Just how many receptionists does a vet need?

[reba]

Just got back from the vet with and there is one thing that always perplexes me.  Every time I go there, the parking lot is empty or almost empty.  So why the two full-time receptionists?  It's got to cost a fortune to employ all those people.  There non-DVM to DVM staff ration must be 4 to 1.  Anyone have any insight about why veterinary offices have so many staff members?

 

[denice]

I can only speak for the vet clinic that I go to.  They have a reputation for being the best cat's only vet clinic here and they are busy.  They do have two people in the front office, one on the side checking in kitties the other on the other side checking out people and taking care of the bill.  Every time I have been there they get a lot of phone calls as well.  Each vet has their own vet tech and they have vet techs that are on call.  The on call vet techs work nights, weekends, and holidays when kitties are hospitalized.

 

[LTS3]

 
Just got back from the bet with and there is one thing that always perplexes me.  Every time I go there, the parking lot is empty or almost empty.  So why the two full-time receptionists?  It's got to cost a fortune to employ all those people.  There non-DVM to DVM staff ration must be 4 to 1.  Anyone have any insight about why veterinary offices have so many staff members?

The vet hospital I take my cats to is a full service hospital that is also a 24/7 ER and a teaching hospital. There's about 70 full time vets on staff covering 18 different specialties in addition to primary care. Each vet may have several vet techs, residents, interns, and suport staff (example, my vet has his own secretary). The front desk usually has at least 3 staff members to check patients in or out, etc and do other duties. Then there's the people in the pharamcy. Then there's all the staff needed for the business side of things( financial aid office, various office managers and coordinators, developement office,  etc) and general support staff (janitorial, facilities, etc).  It's a very busy place and the parking lot is always filled.

I took a previous cat to a much smaller hospital and there were about 5 vets there plus a number of vet techs who also did front desk duty. There was an office manager as well.

 

[pinkdagger]

I visit a small exotics clinic and they have one designated receptionist and one vet tech/receptionist. It helps to have people available to relieve the primary receptionist, and having dual-skills like that is good in any job. The small mammal vet I went to with one of our cats had a vet tech as receptionist as well, and a few vet techs scurrying in and out of the back to function as both tech and receptionist.

You could also be lucky in going during non-peak hours. If they get a lot of urgent calls or emergencies, having extra hands to tend to the vets' needs, the specific client's needs, and answering phone calls, email inquiries, checking voice mail, and returning calls, better that than have one person be overwhelmed and stressed on the job.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

my vet hospital is just a two vet office, but they're excellent vet's. they have two receptionists (both aren't there every day), at least one vet tech per vet, and an office manager/financial guy. they stay pretty busy there. two days each week are surgery days for one vet, and i'm not sure (but think that) the second vet handles appointments those days. saturdays are half days there, they're only open from 9am until noon and that place is booked up over a month in advance for saturday appointments. my snick has her scheduled appointments on saturdays (every other month) and at our last appointment (in july) there were several emergency patients the vet fit in -- serious injuries like dogs hit by cars, sudden severe illness with a cat, etc. the two vets alternate working weekends. even though snick has one vet as her primary vet, we do see the other vet if it's her saturday to work.

 

[reba]

The point Denise made about the phones and check in/out makes a lot of sense.  You don't want to be getting an answering machine when you call the vet and you don't want customers standing there while the receptionist is handling the phone.  Still, my busy Dr.'s office has one MD, one NP, an office manager, a receptionist and one nurse.  They outsource the insurance billing, but there's still paperwork for that.

Anyway, no wonder an office visit is $60!  Even if they aren't getting paid that much you need to add 20% - 30% onto that for all the payroll tax and fringe costs.  Then all the medical/diagnostic equipment.  It's actually the same price for the mobile vet to come to my house.  I do feel that the cost to run a practice is so high that reality demands they recoup it via offering the option of every possible test.  Then I've noticed the addition of vets going to St. George's medical school in the Bahamas (which costs a fortune).  We actually educate enough vets here, but so many of them don't practice for long or end up becoming specialists.

 

[AbbysMom]

I go to a small cat only vet. There is one vet that works there full-time and one part-time. There are a handful of techs and the senior tech is also the office manager, taking care of bills, ordering food and supplies, etc. There is normally only one at the desk, but if they are busy there could be a few tech out front helping.

 
Just got back from the bet with and there is one thing that always perplexes me.  Every time I go there, the parking lot is empty or almost empty.  So why the two full-time receptionists?  It's got to cost a fortune to employ all those people.  There non-DVM to DVM staff ration must be 4 to 1.  Anyone have any insight about why veterinary offices have so many staff members?

The vet hospital I take my cats to is a full service hospital that is also a 24/7 ER and a teaching hospital. There's about 70 full time vets on staff covering 18 different specialties in addition to primary care. Each vet may have several vet techs, residents, interns, and suport staff (example, my vet has his own secretary). The front desk usually has at least 3 staff members to check patients in or out, etc and do other duties. Then there's the people in the pharamcy. Then there's all the staff needed for the business side of things( financial aid office, various office managers and coordinators, developement office,  etc) and general support staff (janitorial, facilities, etc).  It's a very busy place and the parking lot is always filled.

I took a previous cat to a much smaller hospital and there were about 5 vets there plus a number of vet techs who also did front desk duty. There was an office manager as well.

Wow! 70? That's a lot. What teaching hospital is that?

 

[reba]

Actually I should say that I don't think my vet pushes tests on me at all, but I hear that over and over.    It's always a little bit awkward nowadays, because there's a fine line between informed consent and putting pressure on pet owners who are emotionally vulnerable.

 

[denice]

Unfortunately because of the level of care available pet owners often need to pick and choose when it comes to diagnostics which means trying to educate themselves.  It's really the same idea as what has happened with people's health insurance in the U.S.  More and more people have plans with high deductibles so they often have to make the same decisions not only about which tests are truly necessary but where they are performed.  The stand alone clinics are much cheaper than a hospital and sometimes plans will wave the deductible if a patient chooses one over a hospital. 

 

[LTS3]

Wow! 70? That's a lot. What teaching hospital is that?

Angell Animal Medical Center. It's basically like a mini version of a Human hospital minus a cafeteria and gift shop

 

[capt_jordi]

I work as a vet assistant/receptionist. We have our Office manager, a full time receptionist, and then I'm part time. Currently our office manager is on maternity leave so its usually just one person on the front desk except Friday afternoons and I have to tell you it is HORRIBLY stressful to only have one person. 

Monday was extremely busy, (we'll blame it on the full moon) and I was the only one on the front desk all day. Multiple times during the day I had both phones ringing while trying to check someone out or while someone was in asking questions so I would have to put the phone on hold and let them wait or vice versa. Multiple times people hung up because of the long hold times. On top of that, when it was time for me to take a lunch I had to pull one of the girls from the back to baby sit the phones and door. Of course this wasnt while appointments were going on, but we use our lunch time as a time to clean and catch up to what we havent had a chance to do the rest of the morning and prepare for the afternoon shift. 

When we have two people on the desk, one person can handle the phones while the other is checking customers out, we can run and get food for customers without having to worry about the phone ringing (our food room is upstairs) no worries about needing to take a bathroom break, we can alternate lunches, and it just makes everything more relaxed. On top of that one person can handle follow up calls and confirmation calls for the next day and the wait times are much less and customers get more attention from us. 

We have 2 vets, 5 techs, myself who is office and tech and 2 office. I think its a pretty well balanced office.