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Veterinary practices routinely handle confidential client information. Confidential information includes animal and client-related information that links back to a person. Although animal treatment records themselves are not considered confidential information, they become so if they link back to a human client. Given the strong protection the law affords to such information, it is imperative to put safeguards in place to ensure legal compliance. If your veterinary practice fails to protect your client’s personal information, you could face serious legal consequences. In this article, we discuss how to protect veterinary client information. 

Assign Responsibility 

If you don’t do it yourself, you should appoint someone to take primary responsibility for the management of data protection. The employee you assign should be someone who is relatively senior and has a solid understanding of data protection.

Create a Privacy Policy 

Every veterinary practice should have a privacy policy. This policy should provide information about the types of personal data that is collected and processed by the practice, the different uses of the data, how long the data is retained, and whether it is shared. 

Provide Training

Every staff member with access to customer personal information should receive training. Ideally, records of such training should be kept and retained. In addition, employees should be provided with periodic refresher training to ensure that their knowledge on protecting personal information remains current. 

Implement Electronic Safeguards

Practically all veterinary records are now stored electronically. Therefore, you should implement multiple electronic safeguards to ensure that all client personal information remains protected. If you don’t have your own IT team, you should seek out a reputable IT company to assist you. Firewalls, anti-spyware software, and anti-virus software are just a few of the ways that an IT organization can help keep your customer information safe. And if you still maintain paper records, you should store them in a safe place and ensure that only the staff responsible for accessing such records can enter the area. 

Routinely Review and Update 

You should also routinely review and update all aspects of your overall customer information protection plan. The laws that protect personal information are always changing, so you should consult with an experienced veterinary lawyer to ensure that the data protection protocols you have in place are effective and legally sufficient. Specifically, you should regularly review your policies and procedures, training materials, and electronic security measures to ensure that they are current and compliant with all relevant laws. 

Contact an Experienced Veterinary Lawyer 

Finally, as noted above, for assistance with protecting confidential veterinary client information, you should contact an experienced veterinary attorney. At Mahan Law, our experienced legal professionals will assist in the development of data protection policies and procedures that adhere to state and federal requirements. Please contact us as soon as possible to arrange a free and confidential consultation with one of our talented attorneys.

Veterinary practice owners and employees have rewarding—but highly challenging—jobs. And in recent years, the veterinary industry has seen higher customer volume, lower employee retention, and a seemingly never-ending slew of new restrictions and safety practices. These developments, in addition to the traditional day-to-day challenges inherent to the veterinary industry, can result in burnout. In this article, we discuss veterinary burnout and how to prevent it. 

What is Veterinary Burnout? 

Veterinary burnout is a state of emotional or physical exhaustion that also involves a loss of personal identity and sense of reduced accomplishment. There are multiple things that can contribute to veterinary burnout, including lack of resources, long hours, working in a hospital environment, and consistent exposure to trauma. 

Veterinary Burnout Warning Signs

Veterinary burnout can take many different forms. Common signs of veterinary burnout include: 

• A compulsion to prove oneself 
• Working harder
• Neglecting one’s needs
• Revision of values
• Withdrawal
• Denial of problems
• Depression
• Displacement of conflicts
• Clear behavior changes
• A feeling of inner emptiness
• Depersonalization
• Depression
• Burnout syndrome

Avoiding Veterinary Burnout

In addition to seeking the help of a professional, there are several ways to avoid veterinary burnout, including:

• Remember why you practice veterinary medicine: Sometimes, avoiding veterinary burnout involves reminding yourself why you practice veterinary medicine—the love of animals! Although working with animals can be difficult, it is also highly rewarding. Not only does veterinary medicine afford you the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of pets and their owners, but it also comes with multiple daily rewards, such as happy customers and wagging tails!

• Be grateful: Gratitude is not simply a good feeling. Rather, it’s an intentional practice. In other words, you can choose to be grateful. And when you’re grateful, it’s difficult to feel stressed out.  To practice gratitude, you should focus on the moments in your job that bring you joy. 

