Objective: of the study was to investigate whether behaviour therapy may be an economic niche within practice management.
Material and methods: A questionnaire was used to analyze to what extent veterinarians have already applied behaviour therapy (BT) and how they evaluate economic efficiency and patient owners' attitude. The descriptive analysis included the data from 312 practicing veterinarians (167 randomly selected, interviewed and 145 signed on for training sessions, veterinarians) and of 23 veterinarians specialized in BT.
Results: Two-thirds (67% of n=288) of the practicing veterinarians offered BT in their practices. The economic efficiency of BT was evaluated as positive by 64% (of n=281) of the practicing veterinarians and by 83% (of n=23) of specialists. 32% (of n = 146) of practitioners who offered behavioural therapy confirmed an increase in sales through the application of BT. Among the specialists, 84% (of n=19) confirmed this experience. In comparison to the specialists and literature data, most of the practicing veterinarians spent insufficient time (61% of n=180) for a behaviour consultation. Furthermore, most of them (86% of n=162) charged less for BT than the amounts fixed by the German Payment Regulations (Gebührenordnung für Tierärzte), as compared to the specialists.
Conclusion: The specialized veterinarians offered, in contrast to most practitioners, a consultation of BT with sufficiently calculated time and accurate payment planning to realise a therapeutic and commercial outcome. Therefore, the assessment of the economic efficiency of BT and their sales increase through BT were better than the estimation of the practicing veterinarians. Behaviour therapy cannot be managed by providing advice free of charge or charging less. Veterinarians have to become aware that BT is a veterinary area of specialization for which an adequate qualification is necessary. If the veterinarian is not specialized in BT he should refer to a qualified colleague.