The VHMA November 2018 Insiders’ Insight survey revisited “forward booking,” a topic that was previously addressed in 2014. The big surprise? There has been little change in the number of respondents forward booking medical progress exams and/or preventive care exams over a four year period!
A quick Google search for “veterinary forward booking” returned more than a million results, with many articles listed in the initial five pages showing a publication date or 2017 or 2018. Despite the amount of real estate devoted to the topic, we are seeing only slight increases in the number of practices that have embraced forward booking.
Even with the publication of, Preventive Pet Healthcare: Your Guide to Becoming a Practice Champion, a practical guide that leads reader through a step-by-step process to increase the emphasis on preventive healthcare and highlights techniques for implementing forward booking, the needle has not moved significantly.
To glean insights into the barriers to implementation, the responses contained in the Insiders’ Insight report are revealing and seem to fall into three broad mindsets. These include: risk aversion, glass half empty thinking, and destined for failure.
Fear of Taking a Risk
Many of us have grown up with popular phrases that encourage the status quo…”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” and “Leave well enough alone,” are just a few examples of the way we are conditioned to stick with what works (sort of) rather than risk experimenting with an approach that is outside the normal way of doing business. Some respondents noted that because staff is reluctant to try forward booking, it has not been implemented.
While it’s important to be mindful of the consequences of our actions and policies, fear---whether it is expressed by staff, the owner or clients--- is not a compelling reason to disregard a best practice. Replace fear by focusing on the benefits of forward booking to patients, clients and the practice.
The Glass-half-empty Thinking
Several respondents indicated that they had not utilized forward booking because of issues with appointment calendars and DVMs schedules. Admittedly, these are obstacles, but we caution managers not to admit defeat without taking a harder look. If your focus is only on what’s wrong, it will be difficult to move forward because most endeavors are fraught with some type of obstacle. If you haven’t implemented forward booking because the stars are not in alignment, it is time for an attitude adjustment. When you see it as half-full you are more likely to seek solutions that will fill the cup to capacity.
Once a Failure, Forever a Failure
Finally, several respondents reported that their efforts to implement forward booking were not successful. If the first attempt did not have the intended results, rather than abandoning the initiative, it’s more constructive to revisit the approach and figure out why it didn’t work. An honest, unbiased evaluation can effectively pinpoint problems that may have occurred, allowing revisions that can increase the effectiveness of the strategy and the likelihood of success.
For suggestions about how to implement forward booking successfully, comments provided by Insiders’ Insight survey respondents offer a great starting point.
VHMA’s Preventive Pet Healthcare: Your Guide to Becoming a Practice Champion is a solid, practical, easy to use resource for practice leaders who are seeking to implement forward booking. Check out the Partners for Healthy Pets website for a roadmap, tools, and success stories.
Be brave, be positive and accept the challenge of moving forward with forward booking!
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