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I am betting every veterinarian and pet owner has a story about how finances profoundly affected them when it came to veterinary care. I’ve shared my story about the weight I felt from frequent economic euthanasia. Money conversations are not just something that plague pet owners when they step up to the payment counter; there is depth on the other side of the exam table as well. In this episode, I talk with two women in the industry who are separately making great strides in the access and affordability of veterinary care.

Suzanne Cannon is the co-founder of VetBilling. Many times, pet owners are faced with an emergent situation and extreme vet costs they simply cannot pay right away. Even insurance is a reimbursement model, and not many pet owners can pay thousands of dollars up front. Care Credit has algorithms that can leave perfectly adequate clients unable to receive credit. VetBilling is a privately managed in house financing, where clinics set the policies and terms and they do the rest. Finally, allowing options and solutions for pet parents who desperately want to pay for care but may not be able to do so all at once.

Rachel Lemcke, founder of Amwell Data Services, works on the other side of the door. She works with clinics and labs to find the optimal prices and efficiencies to keep care affordable while still being profitable. When vets carefully consider their costs, they can charge what they need to while allowing client affordability, and they can leave room for their hard work and care to be appreciated.

Suzanne so beautifully puts her mission as “I want to unbreak hearts.”. As members of the vet med industry, we are all here first and foremost for the care of animals. The work discussed in today’s episode will hopefully increase access to care and make the difficult money conversations even a little bit easier.

What’s Inside

• Veterinary Costs, the effect from the other side of the exam table.
• Creating a payment option that will increase access to care.
• A privately managed in house payment program.
• Optimizing costs, operational efficiencies, and lab vendor relationships.
• Improving the effect finances have on pets, pet parents, AND veterinary professionals.

Mentioned In This Episode: