Business & Economics
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Petco closing Drs. Foster and Smith within days
2/7/2019
Veterinarian-founded mail-order, internet pharmacy to shutter after 36 years
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Schein Animal Health, Vets First Choice to complete merger
2/4/2019
New company claims a large footprint
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Veterinary student business group seeks former members
12/26/2018
Veterinary Business Management Association establishes alumni branch
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Ex-Banfield execs spin off from 'impersonal behemoth'
12/13/2018
Leaders say new veterinary company is 'completely different'; reviews mixed
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Pace of UK veterinary consolidation stutters
11/29/2018
Pets at Home hospital closures anticipated
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A controversial model of pet insurance lives on in Britain
11/14/2018
Three years in, insurer's 'preferred' network of specialists has grown
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Trupanion relationships with veterinarians under scrutiny
11/1/2018
Washington insurance regulators examine rewards program
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Veterinary technicians get boost from major employer
10/26/2018
Banfield, world's largest clinic chain, commits to elevating licensed support staff
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The dwindling supply of academic radiologists
9/6/2018
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Idexx sues Vets First Choice, alleging trade-secret theft
8/8/2018
Ex-employees accused of taking data just before leaving
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Startups seek to remodel veterinary house calls
7/25/2018
Latest Uber-style service recalibrates to attract veterinarians
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New veterinary school in Japan stirs debate
6/25/2018
Question of workforce demand echoes long-standing issue in U.S.
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Support staff unionize at two veterinary hospitals
6/21/2018
Pro-union votes are a first for Mars-owned VCA and BluePearl
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Mars buys another European veterinary-practice group
6/12/2018
Conglomerate to acquire AniCura as well as Linnaeus Group
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Mars Inc. buys British veterinary-hospital chain
6/8/2018
Linnaeus Group adds 87 sites to Mars' spreading ownership
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British veterinary practices undergo rapid consolidation
5/1/2018
Trend similar to that in US
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Henry Schein, Vets First Choice to form new company
4/23/2018
Ongoing consolidations remake veterinary landscape
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Product rebates to veterinarians spur tax questions
4/9/2018
For honesty's sake, report the money, accountant advises
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How revised tax code treats veterinary practices
3/13/2018
VIN's general counsel demystifies new rules on pass-through deductions
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PetSmart looks beyond Banfield for veterinary-clinic operators
3/8/2018
Retailer lists 188 vacant clinic spaces available
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UK veterinarians cautious on plan for new school
2/16/2018
Low wages, long hours in profession a concern
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Attempt fails to change Washington law on nonprofit veterinary clinics
2/12/2018
Bill would have let humane societies, animal-control agencies broaden services
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Veterinarians form group dedicated to independent practice
2/1/2018
New association aims to help small businesses thrive
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Second veterinary business allies with Petco to run in-store clinics
1/18/2018
The Pet Vet plans operations in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
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Petco stores now house veterinary clinics
1/10/2018
Texas, California and Colorado are first
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In Britain, a shortage of veterinarians brews
12/12/2017
Brexit fallout already evident
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Banfield joins employer trend with offer to defray student debt
12/1/2017
Well-intentioned programs might be ill-advised for some borrowers, experts caution
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Mars antitrust remedy 'not even a drop in the bucket'?
9/26/2017
Deal puts 2,000 practices under one owner
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Publisher Time Inc. enters veterinary-discount realm
9/11/2017
Club gives pet owners 25 percent off medical services
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FTC to Mars: Divest 12 clinics in order to buy VCA
8/30/2017
Mars agrees to proposed antitrust settlement
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Burglar to veterinarians: Don’t display lavish stock of flea-tick products
7/13/2017
Prisoner shares his views in letter
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The dark side of modern X-ray equipment
6/8/2017
Veterinarians find digital radiography expensive, maddening
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‘Smart’ collars for animals proliferate
5/5/2017
Claims of health benefits as yet unproven
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Suspect admits to burglarizing veterinary clinics
4/18/2017
Lured by value of flea-and-tick products
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USDE seeks input on Public Service Loan Forgiveness
2/10/2017
Veterinarians asked to submit ideas to improve program
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Banfield CEO Vincent Bradley resigns
1/31/2017
Departure follows news of Mars-VCA deal; Brian Garish named successor
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Mars to buy VCA
1/9/2017
Largest veterinary hospital-chain merger in history under way
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Big gets bigger in 2016
12/29/2016
Year-end snapshot of noteworthy business deals in animal-health market
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Veterinary-drugs seller Sean Gerson arrested
12/16/2016
FDA agent tracked supplier for five years
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Ex-Banfield leaders buy practices as ‘LegacyVet’
10/18/2016
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Veterinary clinic opens at a Florida Wal-Mart
10/17/2016
Practice owners are first to lease space from retail giant
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Hemopet ‘1,000 percent going to stay in business’
9/21/2016
Failure of tax-exemption quest doesn’t doom canine blood bank
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Canine blood bank seeks sales-tax relief
8/12/2016
Proposed California law would exempt only nonprofits
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GL Advisor founder sentenced to nine years in prison
6/17/2016
Daniel Thibeault tearfully admits fault
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Make price paramount when choosing veterinary school, many advise
5/10/2016
Other considerations include campus culture, location, program emphases
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Veterinary prescription practices reviewed by House panel
4/29/2016
Lawmakers profess affection for pets, appreciation of veterinarians
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House subcommittee to consider pet-prescription rules
4/28/2016
Proposed ‘Fairness to Pet Owners Act’ a subtext of hearing Friday
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Zeuterin marketer falters two years after U.S. debut
4/22/2016
Sales of injectable sterilant for dogs come up short
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Pet insurer renounces controversial rate factor
3/24/2016
Trupanion cites poor execution after veterinarians object
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Jobs forecast for veterinarians better than average
12/22/2015
Labor economists predict 9 percent growth
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Report rekindles debate on rural veterinary workforce
12/21/2015
Methodology questioned in provocative study on Appalachia
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Educational debt debated in veterinary economic summit
11/5/2015
Growth in schools drives applicant-to-seat ratio to 1.6-to-1
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Mars Petcare wooed fast-growing BluePearl
10/29/2015
Veterinary company co-founder answers questions about sale
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Coming soon: credit-card security changes
9/18/2015
Merchants using outdated equipment may be on hook in fraud cases
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Veterinary generics squeezed by blocking agreements
9/8/2015
Zoetis, Merial bar big distributors from selling competing generic drugs
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New entrants to pet microchip market draw critics
7/29/2015
Are chips with ‘900’ codes unreliable or unfairly targeted?
