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1.6 Adapting to a New Normal

       Lowell Ackerman, DVM, DACVD, MBA, MPA, CVA, MRCVS

       Global Consultant, Author, and Lecturer, MA, USA

BASICS

      1.6.1 Summary

      Life has changed for veterinary practices, the hospital team, clients, and even pets. Periodically, the world experiences events considered “shocks” that change the fundamental way we do things. These events can include such diverse things as war, terrorist attacks, financial crises, climate change, and pandemics. Even though the event may only occupy a finite span of time, the after‐effects can last significantly longer. As economic shocks appear to be occurring with some regularity, it is important to adapt to the realities that follow.

      1.6.2 Terms Defined

      Economic Shock: An event that has a major impact on economic indicators, such as unemployment, inflation, consumer confidence, or consumption.

      Formulary: An approved list of medications that may be stocked in a practice or are allowed to be prescribed.

      New Normal: The changed state recognized following the occurrence of a major or catastrophic event that alters our routines.

      Pet‐Specific Care: An approach that tailors veterinary care to individual pets based on their predicted risk of disease and likely response to intervention.

MAIN CONCEPTS

      1.6.3 Client Experience

      The occurrence of COVID‐19 may have been the latest notable economic shock, but there are bound to be others. In the immediate post‐COVID era, even with vaccination, clients may continue to be wary of their interactions with staff, so it is a great opportunity to innovate. This includes rethinking how we engage with clients (even hand shaking), and how we articulate the value of our services. Clients have experienced new ways of dealing with their own physicians and the healthcare system and are bound to question why dealing with veterinary teams should be any different. It is important to consider the long‐term applications of appropriate principles, because there are bound to be future pandemic concerns as well as other economic shocks that will affect the profession. It is important to adapt to such shocks and learn from them.

Immediately following a pandemic, clients are likely to have expectations when it comes to routine wellness visits, conditions that they believe could be handled virtually, preference for “curbside” services rather than coming into the hospital, home delivery of products, and much more. For a service industry such as veterinary medicine, it is important to articulate the value proposition in ways that make sense to consumers. This is a particularly great opportunity to consider pet‐specific care, in which we take a more proactive and transparent approach to the care that pets will need over their lifetimes, and do so on a customized basis. It will also be important to curate resources used for client education, so we can be sure that pet owners are receiving consistent messaging about the care of their pets. We also need to ensure that such resources are deliverable in paperless forms and even contact‐less, so direct contact can be minimized.

      Clients are quite aware when their world has changed, and it is likely that they have experienced stay‐at‐home isolation, so their attitudes toward social contact will likely be affected for some time. Expect that they will continue to be looking for assurances that they, their pets, and their families will be safe in their interactions with the veterinary team. Many of them will have been working from home, teleconferencing with work colleagues, family, and friends, doing much of their shopping

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