2 Surgery Profitability Challenges

You know how to treat bloat in a dog or a blocked cat.

But veterinary school didn’t teach you how to price that surgery to be profitable.

Surgical suites generate significant profit

This profit can support advancement in your level of veterinary care and investments in cutting-edge equipment.

That can’t happen if your surgery center’s net profit percentage is too low.

Top profitability-cutters in surgery centers I’ve seen include:

  • Not tracking expenses like drapes, gauze, gloves, etc., or sunk costs, like equipment. Don’t forget, the quality of materials will also affect cost.

  • Calculating the surgery fee based on animal weight, not the amount of time and expertise required.

  • Cost of techs monitoring patients and cost of pre- and post-op technicians.

My recommendation:

Implement a Surgical Suite Fee.

A Surgical Suite Fee will account for all expenses in surgery—from gauze to drapes—so you don’t lose money on critical expenses.

Surgery is just one key performance indicator

I list 4 more KPIs in my guide: Metrics to Track Your Practice’s Profitability.

I know this is another task to put on your busy schedule. I’m here to talk it out.

Tell me which KPIs resonate with you.

 
Shirley Lockhart