YourSAY™ 2012.2 Survey Results Revealed - Corporate Healthcare

Canada's Thought Leaders Ponder Corporate Vets

The second public opinion poll of 2012 is reported. This report summarizes the YourSAY™ survey Powered by PetLynx™ that fielded February 9-17, 2012. The survey captured public opinion related to one of the most read InfoStream blogs in 2012 which reported the VCA Antech purchase of the remaining shares of Associated Veterinary Clinics (AVC), Canada's largest chain of clinics.

Read the VCA Story

Forty-two respondents participated in the PetLynx YourSAY™ 2012.2 forum featuring opinions about Corporate Vet Care. Participants included thought leaders representing all sectors of the industry in Canada.  

Highlights of  YourSAY™  2012.2:

• One-half of the participants felt negatively about the trend moving the delivery of animal healthcare toward large corporate entities and away from the owner/managed independent clinician. The remaining participants felt neutral about the trend [37%] or felt it was positive [13%].
• A slight majority of participants believe the rise of large corporate providers is inevitable due to modern healthcare demands.
• Two out of every three participants thought the capital required to deliver modern animal medicine disadvantages the independent owner/manager.
• The most common response categories for the implications of these resource demands included: financial impact, leveled care (e.g., specialist vs. generalist), pooling resources, consolidation of independent practices and collaboration
• Only one out of every ten participants viewed the investment of foreign capital in Canada, that is, the purchase of AVC by a large US corporation as positive.
• When framed 'as a local clinic backed by a large corporation', about one-quarter of respondents considered the move as positive .
• A slight majority of participants would expect to receive similar services from an independent owner/managed clinic versus a local clinic backed by a large corporation.
• The majority of participants thought they would get the best health services available and the lowest cost health services from an independent owner/managed clinic vs. a local clinic backed by a large corporation.

Demographics of  YourSAY™  2012.2:

·         Gender: 65% Female, 35% Male

·         Age: 9% 21-35 years old, 46% 36-50 years old, 46% 51 and older

·         Region: 41% Central, 37% Prairie, 13% Pacific, 9% Atlantic

·         Pets: 67% Dog owner, 63% Cat owner

·         Industry: 30% Animal Services, 30% Animal Welfare, 30% Animal Health and Wellness, 9% Animal Control and Enforcement

·         Executive Level: 24% C-Level Executive, 39% Senior Management, 22% Middle Management, 4% Individual Contributor, 11% Other

YourSAY™ public opinion polls are owned and Powered by PetLynx. Copies of the complete 2012.2 YourSAY™ Survey Report including QT Verbatim, PowerPoint slides and Summary are available from PetLynx at a nominal cost.  
Please contact Sheena.Neel@petlynxmail.com if you wish to procure a copy.