title: What veterinary practice managers can learn from other health care professions.
abstract: Joel Barker, a noted futurist, points out that the best ideas usually come from outside an industry or profession. As a management consultant, I often get new ideas from industries completely unrelated to my clients' industry. For example, companies interested in offering outstanding customer service might study Nordstrom's, L.L. Bean, or Lexus. Those interested in world class distribution might research Federal Express or United Parcel Service. Airlines, trying to minimize downtime of jets at the terminal, learn secrets from Indianapolis 500 pit crews. Similarly, in observing optometrists and dentists, there are valuable lessons for veterinarians. Dentists identified a business model or organizational structure that generates healthy profits. Independent optometrists experienced the onslaught of intense competition from huge corporate players and weathered the storm. The veterinary profession is not so unique. By studying other professions, we need not recreate the wheel.
authors.affiliation: H.F. Wood Business & Financial Consulting, Overland Park, KS, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003813:Dentistry; D004465:Economic Competition; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D009817:Office Management; D009907:Optometry; D011216:Practice Management, Medical