“Under-capacity” is probably not a phrase that comes up in your daily conversation.
But if you’re a dog parent who’s heard some of the growing plethora of stories about scams that veterinarians engage in to boost their revenues, here’s some data regarding capacity measures at veterinary clinics that adds a new hint of the motivation behind these scams.
In 2013 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released an article that summarizes the findings of a study that showed there are about 11% more veterinarians on the market than demand would require. Key excerpt (emphasis added):
[T]he report indicates that the supply of veterinarians in the United States in 2012 was 90,200, and that supply exceeded the demand for veterinary services by about 11,250 full-time equivalent veterinarians.
The excess capacity estimated in the report does not mean that 11,250 veterinarians were unemployed during the study period, but that 12.5 percent of veterinarians’ capacity to provide services was going unused. If current conditions continue, the study projects that this is likely to persist into the foreseeable future.
A veterinary workforce survey used as a part of the study asked respondent veterinarians working in clinical practice to characterize their local veterinary market and their practices’ capacity and productivity. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said that they believed they were working at less than full capacity.
See the full report, “2013 U.S. Veterinary Workforce Study: Modeling Capacity Utilization,” here.
The result is that the average veterinarian’s annual earnings is falling – sharply. From page 9 of the report:
And a chart (from page 12) that shows 53% of veterinarians claim their clinics are not working at full capacity:
No one wants to believe that veterinarians would do anything except provide only the services and counsel that your dog really needs for her happiness, health and longevity – right? I certainly didn’t.
But as the deeply-researched and documented articles on Shayna’s List show, there is no longer any doubt that many veterinarians – not just the oddball here and there, but a significant swath of the industry – are engaging in shameful practices that use deception, guilt, manipulation and outright lies in order to boost their revenues, even if it means risking the health of our four-legged best friends.
Caveat emptor, fellow dog-parents.
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