La prévention, un partenaire payant : améliorer le bien-être des patients et la croissance de la pratique
Par Jennifer Lopez, DVM, MBA, Antech Vétérinaire de services professionnels
When I started in my journey in veterinary medicine as an animal care technician, I was driven by the same passion that many of us most likely share – we believe that pets make the world a better place.
Did we still aspire to save all the puppies and kittens of the world too? Most likely, yes, but my why has morphed into something a bit different: I want to make a difference in the people that love their pets like I am obsessed with mine. What has changed a bit too is the “how”. If you read my previous blog, I talked about Simon Sinek and one of his most famous quotes from his business philosophy book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action: “People don’t buy quoi vous le faites, ils achètent pourquoi fais-le.
We know that communicating the benefit of preventive care and our “why” to pet owners in our practice is more poignant than just telling clients “what” we need to do for Fluffy to stay healthy and live a longer life. For Simon Sinek, everything begins with the why, but we still have to define the “how” in accomplishing it and the what are we using to realize that why.
So, why has my “how” changed? Well, now I work in the veterinary industry with Antech™, a world-leading diagnostic lab company that helps practices optimize their approach to diagnostics and preventive care. Don’t get me wrong, I am still in the trenches; just on weekends and holidays. I practice on a per diem basis because it keeps me connected to the “why” I started this journey in the first place. I find comfort in interacting with pet owners who feel the same “why” about their “fur-children” as I do. But I still experience the same challenges your teams see. I just know that now there is a better way to address them, by rethinking our approach with our spectrum of care preventive model.
What is the “how” then? Don’t think of your diagnostic lab provider as just a vendor, think of us as a strategic ally.
As a veterinary practice manager, your day is a balancing act — patient care, staff schedules, call outs, inventory influxes, client experience issues, all while ensuring profitability and forecasting revenue. In the whirlwind of daily operations, it’s easy to think of your diagnostic provider as just another merchant. But what if they could be so much more?
In today’s ever-changing veterinary landscape where client visits are down year-over-year, relief veterinarians seem to dominate the workforce, and workflows are constantly being reworked because of efficiency shortfalls — your diagnostic company has the potential to be a strategic partner that supports your team, customizes your solutions, and helps your clinic meet your long-term goals.
Le “how” is where most veterinary practices get stuck. We all have great ideas, but is it going to make the staff feel overworked? What if the doctors aren’t even aligned on what age to spay and neuter? Workflows will feel disjointed, and clients might be hesitant to spend.
Enter the Diagnostic Success Partner, where strategy and support and partnership matter. This role will give you a customized and sustainable “how”, not just another to-do list.
A good diagnostic partner will help standardize preventive protocols across the team, even with relief staff. We will help train and empower your team to have better diagnostic conversations with clients by customizing packages that reflect your patient population and your core culture. We even refine workflows so diagnostics don’t feel like a burden, but a natural part of care; all by tracking and measuring progress, so you can see the impact and build on success across your P&Ls. It’s not about pushing more comprehensive tests bundled together. It’s about helping your team feel confident, aligned, and consistent — all while continuing your shared mission in the care you believe in.
One of the most exciting parts about working with a company like Antech is the access to cutting-edge innovations in diagnostics. Through comprehensive veterinary care and nutrition, breakthrough programs such AI, wearable health monitoring and DNA testing are available at our fingertips. But here is the kicker: the feedback and insight shared by you and your teams about our products doesn’t just stop at your practice. It helps us evolve, build better tools, and innovate more relevant solutions for the entire pet care industry.
We can take the clinical and business side of veterinary diagnostics and apply it seamlessly by working directly with your practice leadership. How does this look in real life? It looks like offering wellness panels that uncover early disease in asymptomatic patients, and routine diagnostics actually becoming routine for pets, in sickness and in health. It looks like higher compliance, better outcomes, and more engaged clients as you educate them with trends, innovative tools and diagnostics. It also looks like clinic teams that believe in what they do, not just going through the motions for a gift card for selling the most tests that month.
If you’re ready to dig deeper — to connect your purpose with your process and your performance — then let’s talk. Preventive care isn’t just a protocol. It’s a belief system. And when you approach it that way, everything changes for the better.
Would you like help developing your own diagnostic “how” et “what”? I’d love to connect and support you — whether that’s aligning your team, refining your workflow, or just sharing ideas.
Let’s start with your “why”.
