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Keeping it between the lines
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| By
Marnette Denell Falley
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The world is full of contradictions. One person will say you need to do more saving for a rainy day, and the next will say you need to live in the moment and relish the joys each day brings. They may both be right. Which makes it your job to steer a path between the two.
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Tech-savvy follow-ups
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Are you tracking your callbacks using 21st century tools? Sixty-three percent of practices tap a computer system to create reports that list clients and patients in need of appointments or callbacks.
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Animal ID organization
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The United States Animal Identification Organization has formed to manage the industry-led animal-identification movement database prescribed by the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), according to a release by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
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Pet-food recall
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Diamond Pet Food has recalled several products that may be contaminated by alfatoxin, a poisonous byproduct of a fungus that grows on corn and other crops. More than 100 dogs died after consuming the poisoned food, and many more are recovering.
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Lyme prevention month
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As you're making plans for your practice for the month of April, keep in mind that The Lyme Disease Foundation and Merial are launching Prevent Lyme in Dogs Month.
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Fiscal forecast optimistic
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More than three in five city officials say their cities were better able to meet financial needs in 2005 than in previous years, according to a survey by the National League of Cities.
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Tools for your team
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AAHA now offers membership for free to all veterinary technician students attending AVMA-accredited programs in the United States, Canada, and West Indies.
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What's in a name?
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Feel like you saw 10 Simbas and six Daisys this week? You probably did.
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Join the club
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Looking for a way for you and your clients to get involved in your community? The LapDog Club unites small-dog lovers for friendship, community enrichment, and charity.
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Postdated checks
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Is it OK to accept postdated checks when clients can't pay?
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Client visitation and retention
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| By
Denise Tumblin, CPA
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How can I calculate client visitation and retention?
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Taxability of service rewards
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| By
Tom McFerson, CPA, ABV
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What tax rules apply to awards given to employees for service?
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Warning: fire ahead
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| By
Jeff Rothstein, DVM, MBA
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How many warnings should I give, and when should I fire someone?
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Choosing accountants
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| By
James Guenther, DVM, MBA, MHA, CVPM, AVA
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What should I look for in an accountant?
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Part-time doctor pay
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| By
Mark Opperman, CVPM
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How should I pay part-time veterinarians and gauge their benefits?
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Clients with a laundry list
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| By
Bob Levoy
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Some clients view an office visit as an opportunity to catch up on an assortment of neglected pet health problems. Use these techniques to stay on topic and on schedule.
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10 most common poisonous plants
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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals released a list of the 10 most common poisonous plants and their possible effects.
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The name game
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At Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, Minn., doctors and team members feel that learning the names of clients and pets helps them provide better service, but remembering all those names isn't easy.
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Consider a hybrid vehicle
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| By
Gary Glassman, CPA
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There are tax advantages when you buy a hybrid automobile: a tax credit of up to $3,400, for instance.
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Refresh tagging efforts
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Use American Humane's Tag Day, April 1, as an opportunity to regroup and refresh your efforts to promote tags and microchips.
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When records can go
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| By
Fritz Wood, CPA, CFP
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Use these guidelines to decide when to send documents to the shredder.
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Sharpen up through team training
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| By
Jeff Rothstein, DVM, MBA
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It's hard for team members to implement changes if the doctors aren't on the same page. Solve this problem with a new approach to team training.
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A look at the judging
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| By
Marnette Denell Falley
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An inside look at the judging for the Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition
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Meet the judges
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Veterinary Economics Editors
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These experts help us identify top design trends.
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Big love comes in small packages, too
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| By
Laura McLain Madsen, DVM
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When a young couple brought their guinea pig to see this doctor, she gave them another year with Daisy. And they reminded her that every petno matter how big or smalldeserves high-quality care.
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AVMA takes stance on stem-cell research
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The AVMA Executive Board recently approved a position statement on stem cells, supporting and encouraging the ethical study and use of animal stem cells for the benefit of animal and human health.
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Emergency calls don't equal 24-hour care
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Some state licensing boards prohibit practices from advertising that they provide 24-hour care if they only take emergency calls, says Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member Dr. Karl Salzsieder, JD, a consultant with Salzsieder Consulting and Legal Service in Kelso, Wash.
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Employing your children
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What are the legal issues in hiring my 13-year-old daughter to work after school?
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West Hollywood declaw ban is defunct
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In November 2005, a California Superior Court Judge declared unlawful a 2003 West Hollywood ordinance that made animal declawing?except for therapeutic purposes?a criminal act.
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The ins and outs of worker's compensation
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As an employer, you want to provide the safest environment for your workers. Yet even with extreme precautions, accidents happen. Worker's compensation is designed to provide medical care and compensation to those who are injured in on-the-job accidents?and to protect employers from lawsuits resulting from workplace accidents.
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Final collection letter
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| By
Veterinary Economics Editors
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Use this sample collection letter as a starting point as you work to control accounts receivable.
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A dun deal: Collect on past-due accounts
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Does your accounts receivable make up more than 2.5 percent of your practice's yearly gross income if you're a small animal hospital and 4 percent to 5 percent if you're equine or large animal? If so, it's time to take action.
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A tale of two practices
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| By
Sarah Moser
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Dr. Steven Dunbar merged a general practice and a 24-hour emergency center into one new building. And the consistent, attractive use of color; high-quality materials; impressive client-interaction areas; and more helped Yorba Regional Animal Hospital in Anaheim, Calif., rise to the top in Veterinary Economics annual design competition.
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Pay partners fairly
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| By
Mark Opperman, CVPM
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Paying equally doesn't always make sense in a partnership, especially when doctors aren't contributing in the same ways. A tiered-compensation system can account for these variances.
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5 things that worry a new doctor
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| By
Andrew Rollo, DVM
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Philip VanVranken, DVM
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We asked new grad Dr. W. Andrew Rollo to team up with experienced practitioner Dr. Philip VanVranken to talk about the worries practitioners face in that first yearand what owners and associates can do to smooth the transition to practice.
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Patient records in a digital world
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| By
Mark Terry
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Practitioners ask: Is paperless really possible? Are electronic
medical records worth the investment? Here's what early adopters
say.
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Top benefits of owning
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| By
Cynthia Wutchiett, CPA
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Of course, greater earning power and financial gain rank as important reasons for ownership. Yet there are more reasons to take this step. Here are some other benefits to owning a practice.
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Is your associate a strong potential partner?
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| By
Cynthia Wutchiett, CPA
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Here are the factors owners say they weigh most heavily when deciding about an associate's ownership potential.
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Up & out
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| By
Cynthia Wutchiett, CPA
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The numbers prove it: Selling a part interest to your associate boosts practice value and increases your net worth?plus, this step gives you a clear succession plan. Associates: You win with a buy-in, too.
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Quality counts
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| By
Jeff Rothstein, DVM, MBA
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We're taking our practices to the next level by introducing quality control protocols. Better control means better results, which gives us the foundation we need to be more than just a good hospital; we want to be great.
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Give up the one-man band
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| By
Kimberly Rubenstein
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You may like the sound of doing it all, but that's not usually the most efficient way to work. So change your tune and leverage your team members more to increase your sanityand the practice's profitability.
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