It’s increasingly common to see press articles and social media posts criticising the cost of veterinary care. They frequently claim that vets carry out unnecessary procedures and are only out to make money – this has also been debated among the veterinary community.
I wish I could say, hand on heart, that a veterinary professional would never put financial gain above welfare or allow profit to influence clinical judgement, but sadly, we all know this happens sometimes. In a world where turnover is a measure of success and money equals happiness, there will always be an incentive to put profit ahead of everything. However, I do not think this is the approach for most of us.
I firmly believe that most vets are conscious of the cost to the owner and how it needs to be balanced against the welfare of the animal. I believe most vets discuss the cost of treatment with owners and explore the various options available. However, in the heat of the moment, vets and owners alike may be driven by emotions and ignore those factors, despite everyone’s best effort.
I firmly believe that most vets are conscious of the cost to the owner and how it needs to be balanced against the welfare of the animal
I was recently on the receiving end of the human private healthcare system after an agonising wait in the NHS for the investigation of a potentially life-threatening condition. There was a very frank consultation of my clinical options, with little room for discussion, and cost considerations were only discussed by way of an estimate by email a week later. It was then left to me to either go ahead and book an MRI or walk away.
The communication of this consult was purely clinical and not “fluffy” in the slightest but weirdly reassuring and sufficiently compassionate. I couldn’t help but feel that this straightforward and binary approach would be criticised in veterinary practice, but I’m not sure why. I appreciate our clients do not have the NHS to “fall back on”, but while that system is buckling under pressure, the incentive for using the private system means it doesn’t feel all that dissimilar to our own industry as it is now.
I don’t believe it is the sole responsibility of the vet to manage the costs of veterinary care for owners […] however, there are ethical ways to offer our services and consider costs
Now, I don’t believe it is the sole responsibility of the vet to manage the costs of veterinary care for owners – animal ownership is the responsibility of the owner, and this includes all elements that come with it. However, there are ethical ways to offer our services and consider costs. These are important if we want to ensure the animals we care for are likely to receive the veterinary care they deserve throughout their life and our profession does not lose the respect of the public by acting inappropriately.
One way is to be upfront about costs at every opportunity and not shy away from the subject. Ideally, we should be “enlightened” about the finances (costs and profits) of clinical practice at vet school (ie taught alongside clinical studies, rather than squeezing in new modules to an already capsizing curriculum) and be conditioned to accept those costs and communicate openly about them with owners. We should feel confident when spelling out the costs and offering options that take affordability into account. The term “gold standard” is inevitable but perhaps misinterpreted to become the epitome of what we should all be aspiring to achieve with every case.
In equine practice, it is common for owners to baulk at the cost of a visit and consultation. Rather than feel ashamed of the situation, we should be familiar enough with the facts so we are able to sit up straight and relay them. Fuel, vehicle maintenance, medication storage and handling, staff, and so on all cost money. We should not apologise for this. It is not apologised for in other industries. Yes, some practices make decent profits for partners and investors (which has been enjoyed by many over the years), but this is not unusual for any industry. Rather than criticise, it would be beneficial to accept this “norm”. It is what it is, and individuals from both sides, providers and consumers (a dirty word, I know), need to take responsibility for their own sides of the street.
Vets can and should offer services transparently, and owners should take the time to understand those services rather than shift responsibility
Vets can and should offer services transparently, and owners should take the time to understand those services rather than shift responsibility. This should be done in anticipation of, not when, the animal is in need, never mind in dire straits.
As an equine vet, I was always conscious of veterinary costs. I had owned horses (and a dog) and was acutely aware of the costs of keeping an animal in general, with veterinary costs being one portion of the overall, and sizeable, outgoing. And, like a car or house, all is well until it isn’t. It’s not a surprise; it’s actually a rather depressing fact we must all swallow.
When I encountered new owners (first time owners or those new to me), I would always try to spend a few minutes asking them about routine care and how they budgeted for it. I would explain briefly (in a non-salesperson way, I hope!) that the practice offered ways to keep those costs to a minimum and how routine care can help avoid large unforeseen costs from arising in the future.
Just imagine the problems we could avoid and the repeated discussions we could save if we all sang from the same hymn sheet and […] where all vets and owners understood the score and each other
Annual health checks, combining yard vaccinations, dental examination and rasping, worm testing and an annual clinical examination and trot up “MOT” all formed a basic conversation that must be had. I would then plant the seed of unforeseen costs arising when you least expect or need them, and how a savings account or an insurance policy was worth considering.
This all sounds obvious when you think about it, but I wonder how consistently we are having these conversations during a busy day at work. But just imagine the problems we could avoid and the repeated discussions we could save if we all sang from the same hymn sheet and brought about a wave of human behavioural change where all vets and owners understood the score and each other.
