Helping provide outstanding healthcare to animals requires active cash flow through an animal hospital to support purchasing inventory, staffing and salaries. Part of understanding cash flow is discovering trends in revenue generation, including when it is being generated, how much, and by who. This data allows for financial growth planning as well as estimating potential costs.
This paper will explore average invoice charges from animal hospitals around the nation. Data was collected from January 2010 until July 2016 and was presented as the average of monthly values in a given year for hospitals.
Sikka Software collects secure data from opt-in animal hospitals across the nation. The data is HIPAA and HITECH compliant and is free of any patient or practice identifying information. Data is collected with the goal of providing the veterinarian industry the information required to benchmark practice performance and plan for managing patient flow and growth. More information can be www.sikkasoftware.com.
Average Charge Per Invoice
The average charge per invoice is the most common and well accepted metric to measure the health of a hospital. Over the previous six years, the average charge per invoice has increased by 14%, from $131.29 up to $149.65. This increase in charge per invoice is likely due to the push for wellness testing as well as an increase in costs in providing veterinarian services over the previous six years. According to Kelly Clay, industry expert, costs for supplies and diagnostic services, specifically pre-anesthetic testing, increase 4-6% each year, and this is reflected in the average invoice.
Average Charge Per Pet
The average charge per pet is a measure of the cost to the client for each pet treated. This is the average for the month, so pets may have multiple invoices associated with their care, resulting in higher charges than those measured per invoice. This is a measure of the cost of care per animal and allows for benchmarking and estimates of revenue based on increasing and decreasing the active patient pool. As with invoices, the average charge per pet has increased significantly over the previous six years, up 20% to $178.88 from $149.24.
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