Veterinary Industry Summary: January 14–20, 2024
Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
January 14–20, 2024
Merck Animal Health released the findings of its fourth Veterinary Wellbeing Study, the first comprehensive study on veterinary wellbeing following the COVID-19 pandemic. With 4,700 respondents, the study’s results seem to indicate progress in addressing mental health challenges among veterinary professionals.
Conducted in collaboration with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the study’s scope was expanded from previous versions to examine the mental health and wellbeing of support team members, including practice managers and veterinary technicians.
Some takeaways from the study include:
- More veterinary professionals have access to mental health resources. In 2019, 63% of respondents who identified as “distressed” said they received outpatient treatment or counseling. That number increased to 71% in 2023.
- 38% of veterinary clinics now offer an employee assistance program, up 17% since 2017.
- 74% of veterinarians are personally satisfied with their careers, but they are still concerned about work-life balance and staffing shortage issues.
- Nearly 54% of respondents report they have high wellbeing and are flourishing, nearly 36% are “getting by,” and just over 10% are suffering from low wellbeing.
- Improved wellbeing is directly correlated to increased age and experience levels.
- Only 36% of veterinary teams report that their clinics openly discuss wellbeing and mental health in team meetings.
Will the increased focus on mental health and wellbeing help to decrease stress, burnout, and turnover within the profession?
Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.
| -5.7% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-11.7% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Last week’s frigid temps and storms may have impacted year-over-year revenue and visits, which declined sharply to -5.7% and -11.7% respectively.
 -20.5%Heartworm YoY |
-21.1% Flea/Tick YoY |
| –3.9% Services YoY |
-11.1% Products YoY |
Year-over-year parasiticide protection also declined last week, with heartworm protection at -20.5% and flea/tick protection at -21.1%. Revenue from services fell to -3.9% from 3.7% the previous week, and revenue from products plummeted to -11.1% from -3.6% the week prior.
| +6.1% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-1.4% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline for the past 12 months shows a sharp decline in revenue and visits since late December — a trajectory similar to January 2023.
| 5,263 Practices |
2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.5K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
North Carolina remained on top for year-over-year revenue growth last week at 10.7%, and West Virginia’s growth in year-over-year visits continued to dominate, coming in at 3.5%. Inclement weather seemed to impact revenue and visits in several states, especially Tennessee, Arkansas, Oregon, and Mississippi.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
Need additional stats? You got it.
The Premium Veterinary Industry Tracker lets you drill into revenue categories, visit types, date ranges, states, and more.
| LEARN MORE » |