I’m hearing a growing number of Access to Care advocates in veterinary medicine argue that the “spectrum of care” should include treatments that pet owners find affordable and ask for, even if veterinarians are uncomfortable recommending them. The fact that some pet owners want to do things their veterinarian might not be excited about is… Read More
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The Most Important Thing to Know About How the Veterinary Industry Works
Recently I’ve been doing more executive coaching for high level leaders in veterinary companies. It’s been rewarding, and I hope to get to do more of it in 2026. There are two particularly big challenges that I see with the executives I work with, and they are basically inverses of each other. The most interesting… Read More
What Will Veterinarians Put Up With?
One of the most disappointing trends I saw in 2025 veterinary medicine was the transition of some private equity-backed practice groups from their initial, positively-framed missions to strictly “extractive” models. This change was usually marked by a drastically reduced focus on patient care, firing of medicine-focused executives, aggressive cost-cutting measures, and a push for a… Read More
Best of Dr. Andy Roark 2025
Happy holidays everyone! As the year wraps up, I thought I’d share with you the things I’ve made this year that have been popular, meaningful to me, or both. Here goes! The Path To Greatness – I’m excited about AI… and I also have concerns. Ken Niedziela, my wonderful editor at Today’s Veterinary Business, said… Read More
Making Clients Happy Is Not Our Top Priority
I saw a LinkedIn post from a veterinarian recently who was frustrated. He said that a cat in his care had accidentally received a double dose of pain medication before surgery, but had been clinically unaffected. He told the cat’s owners what had happened and now they are refusing to pay for the surgery or… Read More
Love and Endings: On Heavy Holidays in Vet Med
A note for anyone who cares about people working in veterinary medicine this holiday season One small secret of the vet profession is that the holiday season is not a particularly happy time for us. This doesn’t mean we are miserable or anything. It’s just that the holidays can be… heavy. Of course veterinary people… Read More