15-minute consults: a waste of time?

Many practices still have 10-minute small animal consultations – mine included – until recently, when we made the move to 15-minute appointments.

It was initially debated as to whether we could offer longer consultation times in a specified time block, reserved for “sick pets” only. However, this was decided against due to the difficulty of telephone triage, potential for miscommunication and unpredictable nature of even “routine” consults – I have had a “booster” that actually turned out to be a quality-of-life discussion culminating in euthanasia.

It’s impossible to tell whether something is going to be a 5-minute postoperative check or a long discussion on weight management post-neutering.

Jab and no-go

The phrase “it’s only a booster” infuriates me. It suggests every booster is a simple “jab and go”, but the booster appointment is often the only time each year that animal will set foot in a veterinary practice. Therefore, the annual health check is of vital importance, allowing early detection of possible disease, discussion of preventative health care and, at the very least, weight monitoring.

Very rarely is a booster “just a booster”. An animal from a different practice will often require scrutinisation of history or vaccine certificate and a discussion about the compatibility of different vaccine brands, the L2 vs L4 argument, or an explanation of the different flea and worm products we stock.

An animal with a clean clinical exam and history could still need a “quick” nail clip or “could you just check his anal glands”.

Maximising appointments

I find many owners will “save up” all their concerns for the booster appointment in a bid to get more for their money, so a booster soon becomes an extended discussion on OA or behaviour issues – neither of which are easily tackled in 10 minutes.

Many approaches exist to trying to maximise appointments:

• Asking owners to rebook for another consult to prioritise problems if the list of ailments is extensive.
• Using the nursing team for blood sampling, estimates and nurse clinic appointments.
• Some practices will have nursing assistants in consults with vets to help with drawing up medications, typing histories and dispensing medication to save the vet time.
• We used to book “double appointments” for seemingly more complicated issues – but, as discussed, you can never guarantee the complexity of a consult.

Not all these elements can be implemented in every practice – usually due to limitations in staff – so maximising consult time should be assessed on an individual level for every practice.

Less is more

I think the major concern for practices considering the jump to 15-minute appointments is the overall reduced number of appointments available and, therefore, a perceived knock-on effect on turnover. In fact, having made the move, turnover will improve as vets are able to provide a better service for clients and generate more income per consult.

However, the ultimate gain is the reduction of stress for staff. A significant contributing factor to workplace stress for vets is the time pressure – the constant conveyor belt of clients and patients, and the feeling you’re always chasing your tail and never quite catching up.

We’ve not had 15-minute appointments for long, but we’re already feeling the benefit of that little bit of extra breathing space. Inevitably, some appointments still overrun, but it’s much easier to catch up and keep clients happy rather than constantly running late.

Longer appointment times are something every practice should consider to help improve staff retention.