Money talks: How to discuss finances with clients
Medicine is expensive. It’s also highly emotional—a combination which can often lead to sensitive and potentially volatile client interactions as well as social media firestorms and public relation nightmares. Learning how to handle these delicate conversations can go a long way towards avoiding negative outcomes.
So, how do we sensitively and compassionately present treatment plans? How do we handle clients who complain about the cost of services or call us greedy? What do we do when clients legitimately can’t afford the care their pets need?
Learning to address money issues with empathy and understanding, while conveying the value of our services can help increase compliance with our recommendations and decrease the number of clients who leave the clinic dissatisfied.
This session originally was presented at AVMA Convention 2025 in conjunction with the 40th World Veterinary Association Congress.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- To assess feelings of guilt surrounding charging for medical services.
- To appraise the value and cost of services associated with veterinary care.
- To differentiate between the two types of "money clients".
| Dr. Smith graduated in 2008 from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and completed her clinical year at Cornell University. She has worked as a small animal associate veterinarian, and relief emergency medicine veterinarian. Dr. Smith is also a speaker and writer who has contributed articles to well-known veterinary and medical websites such as KevinMD and Dr. Andy Roark and spoken at vet schools and prominent conferences including AVMA and Western Veterinary Conference. She is the creator of The Vetitude, a website and social media presence that promotes improved client-veterinary relationships through empathy, healthy boundaries, and emotional intelligence. |