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Entrepreneur finds pet microchip problem unsolvable
7/16/2015
Owner apathy, tangled industry leads Check the Chip to give up
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Idaho veterinarians make tentative peace
5/28/2015
Humane Society agrees to limit some services
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FTC: Pet-medications market could be more competitive
5/27/2015
Consumers would benefit from broader prescription portability, report says
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Washington law on veterinary nonprofits: model or muddle?
5/26/2015
Requiring income qualification not same as means testing
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Nonprofit veterinary care: for whom and how?
5/21/2015
Profession spars over income eligibility, means testing
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Facial-recognition apps scout lost pets
4/15/2015
Tool supplements tags, chips
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MWI sale reflects trend in pet-related industries
1/27/2015
Veterinarians wonder how service, prices will fare
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Sale of pet-supply company sign of changing times
12/17/2014
Petco purchase of Drs. Foster and Smith one of several industry shifts
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Web address extension .vet among hundreds rolling out
12/9/2014
Domain names first come, first served
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Ownership of Sentinel antiparasitic line poised to change
10/31/2014
Virbac seeks Novartis veterinary drugs in transaction with Eli Lilly
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New veterinary degrees may not pay off, economists find
10/29/2014
AVMA conference highlights debt, salary issues
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Veterinarians, schools emphasize yearly pet checkups
8/15/2014
Survey finds more pet owners concerned about cost of care
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Most veterinarians reduce prices so animals can get care, survey finds
7/16/2014
Few practices track discounts systematically
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VCA Inc.: Gentle giant or takeover threat?
7/11/2014
Views of chain veterinary hospital owner span the spectrum
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Fate of Novartis portfolio in question after sale to Eli Lilly
6/27/2014
Deal creates world's second-largest animal health business
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Pet treats: Does 'Made in USA' mean safe?
6/10/2014
Illness linked to Chinese-made jerky spurs label changes
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Pet store chains to drop China-made treats — eventually
5/21/2014
Petco, PetSmart bow to customer concerns
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Veterinary private-practice sector makes modest rebound
5/13/2014
Revenues rise, mostly through price increases
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Blue Buffalo advertising draws long history of complaints
5/9/2014
In latest, Nestlé Purina sues for false advertising
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VCA Antech prevails in breach-of-contract suits
5/1/2014
Laboratory services provider continues suing veterinarians
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Surveys yield conflicting trends in U.S. pet ownership
3/31/2014
Counts of dogs and cats differ by millions
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Equine hospital by New York racetrack revived
2/27/2014
Cornell University signs lease-buy agreement
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Veterinarians receiving loan repayment awards say program makes a difference
2/13/2014
But states have difficulty evaluating its effect on shortage areas
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Navigating student debt, income-based loan repayment
2/4/2014
Veterinarian shares experience, advice about dealing with government programs
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Demise of Partners in Wellness leaves some veterinarians in bind
10/14/2013
Program failed to catch on, Nestle PurinaCare says
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Veterinary clinics scrutinize CareCredit in wake of investigation
7/12/2013
Merchant expense, new rules, reputation questioned
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When dental schools closed: lessons for veterinary profession?
6/10/2013
Student applications, not practice economics, drove decisions
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Rise of veterinary chain ownership begets Canadian group purchasing
4/10/2013
Uniform pricing tradition gives way
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Banfield expansion brings new stand-alone clinics
3/28/2013
Eight in Portland, Ore.; other cities possible
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Group purchasing activity on upswing in veterinary medicine
2/28/2013
Organizations proffer bulk discounts to independent practices
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Is the doctor in?
12/5/2012
Veterinarians grapple with demand for extended hours
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Ultrasound machine salesman pleads guilty to theft
11/8/2012
Plea follows indictment of Patrick Jackson
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Satellite practices: academic evolution or unfair competition?
