Problem Solving Techniques

Problem solving techniques within the veterinary practice are used on a daily basis and most are used for all types of problems. A problem surfaces, like a client who has an animal who needs veterinary care as soon as possible but is unable to pay a large veterinary bill. The veterinary team then talks with the management team and tells them what has to be done and what the client has to work with. The two teams then discuss the different outcomes that can come out of the situation if one decision is made versus another. The client's dog was hit by a car and has a broken leg. The proper treatment for the dog would cost the client four to five hundred dollars initially and then another two to three hundred dollars for after care until the leg is healed. The client has lost his or her job and is unable to pay the price for the proper treatment. Management asks the veterinary team if there is another option for the client that might not cost as much but will give the animal the proper treatment for proper recovery. The veterinary team states that they do have a casting product that wouldn't have to be adjusted on a weekly basis and can set the leg without an x-ray but does this process would give the animal the chance of infections, abrasions, or improper healing since the cast does not get removed for four weeks. The cost of this process would be three to four hundred with other one hundred dollars four weeks later to remove the cast and check the leg. The veterinary team asks management if there is any possibility of a payment plan for the client. The management team would consider this but runs the chance of the client not coming in to pay thus losing the cost of supplies, time, and salaries. The two teams then sit down and find that if the animal is not taken care of, chances are that the animal will get worse and that would create a bad influence with the community and that would be worse than not being paid

Two outcomes can come from this scenario. The animal can get the proper care and the client can be put on a payment plan from the veterinary practice and leave happy and never come back. The second scenario would be that the animal and client get the care that they need and are set up with a payment plan and return for proper care and payment. In both scenarios the vets and the practice team still get the good feeling of helping a defenseless critter, who was in pain, and suffering. That is what everyone in our practice aims for and hopes to keep doing for a long time.