• Don’t bring your work home: Although it can be difficult to do so, another way to avoid veterinary burnout is to leave your work where it belongs—at work! Remember, work will always be there when you return. When you’re at home, focus on relaxing and destressing.  

• Seek help: Finally, if you are finding it difficult to get over your burnout, you should seek professional help. There are plenty of options in this area, including counselors, life coaches, and more. Remember, while everyone gets stressed from time to time, burnout should not be your normal state. 

Contact an Experienced Veterinary Lawyer 

At Mahan Law, our team of knowledgeable and experienced legal professionals provide support to those in the veterinary industry. When you come to us for assistance, we are available to assist in multiple areas, including veterinary practice transactions, veterinary policy and procedure development, and veterinary litigation.  In other words, regardless of your needs, our experienced veterinary professionals are here to help you succeed. Please contact us to arrange a consultation with an experienced veterinary practice attorney.

Communication is the key to any successful business. Effective communication is especially important for businesses that deal with emotional clients, such as veterinary clinics and medical offices. It’s understandable that people are passionate about issues involving their pets. After all, most people think of their pets as part of the family. Therefore, veterinary clinic employees must understand how to communicate effectively with clients—even under stressful circumstances. In this article, we provide four tips for communicating with veterinary clients. 

#1: Control Your Responses

Always be sure to control your responses when communicating with your clients. One way to control your responses when communicating with veterinary clients is to remember that their actions often come from a place of concern for their pets. Therefore, whether a client is sad, angry, or otherwise, try to remain calm and measured in your responses. 

#2: Pay Attention to Your Body Language

Experts claim that approximately 90% of communication is non-verbal. In other words, when communicating with veterinary clients, it’s not always what you say, but how you behave. So, when addressing your clients, you should use body language that communicates a message of openness and trust. Ways to do so include:

• Maintaining eye contact 
• Smiling in a genuine manner when appropriate
• Mirroring the body language of the client (unless the client is angry or aggressive)
• Leaving your arms uncrossed

#3: Be Empathetic

A key aspect of effective communication is empathy, which is the act of taking the perspective of another person. In a veterinary practice, empathy helps you avoid judgment and recognize the client’s feelings. Empathy is particularly useful during challenging interactions. By behaving empathetically, you help the client feel heard, and this can defuse reactivity. 

#4: Use Clear Language and Offer Options

Finally, you should provide clients with as much clarity as possible about their situation. Generally, the better your clients understand what’s going on, the less likely they are to become upset. In addition, when attempting to resolve a client’s issue, you should offer them different options whenever possible. 

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re having a routine interaction with a client or addressing a major issue, clear communication is imperative. Therefore, when addressing clients, you should always make clear and effective communication your top priority. In addition, to impart the importance of clear communication to your staff, you should consider providing all employees training in this critical area. 

Contact an Experienced Veterinary Lawyer 

At Mahan Law, we are here to help make your veterinary practice a success. With years of veterinary experience, we know what it takes to address the challenges of the modern veterinary industry. Therefore, regardless of your needs, our veterinary professionals will utilize their experience and knowledge to formulate effective solutions to your issues. Please contact us to schedule an initial consultation with one of our talented veterinary practice attorneys.

Veterinary practice transactions can be highly profitable for all parties involved. However, the process of buying and selling a veterinary practice can also be overwhelming and confusing. There are many issues to address during the veterinary practice transaction process, and mistakes made along the way can transform a dream deal into a nightmare. In this article, we discuss five common veterinary practice transaction missteps. 

#1: Failing to Plan

Conducting a successful veterinary practice transaction takes time. Despite this, parties sometimes enter the process without planning adequately. This is a big mistake. By failing to plan, buyers and sellers place themselves at risk. Therefore, both parties to a veterinary practice transaction should carefully plan all aspects of the deal prior to signing a contract.  