10/26/2012
OSU to open emergency, specialty practice in Columbus suburb
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Veterinarians recount ordeals with major lender
9/6/2012
Wells Fargo strives to 'serve as a trusted advisor to veterinarians'
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Hospital chain headhunts for talent among veterinary practice staff
7/3/2012
Veterinarians debate ethics of Banfield's recruiting methods
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No simple answers on supply and demand in veterinary profession
5/29/2012
Workforce data outdated, conflicting
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Veterinarian opens up about going undercover
5/22/2012
Flea-product diversion adventure twisted, turned
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Veterinarian investigates illicit diversion of flea products
5/8/2012
Gray-market sales veiled by deception, intrigue
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‘Why are vets so expensive?’
4/13/2012
Practitioner tackles sensitive question
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Veterinary diagnostics giant sues multiple practitioners
3/9/2012
VCA Antech alleges breach of extended lab service contracts
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VCA Antech buys largest Canadian veterinary chain
1/26/2012
Associate Veterinary Clinics operates 44 clinics in three provinces
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Veterinarians confront Internet pharmacy PetMed Express
1/16/2012
Company acknowledges: ‘Some mistakes were made’
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Veterinary practices inch back to growth
1/1/2012
Surveys of third-quarter results show some improvement
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PetMed Express stumbles
12/8/2011
Competitive pressure up in veterinary-drug sales
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Credit card processors pass costs of IRS rule to merchants
12/2/2011
Negotiate to have fees waived, expert advises
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Loan broker accused of bilking veterinarians now sells wellness plans
11/10/2011
Ron Paterson draws more complaints
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Bid to bring veterinary education to Alaska stirs debate
11/9/2011
Fears of oversaturation weigh on need for more veterinarians
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Merial knows, diverting veterinarians assert
11/4/2011
Maker of Frontline denies the company condones, encourages diversion
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More veterinarians sue flea products broker WTF Wholesale
11/4/2011
Claims collectively top a half-million dollars
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Equipment dealer deludes some, aids others
11/2/2011
Ron Sassetti earns mixed reviews from veterinarians
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‘Free’ Hill’s cat food samples not exactly free
10/24/2011
Veterinary clinics report accepting samples triggers orders for more
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Subterfuge, confusion surround new credit, debit card rules
9/30/2011
Merchant savings on fees not automatic
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VCA's buy of Vetstreet raises worries about control of clinic data
9/1/2011
New owner says it will not inspect clinic information
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Complaints mount against gray-market broker WTF Wholesale
8/29/2011
Problems open view into world of flea product diversion
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Entest to use veterinary practices as revenue driver, research venue
8/23/2011
Concerns about setup point to potential conflicts of interest
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Amerisource Medical under investigation by police in two states
8/3/2011
Ultrasound-equipment vendor accused of cheating customers
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Out of the frying pan, veterinarians mix economic uptick with uncertainty
7/28/2011
Increased competition likely to blunt recovery for veterinary clinics
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New poll finds many clinics in flagging health
7/18/2011
Study: Advertising, communication, consistency key to boosting veterinary visits
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Pfizer seeks to unload animal health division
7/8/2011
Sale or spin-off expected
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Tight job market squeezes large-animal veterinarians
6/27/2011
Some say shortage of food-supply practitioners is over
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Gilded Lilly? Bayer challenges Elanco claims
6/24/2011
Bayer challenges Elanco claims about diversion, loyalty to veterinarians
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Veterinary technicians: Opportunities, but at what cost?
6/9/2011
Support staff cite low wages, spotty professional respect
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Tough job market compels dogged hunt by new veterinarians
5/19/2011
Fewer grads enjoy luxury of multiple offers
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Proposal for new Banfield hospital prevails over objections
5/6/2011
Veterinarians in California city seek to resist ‘Wal-Martization’
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ISU wins first round in litigation against veterinarians
5/3/2011
Specialists barred from competing with ISU hospitals fight back
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PLIT rolls back workers' comp advice for relief veterinarians
3/29/2011
Broker Hub International issues clarification
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Thrift commerce meets veterinary medicine in GroupDVM
2/10/2011
Company uses 'power in numbers' to leverage deals for veterinarians
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Study: Veterinarians can reverse decline in visits
1/27/2011
Report identifies contributing factors and ways to counter the trend
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Price soars on popular antibiotic metronidazole
1/13/2011
Limited competition among manufacturers behind increase
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Target tests market for pet medications
12/22/2010
Trend in retail sales of veterinary drugs accelerating
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Veterinarian struggles to protect her online reputation
12/8/2010
Practitioner suspects Internet extortion is at play
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Canine Health Institute closing its doors
11/18/2010
Veterinary center for pain, rehab, imaging, neurosurgery was unique
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Clinic owner struggles with ultrasound-equipment vendor
11/17/2010
Amerisource Medical blames veterinarian’s location for shipment delay
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Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program gets off ground
11/9/2010
First USDA awards go to 62 recipients
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Frontline, ProMeris not going OTC, manufacturers say
11/8/2010
Veterinary market research survey gives confusing message
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NAS veterinary workforce study nears release
10/28/2010
Stakeholders expect report to shed light on supply and demand in America
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Navigating credit card security requirements
10/21/2010
Compliance isn't cheap or easy
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PetMed Express reports slip in sales
10/19/2010
Ad costs rise as consumer spending falls with the online pharmacy
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Lawsuit raises questions about sale of drugs to non-veterinarian
10/13/2010
Case brought by Bayer against shelter rescheduled for Dec. 2 hearing
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Health credit programs: safety net or predatory lending?
