From Chaos to Clarity: How Systems Thinking Can Transform Your Practice

It’s a common occurrence (and mistake): A veterinarian decides to open their own practice, thinking it will lead to success. The issues related to this E-Myth in VetMed (the “e” stands for entrepreneurship) can be avoided when you focus on planning and developing processes and systems that allow entrepreneurial veterinary professionals to provide reliable, predictable outcomes for the patients that come through their doors. Having systems in place can help optimize the client experience, elevate the level of medicine practiced, and increase staff retention and job satisfaction. Tune into this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast to learn about implementing a problem-solving approach to systems and ideas in your practice and discover where this way of thinking might take us in the future.

Talking about treatment costs with pet owners can be uncomfortable. For many clients, there is a growing gap in the ability to afford veterinary care, which threatens the sustainability of veterinary practices and exacerbates moral distress for veterinary care teams that are unable to provide pets with needed care. This can result in pets going without care, being surrendered or being euthanized. In this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast, learn how Open Door Veterinary Collective developed and tested a financial triage process that veterinary teams can use to identify clients’ financial needs so they can be matched with a pay-over-time option that helps them afford and accept recommended diagnostic and treatment plans.

In this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast, we sit down with Ron Sosa, Executive Director of the Uncharted Veterinary Conference and founder of Syn-APT Neuroinclusive Leadership, to explore what it means to lead with inclusion in mind, especially when supporting neurodivergent professionals in veterinary medicine. Ron shares personal insights and practical strategies for recognizing traits, such as justice sensitivity, executive dysfunction and rejection sensitive dysphoria, not just as shortcomings but also as signals that call for empathy and adaptation. We dive deep into the concept of masking, how neurodivergence is often misunderstood or mislabeled as "toxic," and why embracing difference isn’t just kind but it’s also essential to the future of veterinary leadership. Whether you’re neurodivergent, managing someone who is or simply curious about creating more psychologically safe workplaces, this conversation offers tools, frameworks and a refreshing new lens on what it means to lead well in VetMed.

Phosphorus control is crucial in managing canine and feline chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly in cats. Because the disease is progressive and incurable, monitoring a cat with CKD is vitally important. With early detection and management, you can significantly extend your patient's lifespan and maintain a good quality of life. In this VetFolio Voice podcast episode, we delve into the monitoring of CKD in cats—including assessing Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, Symmetric Dimethylarginine (SDMA), proteinuria and blood pressure—and how phosphorus can get lost in the shuffle, especially if it is within the normal reference range. Learn why it is important to continue to actively monitor and manage phosphorus since it is a disease accelerant even before the concentration leaves the normal reference range. We discuss the pathophysiology behind hyperphosphatemia, how to effectively monitor phosphorous levels in order to be able to intervene early, options for managing hyperphosphatemia and updates to the IRIS guidelines.

Cats are notorious for hiding discomfort and pain. In this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast, we explore the behavioral and physical cues that a feline patient in chronic pain will exhibit and the importance of the owner's recognition of subtle changes and signs that may be noticeable only to them. You'll also learn about pain-management options and alternatives for treating a cat who is a master at disguising its pain.

Early and accurate diagnosis is essential for obtaining a good clinical outcome for veterinary patients with acquired myasthenia gravis. Tune in to this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast to learn how it’s diagnosed and what treatment options are available. Host Dr. Cassi and guest Dr. Lauren Downey Koos also engage in a bigger conversation regarding neuromuscular disease.

Do you struggle with helping pet owners understand the medical information about their pet’s atopic dermatitis diagnosis or to comply with the treatment plan you’ve created to manage it? In this VetFolio Voice podcast episode, we go “beyond the itch” and chat about effective client communication when it comes to atopic dermatitis. We explore how complicated and nuanced this condition tends to be, illustrating why effective, informative and empathetic communication with clients is so important. Dr. Lancellotti tells Dr. Cassi how she designs her discharges to give clients a clear breakdown of the management plan and the function of each therapeutic recommendation. They delve into how additional tools can be useful, such as pre-written snippets and templates about atopic dermatitis, as well as providing other sources of information, including owner-facing podcasts, to help get information into owner’s hands and help answer their questions in the most efficient way possible.

Increasing numbers of people are getting backyard chickens and are coming to veterinarians with questions. And that's where you play a crucial role in keeping backyard chicken flocks healthy. As a general practitioner, are you confident in the care you provide to these patients? Tune in to this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast and learn why chickens are great patients to work with if you are just starting in avian medicine. Dr. Cassi and Dr. Proenca delve into some of the aspects that need to be considered: the equipment that can help make working on chickens a bit easier, how our choice of medications needs to be guided by food animal standards and anesthesia. They demonstrate how we all possess much of the necessary knowledge to make good decisions for our patients, and how applying the same systematic thinking we apply to species we are not familiar with can readily extend to other species and allow us to treat our patients successfully—with care and compassion. Hit subscribe to keep up with our latest VetFolio Voice podcast episodes!

Are you using fluorescent light therapy as a noninvasive treatment for dermatological conditions in your patients? In this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast, learn about fluorescent light energy and how it can accelerate healing, its mechanism of action, different applications such as post-operative incisions and pyodermas, and the research that shows the impact of fluorescent light therapy in helping to shorten the duration of antibiotic therapy in conditions such as deep pyoderma. You'll also learn about antimicrobial stewardship and the importance of complementary therapies, such as light therapy, in reducing antimicrobial use as well as enhancing antimicrobial effectiveness. Get tips for implementing fluorescent light therapy in a busy practice and how it can be a profitable and rewarding therapy to offer to pets and their owners.

There are so many benefits to enacting the PAW Act—People and Animals Well-being Act. This act would allow pet owners to use their HSA and FSA accounts to pay for up to $1,000 for veterinary care (or a pet health insurance plan) and allow for an unlimited amount of those funds for service animals. In this episode of the VetFolio Voice podcast, we explore the important role that pets play in our lives, including how they contribute to our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing and how not being able to provide healthcare to pets due to financial reasons takes a toll on pets, pet owners and veterinary professionals. We discuss the challenges around access to care and the solutions aimed at increasing access to care, including the PAW Act, to improve quality of life for pets—and by extension, people. Tune in to learn how you can help support this bill and take additional political steps to help promote continued access to high-quality veterinary care for our pets.