The Veterinary Industrial Complex
My Big Dog Nigel became seriously ill recently and in the end and after more than 15 days of not eating and many vet visits to two different vets, multiple medications and innumerable tests (all inconclusive) I had to make the terrible decision to put him to sleep.
But in all that process some things struck me about Vet Care in today's world:
Veterinary Practices are far larger than ever before. Two of the vets we visited had 11 or more employees.
Veterinary Medicine is following Human medical services delivery in form and function. Putting you in small rooms waiting for the doctor, meanwhile a "Nurse" or Vets Asst comes to hear your story and enters it on a large patient computer program. If you are lucky you will get a few minutes with the doctor before he decides on 8 tests to be done.
In a study done by, I believe, Johns Hopkins the average Human patient gets to say seven words before being interrupted by the doctor...They concluded that this means that doctors really know very little about their patients before deciding on a battery of tests and possibly a prelim diagnosis that often turns out to be misguided.
I found the Vets practicing in much the same way.
Having a large building with 11 employees, debt servicing on all of that medical technology from Ultrasound to x ray machines, computers and testing equipment plus building overhead means by my calculations that vet needs to generate more than one million dollars a year in income...and probably closer to one and a half million to be able to make a decent return on his/her investment.
What does this mean for the dog or cat owner?
It means that vets, despite their protestations that they don't get involved in financial details, such as what certain things cost, know well that they must push testing of every conceivable type and sell lots of drugs to make that income level.
Think of what even middling salaries cost for 11 people...plus insurance, employer paid benefits, Workmens comp, and employers Social Security taxes.
My experience is that all of this growth in the size of vet practices isn't necessarily serving the best interests of the Pet or it's owner.
The BEST care my dog Nigel got was finally at a small vet practice with three employees, dedicated to the health and well being of the animals and not the necessity of generating 1.5 million dollars a year.
I think our Veterinary care is suffering due to this "industrialization"
Nigel was 11 years old and the consensus was he had cancer. But not a single test we were urged to have done not a single result aided in that diagnosis. Almost $1,000 dollars in vet bills later we were left with nothing.
I dont expect perfection or easy answers. I have had cancer myself so I know. But I do know that the system is out of whack.
But in all that process some things struck me about Vet Care in today's world:
Veterinary Practices are far larger than ever before. Two of the vets we visited had 11 or more employees.
Veterinary Medicine is following Human medical services delivery in form and function. Putting you in small rooms waiting for the doctor, meanwhile a "Nurse" or Vets Asst comes to hear your story and enters it on a large patient computer program. If you are lucky you will get a few minutes with the doctor before he decides on 8 tests to be done.
In a study done by, I believe, Johns Hopkins the average Human patient gets to say seven words before being interrupted by the doctor...They concluded that this means that doctors really know very little about their patients before deciding on a battery of tests and possibly a prelim diagnosis that often turns out to be misguided.
I found the Vets practicing in much the same way.
Having a large building with 11 employees, debt servicing on all of that medical technology from Ultrasound to x ray machines, computers and testing equipment plus building overhead means by my calculations that vet needs to generate more than one million dollars a year in income...and probably closer to one and a half million to be able to make a decent return on his/her investment.
What does this mean for the dog or cat owner?
It means that vets, despite their protestations that they don't get involved in financial details, such as what certain things cost, know well that they must push testing of every conceivable type and sell lots of drugs to make that income level.
Think of what even middling salaries cost for 11 people...plus insurance, employer paid benefits, Workmens comp, and employers Social Security taxes.
My experience is that all of this growth in the size of vet practices isn't necessarily serving the best interests of the Pet or it's owner.
The BEST care my dog Nigel got was finally at a small vet practice with three employees, dedicated to the health and well being of the animals and not the necessity of generating 1.5 million dollars a year.
I think our Veterinary care is suffering due to this "industrialization"
Nigel was 11 years old and the consensus was he had cancer. But not a single test we were urged to have done not a single result aided in that diagnosis. Almost $1,000 dollars in vet bills later we were left with nothing.
I dont expect perfection or easy answers. I have had cancer myself so I know. But I do know that the system is out of whack.