10/4/2010
NY state investigation puts veterinarians on the defensive
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CEVA buys Summit VetPharm
9/2/2010
Plans to market Vectra parasiticides globally
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Just say 'no' to telephone solicitors
8/23/2010
Clinic owners describe latest scheme involving Discover, Legal Club of America
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PVP, subsidiaries seek bankruptcy protection
8/23/2010
Veterinarians dismayed by state of company
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PVP faces bankruptcy; veterinarian investors stand to lose
8/12/2010
SEC filings reveal distributor entered into forbearance with lender
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Economic recovery still bumpy for veterinarians
6/8/2010
After first-quarter gains, California veterinary practice revenues slip in April
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Bayer wins some, loses some
4/28/2010
New sales policy continues to reverberate
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Veterinary publishers mixed on future of print journals
4/23/2010
Amid advertising decline, MediMedia bets on online services; others say print runs far from over
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Veterinarians bear brunt of software shortfalls, vendor growing pains
4/12/2010
VIA asks for patience as company updates practice management software
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Businesses join veterinarian in Yelp class action lawsuit
4/1/2010
DVMs need guidance for dealing with online reviews
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PetSmart first retailer to carry Advantage under new Bayer policy
3/17/2010
Banfield and other clinics turn away
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Merial details company stance on product diversion
2/26/2010
Executives speak out after veterinarians question company loyalty
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Bayer opens flea product sales to retail outlets
2/10/2010
Citing diversion, company ends policy of selling only through veterinarians
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PM software maker ImproMed buys VETECH
1/16/2010
Second acquisition for ImproMed within six months
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2009 brought huge consolidations in animal health industry
12/21/2009
Butler and Schein merger latest in a series
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Assets of a slow economy
12/7/2009
Putting life back into the work-life balance equation
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Merial reports Immiticide, Heartgard shortages
12/5/2009
Rationing of Immiticide leaves some veterinarians in a lurch
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Regulatory fee increases raise veterinarians' hackles
10/29/2009
California board readies to impose stiff price increases
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Sidewiki hijacks sites, puts reputations at risk, critics say
10/2/2009
Dangers of Google review tool spark concerns from veterinarians
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Online directory earns mixed reviews from veterinarians
9/16/2009
VINners air grievances about LocalVets.com, now known as YextVets
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Survey suggests recession spares many veterinary practices
9/3/2009
Reports show specialty, emergency practices bear brunt of downturn
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Activists go after stores selling dogs from puppy mills
7/27/2009
Movement to stamp out large commercial breeders gains traction
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California tax officials target breeders via Internet
6/29/2009
Officials search for those who skirt tax obligations
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Funding woes kill Fresno lab, haunt DVM program
6/26/2009
Calif. budget crisis wreaks havoc on veterinary medical education
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Advanta Bank to close all credit accounts this week
5/27/2009
Card issuer catered to small businesses
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Veterinarians must comply with Red Flags Rule by May 1
4/22/2009
Most practice owners already meet requirements, AVMA official says
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Veterinary charity highlighted by economic woes
3/30/2009
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VNN unveils online advice site for pet owners
3/17/2009
Project to generate financial support for media network
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Economic downturn hits veterinary practices
3/11/2009
New VIN survey results anticipated
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COBRA subsidy puts more onus on employers
3/3/2009
New rules likely burdensome, experts say
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Calif. veterinary service tax proposal dies
2/25/2009
Issue could re-emerge in future budgets
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Off the table?
2/12/2009
Calif. sales tax on veterinary services loses steam
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Tax experts stress the economy this year
2/3/2009
Pay attention to practice management, they say
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New center aspires to help dogs that might otherwise be euthanized
2/2/2009
Rehab, pain management and imaging under one roof in Houston
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Reports show veterinary practices hurting
12/24/2008
Veterinarians feeling nation's longest recession in a quarter century
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Fed adopts consumer credit-card protections
12/19/2008
VIN members wary of other finance deals
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Fuel prices drop, yet surcharges remain for diagnostic services
12/18/2008
DVMs push back; Antech drafts letter to explain fees
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Survey Finds Economy Eroding Revenues
12/5/2008
The present depression in the economy is starting to be felt now, according to a survey of Veterinary Information Network members.
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Dr. Tice's interest rates reversed and refunded
11/26/2008
In a classic case of oil going to the squeaky wheel, a veterinarian whose soaring credit card interest fees roused indignation has gotten a refund on excessive interest charges.
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Henry Schein Executive Says Privacy Rules Impede Inquiry Into Credit Card Rate Hikes
11/20/2008
Company says most cardholders are unaffected
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Soaring credit card rates raise eyebrows, hackles
11/14/2008
Dr. Tice warns colleagues to watch their credit card interest rate; Henry Schein offers to advocate on behalf of customers using their affinity card.
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Sales Tax on Veterinary Services
11/11/2008
California may impose a sales tax of as much as 10.25 percent on veterinary services if a proposed economic plan from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is passed.
