Veterinary Industry Summary: August 25–31, 2024
Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
August 25–31, 2024
A ballot measure in Colorado aims to create a new midlevel practitioner position called a veterinary professional associate (VPA). A VPA would work under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, and they would be able to diagnose, prescribe treatments, and perform surgeries.
Many veterinary and animal welfare organizations are at odds over Colorado Proposed Initiative #145. Those opposed, including the AVMA, Colorado AVMA (CVMA), American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS), and others, claim the initiative will be dangerous for pets, other animals, and public health. Those in favor, including the Animal Welfare Association of Colorado, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Veterinary Virtual Care Association (VVCA), and more, claim the initiative helps to address veterinary access-to-care and cost-of-care issues.
CVMA President Dr. Kelly Walsh wrote in a recent op-ed that the initiative “presents dangerous risks by permitting VPAs to practice the full scope of veterinary medicine — including performing surgery — with inadequate, mostly online training,” and that it “undermines veterinary care and places animal lives in jeopardy.”
Dr. Apryl Steele, CEO of the Dumb Friends League, which sponsored the ballot initiative, recently posted a response to an op-ed by Colorado Rep. Dr. Karen McCormick, who is opposed to the initiative, on LinkedIn. It read, in part:
“Ballot Initiative 145 creates a career pathway for a veterinary ‘PA,’ similar to a physician assistant in human medicine. These professionals will have a master’s degree in veterinary clinical care and must work under the supervision of a licensed Colorado veterinarian. Initiative 145 requires robust training from a leading veterinary school in the country. It also empowers the State Board of Veterinary Medicine to create licensing and other regulatory requirements. Initiative 145 leads to increased capacity in veterinary clinics, particularly in rural communities, while driving down costs for pet owners.”
Colorado Proposed Initiative #145 will appear on state ballots this fall, and voters will decide on November 5.
Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.
| +2.7% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-3.1% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Year-over-year veterinary industry revenue continued to improve last week, up to 2.7% from 2.3% the week prior. Visits dropped again slightly, falling to -3.1% from -2.8% the previous week.
 -7.3%Heartworm YoY |
-7.6% Flea/Tick YoY |
 +4.5%Services YoY |
-2.4% Products YoY |
Year-over-year heartworm and flea/tick protection fell again last week, dropping to -7.3% and -7.6% respectively from the prior week’s 5.6% and -5.5%. Year-over-year service revenue improved to 4.5% from the previous week’s 3.6%, and product revenue fell from -1.7% to -2.4%.
| +3.6% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-2.5% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline showed revenue and visits climbing since early August.
| 5,444 Practices |
2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.5K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
Last week, Minnesota saw the highest growth in year-over-year visits at 0.6% and the second-highest year-over-year revenue growth at 7.0%, falling just behind Connecticut’s revenue growth, which was 7.2%. Connecticut also experienced the second-highest visit growth at -0.3%.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
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