PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2021 - 28

IS THERE A TRENDING RELUCTANCE
OF PRACTICE OWNERSHIP?
By Mark P. Helfat, DVM
Founder Veterinary Practice Transition

It seems like only yesterday
I didn't have a clue
I stood alone not knowin'
where to turn
Now suddenly I look around
And everything looks new
I don't know why,
but I think I'm startin' to learn
They call it understanding
A willingness to grow
Bob Seger's Understanding
	

Was it really 43 years ago, in Ithaca,
NY, that my veterinary classmates and I
stood up en masse before thousands of
perplexed graduates, parents, and guests,
waving our rectal sleeves and spelling
C-O-W? My career has whisked by so
fast that I have to occasionally remind
myself of the endless litany of transitions
that our profession has experienced - for
better or worse.
Whether technology, education,
demographics, economics, marketing,
communications, practice, ethics, wellbeing, culture - I have witnessed and
experienced so many changes over the
years that I applaud myself and my peers
for maintaining any form of sanity and
stability as the kaleidoscopic landscape
has evolved.	
But...of all the twists and turns that I have
indexed over the decades, my greatest
concern and worry is the path on which
practice ownership has traveled down -
and I am gravely dismayed. Forty-three
years ago, it was virtually every veterinary
graduate's dream to eventually purchase
their own practice and experience
this profession through personal
proprietorship. 	
Wow! So much has changed. Our
profession is at a true crossroads.

28 | Keystone Veterinarian

I fear that the not so distant future holds
a dismal collection of predominantly
expansive and expensive corporateowned practices, a vastly diminished
number of locally owned smaller
practices, and a dwindling quantity of
large animal practices. 	
The explanation is multifaceted, but not
complex. On the one hand, you have the
aging baby boomers who have reached
retirement age, or whose health (or
other issues) has persuaded them to
leave the profession. Many in this group
who own the large " million dollar plus "
facilities have already sold, or will sell, to
the corporate suitors. Congratulations!
That leaves a huge number of vibrant,
local, smaller practices (both small animal
and large animal) where the owner(s)
will have to find a buyer. The options for
finding that individual are somewhat
limited. One might consult a broker,
but the small size of the practice or the
sales commission might pose obstacles.
Perhaps there is an associate, but are
they interested, or can they afford it?
What now? Does the owner close the
doors and walk away?
On the other hand, we have the buyer.
This individual also brings some major
obstacles into this discussion. With
PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2021

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