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Brokers say Economy Not Hindering Capital
10/28/2008
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Pet food prices squeeze owners, veterinarians
10/27/2008
Prescription diets costs skyrocket, setting off consumers
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Brakke to release economic downturn report
10/10/2008
Study to publish in mid-December
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AVMA to release economic data
9/9/2008
Biennial economic survey, starting salaries report set for publication
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Handshakes are history; read the fine print, consultant says
8/26/2008
Product purchase gone wrong burns veterinarian
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CPA accused of stealing $2.7 million from VPI
7/23/2008
Stephen Anthony Friekin faces 103 felony counts of money laundering
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Feeling the economic pinch? Stop giving away services, consultant says
7/22/2008
Dr. Thomas Catanzaro suggests ways to earn more income
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Landscape for business refinancing wide open, bankers say
Go local for low rates, veterinarian suggests
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On the record
The VIN News Service recently conducted a Q&A session with the American Veterinary Medical Association and its indemnity arm, the Group Health and Life Insurance Trust (AVMA-GHLIT). The discussion explores the controversial partnership that’s emerged between GHLIT and Pets Best Insurance, a private entity.
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Views of chain veterinary hospital owner span the spectrum
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July 11, 2014
By: Edie Lau
For The VIN News Service

 Click here for larger view A letter mailed this spring to 2,000 proprietors of small veterinary clinics invited them to consider merging with a neighboring hospital run by VCA Inc., the largest owner of freestanding veterinary hospitals in the United States.
“By combining your practice with a current VCA Hospital, we remove the burden of day-to-day management, helping you achieve a more balanced lifestyle while you continue to practice veterinary medicine,” the letter reads. “If retirement is what you are looking for, a merger with VCA can be your exit strategy.”
In the view of Robert Antin, president, CEO and co-founder of VCA, the letter constitutes a “smiley face” topic — a happy example of VCA supporting the veterinary community by providing financial options to its members. The solicitation, he said, is “not contentious.”
But it is.
Some veterinarians who received the letter took strong offense. One called the move “somewhat predatory.”
“It feels like a hostile takeover,” said another. “They’re taking out anybody who’s competition.”
The reactions illustrate the perceived threat VCA poses to a segment of independent, small-hospital owners in the face of the company’s continual growth. In 27 years, VCA has expanded from a single hospital in Los Angeles to 608 hospitals across North America. It owns one of the two biggest diagnostic laboratories in the country; a digital medical equipment company; and a practice-communications and marketing business. It also is one of the three largest investors in VetSource, a pharmaceutical distributor.
The company workforce tops 17,000, about 3,500 of whom are veterinarians. With anticipated annual revenues approaching $2 billion this year, VCA is a giant in veterinary medicine. In many eyes, its size and reach — touching most aspects of daily clinical practice — is cause for concern and suspicion.
 VIN News Service photo
In a wide-ranging interview at company headquarters in Los Angeles, VCA co-founder, president
and CEO Bob Antin talked about the company origins, its culture, public image and industry challenges.
Referring to a national decline in patient visits, he said, “If we collectively don’t figure out how to drive
more people into hospitals, not just VCA, we’re all in trouble.”
Inside VCA, the view is completely different. Executives see their corporation as a collegial and conscientious steward of veterinary medicine, an avid supporter of training via a large internship and residency program, and a conduit to capital that provides flexibility and financial options for the profession as a whole. Some outside observers share the view of VCA as a benign force.
The polar perspectives are underscored by Antin’s bewilderment upon hearing of indignant responses to the acquisitions letter.
“Out of all the reactions that I would think of, the one you describe would not even come to mind,” Antin said during an interview at his sunny office near Santa Monica, California.
Speaking of VCA’s intentions, Antin said, “All you’re doing is giving options. If by mistake you wrote the letter to the wrong person, I apologize. … You don’t want the choice, don’t take it. Feel honored (to have been asked).”
The letter represents a new strategy for continued acquisitions, according to Neil Tauber, a VCA co-founder and senior vice president of development. Historically, the company sought only larger practices, those with annual revenues of $1 million or more. “We’ve tried in recent years something new, which is merging smaller practices into larger practices,” he said.
Like Antin, Tauber described the solicitation as providing a financial option for owners of independent small hospitals who are amenable to selling. “It’s created an opportunity for them,” he said, “whereas in the past, they were unable to sell to a corporate buyer because corporations tend to look for about the (larger) same-size practices.”
The solicitation was intended to be friendly, Tauber said, paraphrasing: “ ‘We want to offer you this opportunity because it makes sense.’ It doesn’t say, ‘We want to drive you out of business.’ ”
Antin acknowledged that different individuals may perceive the same facts in distinctly different ways. Married with a 25-year-old son and 23-year-old twin daughters, Antin allowed, “I’m sure when I tell (one) daughter I love her, she hears it differently from the other.”
‘Manny, Moe and Jack’
From the beginning, VCA aroused mistrust in the veterinary community. For starters, none of the founders is a veterinarian.
Antin and Tauber came from human health-care administration. Arthur Antin, older brother of Bob Antin, was an alternative-school teacher and administrator before switching to the health field. Art, Bob and Neil grew up in New York City in families of modest means. Art and Neil met as young men on a beach volleyball court on Long Island; Art introduced Neil to Bob. They discovered a shared passion for sports and an interest in managing the business of health care.
 VIN News Service photo
Art Antin, senior vice president and chief operating officer, says chance inspired the VCA founders to pursue the business end of veterinary medicine. Getting to know the original owners of West Los Angeles
Veterinary Medical Group was pivotal: “My bet is if we’d never met them and never walked into their practice and never saw the potential of what veterinary medicine could be like, we never would have gotten into the business.” In the mid-1980s, Bob, Art and Neil started a company called AlternaCare, which operated outpatient surgery centers, at the time a new concept. “Neil was involved in rolling up dental centers, which obviously overlapped with the concept of (establishing) outpatient surgery centers, which also overlaps with what it is we’re doing now,” Art said.
