According to a recently released WHITE PAPER from Vetsource, an online pharmacy, prescription management and analytics business serving thousands of U.S. veterinary practices, reported that veterinary patient visits are declining, there are fewer active patients, and the frequency between appointments is increasing.
Vetsource analyzed transactional data from 6,574 veterinary practices (the estimated number of veterinary practices in the U.S. ranges from 28,000 to 32,000). The data revealed that visits were down 2.3% in 2024, compared to the previous year. The time between visits grew to 85.8 days between July 2023-2024 — a 48% increase from the same period just three years earlier (July 2020-2021).
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- Vetsource solutions help veterinary practices turn challenges into opportunities (2.27.25)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vetsource-solutions-help-veterinary-practices-turn-challenges-into-opportunities-302386346.html
- WHITE PAPER: Behavior shift: Implications of today’s pet owner trends on veterinary medicine in 2025
https://assets.vetsource.com/m/3e5197539521d838/original/DataServicesWhitePaper.pdf
- Mars Petcare Grabs a Bigger Slice of Vetsource (5.18.21)
https://todaysveterinarybusiness.com/mars-petcare-vetsource/- Mars Petcare is now the majority OWNER of Vetsource — veterinary practices typically outsource their online pharmacy to a prescription management service, the third-party pharmacy provides individual practice websites with a clinic-branded online store that offers home delivery of pet prescription medications and other supplies nationwide. Prices are controlled by the individual practice, and earns a commission based on the percentage of the sales.
- Visits to veterinarians decline as pet boom fades (3.5.24)
- At U.S. companion animal practices, visit numbers fell 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. Year-over-year falls have been recorded consistently since the start of 2022.
- Study finds strong correlation between revenue, annual visits per patient (1.1.21)
https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2021-01-01/study-finds-strong-correlation-between-revenue-annual-visits-patient- The data show that, as the amount a client spends on each visit increases, the number of visits decreases — suggesting clients are more sensitive to the cost of a single visit than the amount spent over a year.
- VHMA Insiders’ Insights KPI Quarterly Commentary – January 2025 (1.13.25)
https://www.vhma.org/blogs/vhma-admin/2025/01/13/vhmainsidersinsightskpiqtrcommentaryjan2025- As patient visits continue to decline and the gap between visits widens, now is a crucial time for practices to revisit their pricing strategies to maintain profitability and client engagement — “clients’ purchasing channel options continue to grow, hospitals will have to fight harder to keep their clients’ purchases in practice. Some practices are shifting their treatment plan in favor of injectable medications over oral medications as a way to keep treatment in-house.”