Ep. 93 | How to Remove Financial Barriers to Care with Aimee St. Arnaud

SUMMARY: 

There it is: The dreaded “payment due in full at time of service” sign at your front desk. For many pet owners it can make the difference between seeking treatment and walking away. Sad, uncomfortable conversations about the financial bottom line are a huge cause of burnout for care providers, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Our special guest on this episode of Inventory Nation is sharing a systematic approach to tailoring a clear, flexible financial strategy that fits your particular practice’s values and resources.

Aimee St. Arnaud, practice owner and founder of Open Door Veterinary Collective, walks Host Nicole Clausen through a new way of tackling the realities of pet care costs and collaborating to create a win-win financially and emotionally. Her team offers both consultation and courses to help practices put in place practical tools to soften the biggest barrier to care. Clients and practices alike can benefit from Open Door’s step-by-step guidance around things like pay-over-time options that put the care pets need within the reach of clients on a budget. 

You’ll come away inspired to explore new online payment platforms, train team members to have frank (but supportive) conversations and put in place a plan that takes into consideration all the variables and modulates spectrum of care and pricing accordingly. It’s exciting stuff that can be transformational for practices struggling to find the balance between profitability and compassionate care in an inflationary world!

Curious to know more about what the Open Door Veterinary Collective is all about? You can find out about all their resources and partnerships at this link.

You can also join the Inventory Strategy Network – our free virtual neighborhood for inventory managers and other veterinary professionals – by visiting this link.

KEY QUOTES: 

• “Telling clients that you can’t help them because they have no money is one of the leading causes of burnout in the vet profession.” (Aimee)
• “As many times as you have (the money conversation) it’s still heartbreaking. How can we build a bridge to make sure not only that patients are cared for but our teams feel cared for as well?” (Nicole)
• “Giving (clients) a wealth of options and resources to truly make it a collaboration feels very exciting to me because it’s not just a one-way conversation anymore.” (Nicole)
• “It takes less time to go over these plans with people and present this then it does to deal with when they can’t afford the care and they give a negative one-star review.” (Aimee)
• “As more practices try to do (pay-over-time) and it becomes the norm, it’s really going to help break this barrier to care.” (Aimee)

ABOUT VCL:

Veterinary Care Logistics serves veterinarians and their teams who are frustrated that their current inventory system is not functioning correctly and are facing out of control inventory costs and improperly stocked hospitals. VCL helps veterinarians through inventory analysis, comprehensive step-by-step action plans, and thorough team member training. My clients experience great success and rave about my work because I roll up my sleeves and get dirty working with your hospital to improve your inventory as if it was my own hospital.

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