The idea of outpatient surgery took off, and AlternaCare was bought out in 1986, fewer than three years after the entrepreneurs, then in their 30s, started it.
The trio mused where to venture next. “We thought we could start a company, because we’d done it once,” Art said. But what kind? One day on an airplane, he overheard women in the seat behind him talking about finding a good veterinarian. Aha! he thought.
“I heard the word ‘veterinarian’ and that was health care,” Art said. “You know how you’re in the right place at the right time? … Had I been in another seat, another row, it might never have happened.”
But the earliest steps were not encouraging. The entrepreneurs started by researching the industry, looking for overviews of the business of veterinary practice. They found almost nothing. No books. Just one publication from the American Veterinary Medical Association, a 1½-inch-thick compilation of statistics.
The men talked to veterinarians who were personal friends, and arranged visits to various practices. “Honestly, the hospitals I saw I wouldn’t buy now,” Art said. “They were old and smelly and stuff. … Not all of them, but a lot of them were not, if you think about it, as modern as they are now.”
By chance, someone recommended they speak with Drs. Richard Gebhart and Pat Sevedge, owners of one of the largest animal hospitals in the country, West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group. “Bob tried to call Richard for weeks, and he never took the call,” Art recounted. “And then one day, he did.”
Gebhart and Sevedge had been running the hospital, by then a 24-hour-a-day endeavor, for nearly 20 years. In an interview, Gebhart described being receptive to the overtures. “I didn’t want to get stuck in (one) practice all my life,” he reflected. “I wanted to do different things.”
 VIN News Service photo
Neil Tauber, co-founder and senior vice president, deflected concerns that VCA would dominate veterinary
private practice, saying: “My guess is we’ll always be a microcosm of the profession. I think the
individual practitioner will always be out there. I think our company will grow but in a measured way.” Meeting Bob over lunch, Gebhart found him and his team credible, and liked their ideas. “I knew veterinary medicine had to go beyond what it was,” Gebhart said. “To grow a practice and render the service that was needed for quality patient care and excellent service required a considerable investment.” Moreover, Gebhart knew of no veterinary practice owner with the means to purchase the hospital.
The businessmen, in turn, were impressed with the operation. “When we walked in, it was a three-story animal hospital with an elevator and ORs (operating rooms) around-the-clock,” Art said. “It felt like a real business. It felt modern, and like, wow, this might be possible.”
Thus in 1987, the startup whose founders adopted a name reflecting their ambitions, Veterinary Centers of America, made their first acquisition. Gebhart stayed for five years to help the newcomers learn the business, during which time the company picked up another dozen hospitals and went public. While Gebhart obviously liked VCA’s executives, other veterinarians observing the acquisitions did not.
The hostility and derision weren’t subtle. Bob recalled: “Here we were, three guys from New York City. They used to call us the Pep Boys — Manny, Moe and Jack — and other unkind things.”
The attitude, he said, was: “ ‘What are these people doing in our industry? What are these people doing in my hospital?’ Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good. Whatever it was, we were cheats, liars and thieves.”
Enriching the competition
Today, VCA has a reputation for buying quality practices and providing good care. Its interest in full-service veterinary medicine is exemplified by the state of its first and now flagship hospital in Los Angeles, which in 2013 moved into a redesigned former Automobile Association of America building on South Sepulveda Boulevard, two blocks from the hospital’s original location. The 42,000-square-foot facility is nearly three times bigger and includes parking for 250 vehicles.
Matching and in some instances surpassing facilities for human medical care, the gleaming veterinary hospital, remodeled and expanded at a cost of more than $20 million, offers nearly every type of service and specialty available in companion animal medicine, from critical care to acupuncture, oncology to physical therapy. Asked as he showed off a linear accelerator whether there was any piece of diagnostic equipment he wanted that he didn’t have, the medical director Dr. David Bruyette answered instantly, “No.”
Looking at what the hospital he started has become affirms for Gebhart the role he played in launching VCA. He firmly believes the company’s presence has benefited the profession by increasing the value of practices. “They’ve put a lot of liquidity into the marketplace. You’ve got to give them credit for that,” he said.
Besides, if it hadn’t been VCA, another corporate player would have come in, he maintains. “Someone was going to do it,” Gebhart said. “You’re better off dealing with someone who has the ethics of VCA. They do a great job in practicing quality medicine.”
Yet VCA’s investment in facilities and client services and its deep pockets only sharpens the fear among some of its independent competitors.
A clinic owner who received an offer to merge with VCA was at first puzzled by the invitation because the letter specified practices within two miles of a VCA, and hers is farther than that. She thought, “Hell, maybe they’re planning on converting somebody within two miles of me. And then I was scared, thinking they’d open something that’s big, beautiful and has 10 times the money I have.”
The veterinarian asked not to be identified out of fear that VCA somehow would retaliate. “I’m honestly afraid they’d come after me,” she said. “If they can buy out every practice around them — you don’t mess with someone who has that much money.”
Antipathy toward VCA stems in part from a general mistrust of large corporations.
