Veterinary Care Industry Trends

Small Group Practices

Large animal hospitals are not generally viable because they need to draw more patients from a larger area than smaller practices, requiring pet owners to make longer trips. The availability of sophisticated testing and radiology equipment that can be run by relatively unskilled personnel produces the economies of scale that make two to five veterinarian animal hospitals financially attractive.

Demand for Specialists

Many veterinarians now specialize in ophthalmology, dermatology, radiology, and anesthesia. Treatments like acupuncture for arthritis have become popular. Pet oncologists specialize in cancer treatments that can cost upward of $2,000. Chemotherapy is a rapidly expanding discipline for treating cancer in animals; up to 40 percent of older cats and dogs will get cancer.

Limited Supply of New Vets

The 27 veterinary medical schools in the US accept about 2,300 new students each year, a number that hasn't increased in the past decade despite a large increase in the number of applicants and the growing need for veterinarians. To handle a large volume of business, veterinarians are leaving more routine animal care, like administering shots, to assistants.

More Women Veterinarians

Most students at veterinary schools are now women. In some vet schools, like Cornell, Purdue, and the University of California-Davis, the student body is now almost 90 percent women.

Marketing Routine Care

Veterinary marketing is targeted to pet owners who aren't on a regular checkup schedule. Many clinics provide frequent-user discounts. Computerized information systems can track the 5,000 clients of a typical clinic and send reminders for regular visits.