#2: Rushing into the Transaction

A related mistake that parties to veterinary practice transactions make is moving too quickly. Although parties are often anxious to complete the transaction, rushing through the process can create a host of problems. Often, rather than immediately drafting a sales contract, the parties to a veterinary practice transaction should consider executing a letter of intent. A letter of intent, as opposed to a contract, is not legally binding. Instead, this document outlines the parties’ preliminary understandings and agreements about the anticipated transaction. A well-drafted letter of intent increases the chances that the parties will sign a contract and execute the transaction.

#3: Failing to Perform Due Diligence

Closely relating to planning is the concept of due diligence. Neither party to a veterinary practice transaction should sign a sales contract until they have performed due diligence. Due diligence typically involves several steps, including: 

• A thorough examination of the practice’s premises, inventory, assets, records, financial statements, tax returns, client documents, personnel files, contracts, leases, accounts receivable, employment agreements, creditor lists, and more.

• An accounting of the veterinary practice’s liabilities and assets.

• A search for liens against the practice’s assets. 

#4: Failing to Account for the Transition Period

A successful veterinary practice transaction typically requires a reasonable transition period. This benefits the seller, buyer, and the practice’s customers. The sales contract should clearly outline the transition requirements. At a minimum, the seller of the practice should agree to answer the buyer’s questions during the transition period and introduce the purchaser to the practice’s clients and employees. 

#5: Failing to Utilize the Right Professionals

Finally, a successful veterinary practice transaction requires the right team. At a minimum, this team should include an accountant, a practice broker, and an experienced veterinary lawyer.  

Contact an Experienced Veterinary Lawyer 

At Mahan Law, our experienced veterinary professionals help both buyers and sellers of veterinary practices execute successful transactions. Therefore, regardless of whether you are buying or selling a veterinary practice, our experienced veterinary team is here to make your transaction a success. Please contact us today to schedule an initial consultation with an experienced veterinary practice attorney.

As a veterinary practice owner, you understand the importance of providing your patients with excellent care. However, from a business perspective, it is equally important to provide your clients with great customer service. In other words, if you don’t provide your customers with excellent service, they’re unlikely to remain your customers for long. In this article, we provide some tips for improving your veterinary practice’s customer service.  

Educate 

Veterinary practice staff members often feel like salespeople when dealing with customers. Unfortunately, customers pick up on this as well. Therefore, instead of trying to sell services to customers, focus on educating them. In other words, you should provide clients with information on the best ways to care for their pets and keep them healthy. Of course, this will likely include veterinary services. However, by framing your recommendations in an educational and informational manner, customers are less likely to feel like you are simply trying to sell them treatments. And this, in turn, will make them more likely to remain patrons of your practice. 

Build Relationships 

Your customers should always feel comfortable when they bring their pets to your veterinary practice. Therefore, you and your staff should aim to build relationships with your clients. In other words, you should aim to do more than simply treat your customer’s pets and send them on their way. Instead, you should take the time to get to know your customers and their pets. By making a genuine effort to understand your customers and their needs, you will be in a much better position to provide them with effective services. In addition, customers appreciate it when you take the time to get to know them. When you do so, they are more likely to remain your customers instead of going elsewhere for their veterinary needs. 

Communicate

Finally, excellent customer service is impossible without great communication. Therefore, you must ensure that you and your veterinary staff are excellent communicators. In other words, from the time they book their first appointment, your customers should have a clear understanding of the services you provide, their requirements as clients, and any other information that is pertinent to the treatment of their pets. And this excellent communication must persist throughout the course of treatment. A major customer complaint regarding veterinary services is lack of communication. Therefore, by ensuring that you and your employees are excellent communicators, you ensure that your customers will remain your customers for years to come. 

Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Lawyers 

At Mahan Law, our experienced veterinary professionals help veterinarians address the unique challenges of the veterinary business. Regardless of your practice’s needs, our experienced veterinary lawyers are here to help. Whether you need to address an immediate legal issue or need assistance improving the overall quality of your practice, we have the knowledge and experience necessary to address your needs. Please contact us today to arrange a free and confidential initial consultation with one of our experienced veterinary attorneys.