Veterinary Industry Summary: February 25–March 2, 2024
Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
February 25–March 2, 2024
An article published last week in the Guardian examined how a shortage of veterinarians could put public health at risk. The article also dove into the reasons behind the shortage, including an increased demand for veterinary services going back more than four decades, with no commensurate increase in veterinary school seats.
Other reasons the article cites are the pressures of the job (including difficult decisions and economic euthanasias), the relatively low pay in comparison to other careers that require similar education levels, and cyberbullying.
According to the article, the shortages are being felt most in rural areas.
The AVMA agrees that rural areas struggle to attract and retain veterinarians and that these shortages “could jeopardize animal and public health, endanger food safety and the agricultural economy, and compromise our ability to prevent and combat diseases.”
That’s why the AVMA has urged Congress to pass the bipartisan Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, which the association says will expand the availability of veterinary care in designated rural areas and “safeguard our nation’s food supply, help ensure public health, and strengthen animal health infrastructure—all critical to animal and human welfare.”
Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.
| +2.7% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-2.8% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Year-over-year revenue fell last week to 2.7% from 4.1% the week prior, while visits declined to -2.8% from -1.5% the previous week.
 -11.4%Heartworm YoY |
-10.4% Flea/Tick YoY |
 +4.8%Services YoY |
-3.9% Products YoY |
Parasiticide protection also dropped last week. Year-over-year heartworm fell to -11.4% from -7.8%, and flea/tick tumbled to -10.4% from -6.3% the previous week. While year-over-year revenue from services was up 4.8%, it was down 1% compared to the previous week. Revenue from products was also down, falling to -3.9% from -1.2% the week prior.
| +5.1% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-2.0% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline shows revenue and visits stabilizing to late-2023 levels after steep ups and downs during the first two months of 2024.
| 5,452 Practices |
2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.5K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
While North Carolina was once again the only state to see positive growth in year-over-year visits last week at 0.9%, that number dropped compared to the previous week at 1.2%. The state also experienced the highest year-over-year revenue growth at 9.3%, a decline from the prior week’s 9.8%. Several states trailed closely behind North Carolina: New Hampshire experienced year-over-year revenue growth of 8.4%, and Iowa’s year-over-year visits were -0.2%.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
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