other issues impacting Veterinary businesses, and speakers at VetForum were not shy about addressing those issues head-on.
The Hiring Problem. Stacy Pursell, CEO of The VET Recruiter, spoke about how to best use a recruiter and how her team works with an internal recruiting team to fill doctor vacancies. Stacy spoke about how It takes a combination to fill positions nowadays and how recruiting is a sales and marketing role, not an internal HR role. Due to the shortage of veterinarians, you must recruit. That means making the visit to the practice special and going that extra step, such as booking a car service, nice hotel, flowers, handwritten thank you notes, having an agenda, and ensuring everyone shows up on time.
Leading a Team. Candise Goodwin, the founder of Outlier Advisors, spoke about challenges she has faced in the past with teams and projects and what key things one should be watching out for when it comes to teams. She drew heavily on her experiences at past employers to show group practice leadership a path to success by providing actionable information.
What Keeps You Up at Night. Dr. Bob Murtaugh, DVM, MS at Thrive Pet Healthcare, spoke privately to the group leadership with a highly interactive presentation. Via live survey, the audience directed the conversation to topics most relevant to the group. Significant issues such as the labor shortage, practice efficiencies, and wellness were covered.
Smart Data, Not Just More Data. A panel of industry leaders (Thom Jenkins, Co-Founder & CEO at PetsApp; Emmitt Nantz, Co-Founder at Inventory Ally; Peter Verrill, VP of Business Operations at Heartland Vet Partners; Susannah Orsuga, Chief Revenue Officer at Bitwerx; Ryan Leech, Strategic Partnerships at Digitail) discussed how to leverage data to enhance Veterinary care and business operations and facilitate predictive healthcare for pets. The panel discussed organizations that are coming to the forefront to improve Veterinary informatics. The Association for Veterinary Informatics (AVI) promotes industry-wide data standards and provides information on how to access actionable insights in clinical data. AVI’s Interoperability Committee is tasked with promoting interoperability across the Veterinary industry.
In addition, Ryan Gallagher, CEO and co-founder at Scribenote, and Jerry Savage, CEO at VetPawer, spoke and provided overviews of their platform. The networking and speed meetings added to the value for attendees. Over 600+ personalized meetings were scheduled between Veterinary groups and suppliers, making it a decision-making environment for all attendees.
VetForum USA 2024 is scheduled to take place on September 23rd-24th in Austin, Texas. Suppliers interested in participating can register by contacting Daisy Cardoe at daisy@openroomevents.com, and Veterinary groups should contact Lucy Hogg at lucy@openroomevents.com.
The future for any Veterinary professional involves technology and data. Ignoring these will result in being stuck in a transactional business model, i.e., primarily focusing on completing individual transactions, such as office visits, surgeries, vaccinations, or treatments. VetForum strives to connect the dots between innovative products and services that will help a business move toward a relationship-based model that prioritizes building strong, long-lasting relationships with clients, providing comprehensive, patient-centered care throughout the pet’s life, and working toward long-term sustainability.
Improving operational efficiencies is an ongoing process that requires a combination of technology adoption, staff training, process optimization, and a commitment to providing the best possible care for patients and clients. Regularly assess your practice’s operations and make adjustments as needed to maintain and improve efficiency, keep attending meetings to learn cutting-edge developments, and get involved in organizations that are shaping the future of the profession.