How much do veterinary proceedures cost the clinic?

[sunshinevet]

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Right. I would be less than pleased if I got charged $80 for an office visit. No, I do not think that, under a regular exam circumstance, is a fair, justifiable charge.

Meds, and diagnostics are fair (eye meds ARE potentially very expensive), however I will stand by my statement that $80 to see the doctor is ridiculous and kind of friggin pretentious.

I will also agree with Marsala and say that I would not go back to a doctor who charges that much for an exam fee. There are perfectly good vets who charge $50 and $60 fees.

Ok, so you don't think vets should charge much more than 50-60 for an exam.

Do you think vets should be paid more, considering their training, expertise, hard work and long hours?

Because the two thoughts clash quite a bit.

For the record, I totally agree that $180 is a lot of money. Its certainly not money that I generally have lying around. Which is why I strongly condone pet insurance, having a savings account for pet expenses, being able to borrow the money if nessercerry or not owning a pet.

FWIW I worked at a practice that charged $90 for an eye exam. It was a 1/2 hour allotted exam, so if anything (I feel) the exam fee should have been higher. Obviously, not all exams went that long - especially as the clinican handling them was very experienced, and many were simple cases.

To add more perspective, behavioural consults at the same clinic cost $250. This might seem like a HUGE amount, but it was a 2 hour exam with a veterinary behaviourist.

 

[libster06]

Ok, so you don't think vets should charge much more than 50-60 for an exam.

Do you think vets should be paid more, considering their training, expertise, hard work and long hours?

Because the two thoughts clash quite a bit.

What??

I said that $60 buck for an exam fee, in amongst all of the other costs and fees that go into a veterinary visit, is good. I also said that I disagreed, that $80 for an eye exam by a veterinarian, ***who I am assuming*** is not an eye specialist or who does not have tons of CE hours in opthalmology, is not in my opinion, a reasonable charge.

I didn't say vets should be paid less, or their time is crap, or they should work for free or whatever you're possibly implying here. Given that, I'm going to be one, obviously I know time is money and I'm paying $40K a year so that one day I too can charge $80 bucks to be seen if I want to. I just think in the grand scheme of things $80 is pricey. Feel free to have your own opinion.

 

[cowgirla]

She said that was charged for separately earlier:

Whoops missed that. Never mind then!

 

[sunshinevet]

What??

I said that $60 buck for an exam fee, in amongst all of the other costs and fees that go into a veterinary visit, is good. I also said that I disagreed, that $80 for an eye exam by a veterinarian, ***who I am assuming*** is not an eye specialist or who does not have tons of CE hours in opthalmology, is not in my opinion, a reasonable charge.

I didn't say vets should be paid less, or their time is crap, or they should work for free or whatever you're possibly implying here. Given that, I'm going to be one, obviously I know time is money and I'm paying $40K a year so that one day I too can charge $80 bucks to be seen if I want to. I just think in the grand scheme of things $80 is pricey. Feel free to have your own opinion.

I didn't say any of that.

My point was, you said that you did not feel that $80 was a fair, justifiable charge. However, I'm sure you feel, as the rest of us do, that vets should be paid more for their hard work. How are we meant to be paid more for our hard work if we do not charge clients more for it? I absolutely agree that the best way for us to make more via charging more is through public education of the training of vets, and the time and effort that goes into caring for animals. And yes that takes time, and yes some people you won't convince.

I guess the way I'm looking at it is from working backwards - asking the question "what is a fair, justifiable wage for a vet?" and trying to cover that with what you charge for your exams and procedures in the clinic. The other option is "what is a justifiable charge" and working forwards to eventually end up with a wage for your workers. Both methods need to be incorportated to end up with figures that work, roughly, for everyone.

The other way to look at it is - most clinics have 3-4 appt slots/vet/hour (at least in my experience). If you charge $50 per consult (not including meds procedures etc), you are ONLY making $150-$200/hr. Which isn't a lot once you cover all your overheads etc. If you charge $80, you make $240-320/hour. Much more realistic as far as paying your workers a decent wage goes.

I think its easy to say "whoa, $80 is a lot of money" - because it is, as I said in my original post. But there is a difference between it being a lot of money and being unjustified.