Ep 37: Dr Karen Felsted - The Veterinary Economist

On today’s show, I’m joined by one of the most respected thought leaders on the planet when it comes to veterinary economics, Dr Karen Felsted. Karen graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in marketing and spent 12 years in accounting and business management, six of those with Ernst & Young. She then made a radical career change to studying Veterinary Medicine at Texas A & M University graduating in 1996. Returning to Dallas, she practiced both small animal and emergency medicine on a full-time basis while maintaining a veterinary accounting and consulting practice. In 1999 she joined Owen E. McCafferty, CPA, Inc., a national public accounting firm specializing in tax, accounting, and practice management services for veterinarians. During this time she also received her Certified Veterinary Practice Manager designation. In June of 2001, Karen opened her own accounting firm and also joined the prestigious Brakke Consulting group. In 2008 she joined the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues as CEO and spent over three years there before returning to business consulting. Karen is currently a member of the Veterinary Economics’ Editorial Advisory Board and in 2011, she received the Western Veterinary Conference Practice Management Speaker of the Year award and in 2014, the VetPartners Distinguished Life Member Award. But before you get utterly intimidated by her glittering professional roll call a quick word from today’s show sponsor… Your employees are the backbone of your practice, and if they’re injured on the job, it’s vital to get them back on their feet as soon as possible. And with the average claim costing practices nearly $4000, having workers’ compensation coverage is a must. One Midwest small animal clinic team member was handling a stressed dog during an x-ray. The dog bit the employee in the arm and later became infected, requiring surgery and a hospital stay. Without the proper insurance coverage, this would have been a disaster, but thanks to the practices workers’ comp policy through AVMA PLIT, the $190,000 injury was completely covered. The most effective way to reduce accidents and avoid claims is to have effective safety protocols. Our friends at AVMA PLIT offer a free digital safety manual now available to Blunt Dissection listeners. Download yours today at www.avmaplit.com/drdave. Now back to the show… Karen was on my very first list of guests to interview when I began the podcast because she is one of the speakers I have learned the most from and I can think of few others who have their finger firmly over the pulse of veterinary business. So, it was a real honour to welcome her to the show. I hope you enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with the multi-talented, articulate and economically brilliant, Dr Karen Felsted.