On a message board of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online community for the profession, a member posting anonymously a few years ago spoke anxiously about the clinic where he worked being bought by VCA. “I see more and more VCA hospitals and wonder if we will all be working corporate one day,” the veterinarian said, adding speculatively, “I think VCA may be a fine employer, but you will need to give up some freedoms and toe the company line.”
On another message board, Dr. Robert Weiner, a veterinarian in New York state, commented in 2011, “I suppose I live in the past, but I hate to see veterinary practice go the way of the pharmacy and the family farm. The vertical monopolization of the profession will one day make me an anachronism. (I might already be one.)”
Weiner was reacting to VCA’s purchase of the practice communications and marketing firm Vetstreet. He said he planned not to use Vetstreet because “There are several large practices in my area that I think would be good targets for VCA in the future, and I dislike the idea of supporting my probable future competition.”
(Weiner noted last month that his practice still uses Vetstreet because of the effort involved in switching but that he may explore a competing program in the near future.)
The same aversion to enriching the competition led Dr. Keith Gold, a veterinarian in Maryland, to cancel a long-term contract with Antech Diagnostics. The move provoked a lawsuit — one of at least 26 such suits filed by VCA in the past three years, contributing to its image as an aggressive behemoth.
“I’m unhappy with VCA buying everything out,” said Gold, who is fighting the suit. “… VCA has bought several hospitals in the area. I just don’t think I should be funneling money to them.”
VCA Senior Vice President of Development Tauber is mindful that the company cannot afford to antagonize independent clinic owners, for fear they would reject relationships with VCA divisions such as the diagnostic laboratory, the most lucrative branch of the company.
“We try to be friendly,” he said. “It’s true, we walk this fine line because Antech services in excess of 10,000 practices. If they felt we were predatory, they wouldn’t do business with Antech.”
How big?
The growing domain of VCA Inc.
Whether seen as cordial or cutthroat, VCA hospital acquisitions will continue.
“We’re a hospital-acquisitions company,” Doug Drew, vice president of U.S. hospital operations, said simply. “We’re not going to not buy hospitals.”
(On a smaller scale, VCA sells and closes hospitals, as well. Drew said the company sold two last year, an activity he called rare. The company’s 2013 annual report states that it operates 609 hospitals, but updated information from VCA gives the number as 608.)
Describing VCA’s approach in soliciting prospective sellers, Tauber said: “We call veterinarians blindly, we send mailers, we advertise in journals, just to get our name out there. It’s never hostile.”
Said Bob Antin: “I have never bought a practice from a doctor who didn’t say ‘yes.’ We don’t force anybody to sell.”
In seeking mergers with small practices, Tauber said company representatives have made overtures to clinics near VCA hospitals for two or three years now through cold-calls and visits. A year ago, the company began sending mailers to practices it identified via Internet searches and by tapping the knowledge of its own veterinarians in the urban and suburban communities in which the company likes to locate.
For each VCA hospital that has the capacity to absorb more doctors, staff and clients, the company scouts for potential candidates. Tauber said the process is ongoing.
The company is eyeing clinics with as little as $400,000 in annual revenues — considerably less than the $1.2 million-revenue-clinics it seeks for outright purchases.
Bob Antin has this picture of the types of practices that would respond favorably to the solicitation:
“I would imagine … that in the United States, there are a lot of hospitals that the physical plant is old. Run down. (Owned by) doctors who have worked their asses off for years and years and years, and they have a hard time hiring somebody because they don’t want to work in unattractive facilities.”
Antin imagines that when VCA asks, “Hey, would you like to practice out of a nicer facility and work with other medical people?” the doctor suddenly has an out.
“Four hundred thousand dollars, that’s a small facility,” he said. “What are you going to do with that? ... Nobody wants to buy that.”
If the letters had gone solely to dilapidated clinics owned by exhausted, dispirited veterinarians, perhaps they would have been uniformly welcomed. But the invitations hit more widely than that.
One recipient opened his clinic only two years ago, taking care, he said, to locate “a ‘professional courtesy’ distance” from other practices. One year later, a VCA hospital that had been two miles away in another town moved next door.
“Now, they send me this letter wanting to buy me out,” he told the VIN News Service by email. “That is some nerve! VCA has no professional courtesy and I go out of my way to be sure I don't do business with any of their associated companies. I would never sell my practice to them. I find these letters somewhat predatory, especially in light of my situation …”
The veterinarian asked not to be named, saying he doesn’t want “to stir the pot,” but agreed to be quoted to “(let) others know my story so they can keep their eyes wide open in dealings with VCA.”
He added that his practice is thriving, thanks in part to clients who are “anti-corporate and actively supporting my small practice.”
“My biggest problem is explaining to new clients which animal hospital they are making an appointment at, and where to go,” he said.
Another veterinarian who was offended by VCA’s offer to buy offered an alternate financial vision to the one laid out by company executives. “The reality is that small practices have low overhead and can be quite profitable,” she said. “...Our business model is more focused on the community in which we live, rather than on the pure profit motive …”
A practice owner since 2000, the veterinarian said she has “made enough money that so far, my retirement plans are set. I didn’t include selling my practice into the equation because years ago, I knew that with escalating student debt, there would be fewer people that could afford to buy practices. … However, I know that my place is small enough that someone could afford to buy it, because there are still good loans available to veterinarians.”
