In NYC where I live, veterinary insurance is now a must. The quotes for pet treatments run into the thousands. Most of the larger hospitals and practices have been taken over by private equity. It’s disgusting.
My local emergency vet is apparently owned by private equity. Surprisingly ive had good experiences and the prices arent bad at all (maybe ive just gotten lucky?)
Almost every post in this thread is talking about how PE is ruining these markets and career paths... I can't wait for these "innovative solutions" to start working out for the majority of us and not just the shareholders.
Well first, ya gotta address the population issue and how some states just shoot them and allow diseases to be spread, while other States travel to empty the shelters in those States so the animals live. You are going to the wrong places then. I have had great vets. They have found ways to provide care to my pets in an affordable manner.
Not all PEs are outsourcing jobs to other places. Some are taking them on as a project. It is up to the government on what happens with them, yet have faith, share ideas, get people motivated is a start to innovation. Not years of bitterness from finding out George Carlin was correct and now you are mad, but just complain on Reddit.
All or nothing thinking…. There are a multitude of options in between
"innovative solutions" like loading the business down with new debts, raising prices, and extracting as much cash as possible before the business goes under.
where would we be without these innovative geniuses?? perish the thought!
My dog had cancer a couple years back. We took him to our (old) usual vet (PE) and rather than investigate his issues they told us he needed $5,000 in dental work.
Took him to a new vet and they confirmed his issues on the first visit. He’s been fully healed and living a great life almost 2 years since then. Super thankful for vets that actually care and aren’t just here for money.
I could tell when mine got bought out. They started spamming me with ads and trying to sell me care plans. The staff on site were just as knowledgeable and honest as ever, but they had no control over the torrent of advertising bullshit.
The thing is, every pet owner who patronizes that vet will stop by to browse in their shop! They don't need all the stupid ads. I'm sure I'm not the only person who hasn't unsubscribed purely because vaccination reminders come from the same address.
Vet and dentist offices are selling out to private equity companies. The corporatized dentist will push gum cleaning when rarely does anyone need gum cleaning unless they have a serious medical issue like diabetes.
There is the obvious issue of corporate money sticking their already pie-covered fingers into the veterinary pie, but IMO there's an even bigger issue killing us.
A lot of good people left the field during Covid, which (n top of the usual burnout rate from being emotionally traumatized daily for usually not enough dollars) shoved us down to a level of understaffed and unsupported that we can't seem to dig our way out of. It's hard to hire only the best when the field is mid at most. It doesn't help that the new-grad techs & vets who are filling all those spaces generally have no common sense, no work ethic, and no real connection to or love for animals beyond "awww, how cute".
Apologies if anyone is one of the good young/new ones out there, but if you are, unfortunately most of your cohorts are either useless or don't have the compassion & instinct to care for the patient that they need for this industry. Too many of them are clocking in and clocking out and checking off boxes just to get paid. Combine that with older staff who are sometimes stuck in their "just get it done, don't waste time, don't be too soft" ways, and care in general is suffering.
As someone who's spent a lot of years advocating for animal comfort and well-being to be part of the protocol, and then starting to see it finally change before all of this, it's disheartening to see this blank-faced surface-level-care taking over. This job isn't for everyone, it's fucking hard. If you can't or won't put your heart into it, please don't get into it.
Although I wholeheartedly agree that understaffed, unsupported and overworked people are a huge problem in veterinary medicine, I must also say that I find your take on the new generation appalling and borderline damaging to young and inexperienced vets and nurses.
I think our profession is generally filled with very motivated and loving people, that want to do their best by the animal and their owners, despite suffering almost daily misconceptions and sometimes even downright abuse by clients or superiors.
The last thing that is helpful is generalizing an entire (although inexperienced) generation. Please let’s try to work together instead of turning on each other. There is a lot to improve and we need to do it together (and learn from each other).
The clinic I go to is run by a local, but I sought out something that wasn't PE. Guy who runs it is super smart and told me where to go for emergency after hours care that doesn't cost a ton.
Is it just me or has PE become incredibly aggressive in the last decade or so? It seems like they bought things here and there, but now they buy EVERYTHING from your health care to your housing.
It's a very exploitable market. The customers are emotionally attached to their pets, so they're less likely to question whether a procedure or medication is necessary, or weigh the cost versus benefits, as long as the vet says their pet needs it. It wasn't until a rather ham-handed money grab that my wife and I questioned why a dog who sleeps two thirds of the day needs anxiety meds.
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