Not every recipient has reacted with repulsion to VCA’s overtures, of course. Dr. W. Greg Upton, a practice owner in Texas, said, “I really didn’t think that much about the offer, just chunked it.”
Both VCA and Banfield Pet Hospital — an even bigger chain-clinic owner largely located in PetSmart stores — operate near him. “I’m not a fan of corporate medicine; it isn’t for me,” Upton said by email. “But I don’t fret about it. I also have a SNAP (Spay Neuter Assistance Program) not far away. They probably take more business from me than either VCA or Banfield. …
“This is a free country and they are free to open a practice where they like and charge what they want,” Upton continued. “Competition is good for the whole even if some individual businesses are adversely affected. I hope corporate medicine does not completely dominate the profession in the future, but at least they compete from a level field. I’m more resentful of the nonprofits deviating from their origins into direct competition with practices….”
Ed Guiducci, a veterinary business lawyer in Colorado, said VCA’s mailer campaign may be new but the concept of buying a practice minus the building and equipment is not. “They want patient and client records, and they want the seller to stay around to transition the clients to a new location,” he said. “This is a long-standing approach not just by VCA.”
As for soliciting desired clinics by mail, Guiducci said, “I don’t see it as offensive. It’s analogous to a homeowner in a hot area who wants to find a house to buy, but nothing’s for sale so they send a letter to all the neighbors: ‘If you happen to want to sell, let me know.’ ”
Asked how many invitations drew interest, VCA’s Tauber said he couldn’t say offhand. “What I can tell you is, on my desk right now, I’m doing, hang on —” he paused, counting. “Currently, I’m in documents on five right now that want to merge. There’s many more that I’m waiting for financials.”
One veterinarian’s experience
Sometimes the company woos an independent owner for years. The owner might even be someone with a skeptical opinion of VCA. Bob Antin pointed to Dr. Wallace Graham as a case in point.
Graham started a practice from scratch in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1982 at the age of 30. Another veterinarian opened a hospital 2¼ miles away. That hospital eventually was bought by the company Pet’s Choice, which in turn was acquired in 2005 by VCA. Twice, Graham was invited to merge — first by Pet’s Choice, then by VCA. Twice, he declined.
In 2011, VCA bought Vetstreet, extending its domain to online marketing and client communications. Like many independent practice owners who were Vetstreet customers, Graham worried that the data Vetstreet possessed on his clinic would be used by VCA to sharpen its hospitals’ competitive edge.
Graham called Vetstreet to express his concerns. The man who answered said he would have Bob Antin return the call. “Yeah, right,” Graham thought.
But Antin did call. He was genial and said that “they weren’t good enough to be able to mine the data and use it to their benefit,” Graham recalled. And supposing they could, Graham remembers Antin saying, “If anybody ever caught us at that, we’re dead. All of our businesses are dead. We can’t risk that.”
Graham found the reply persuasive. “I wasn’t sold on the nature of the company at that point,” he said, “but I thought, ‘Either this guy is a really, really nice guy, or he’s a very slick salesman. … Or both.' ”
About that time, Graham was nearly 60 and thinking about how to position himself for retirement. He took steps to move his hospital to a larger building, intending to make the business more marketable in the future to a corporation. But the endeavor was more expensive than he anticipated. Coincidentally, the nearby VCA hospital was in the midst of expanding. The medical director there, a longtime friend, raised the idea again of merging. This time, Graham agreed.
The friend was key, Graham said: “Had he not been there, I would not have talked to anyone. That relationship was critical.”
The practices merged in 2012. VCA offered jobs to the whole staff, with no pay cuts. Most accepted but few stayed. Graham chalks it up to the different environment — going from a practice with 16 employees to a practice with 60. “It was a lot more like a family in a small practice than a big practice,” he said. “Some of them just didn’t like it."
Some clients left, as well. Graham estimates that more than half remain, but a “substantial” number were lost, due at least in part to VCA’s higher overall prices. (One thing Graham learned while competing as a practice owner is that corporate prices aren’t necessarily lower. “There’s an extra layer of management, so fees have to be adjusted to deal with that,” he said.)
As for what it’s like working for VCA, Graham says that no matter where he practices veterinary medicine, “I love what I do.”
‘Certainly not Starbucks’
Despite its perceived high rate of acquisitions, VCA is a long way from controlling the market, Tauber maintains.
Whether it’s hospitals, laboratory work, digital medical equipment or practice communications, VCA has at least one big competitor, if not numerous competitors. “In no marketplace do I think we have a monopoly, or come close to that,” he said.
In the veterinary hospital realm, Tauber figures that the vast majority — more than 18,000 out of an estimated 21,000 to 26,000 practices in the United States — remain independently owned.
“At any one time, there’s only 1,500 to 2,000 practices that are targets of ours,” he said, based on size, location and practice type. “We like to be in urban/suburban places. We do very little large animal. If you look at our growth over 20 years, it’s not colossal growth. … It’s certainly not Starbucks by any means.”
The figures he presented explain why VCA believes much room remains for the company to grow at home. Asked whether VCA aspires to establish itself in foreign countries beyond Canada, Tauber said, “We talk about it. We’ve looked at Europe. But there’s still so much opportunity in America.”
VIN News Service commentaries are opinion pieces presenting insights, personal experiences and/or perspectives on topical issues by members of the veterinary community. To submit a commentary for consideration, email news@vin.com.
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