4 Ways to Fill Your schedule
By Wendy S. Myers, CVJ, Communication Solutions for Veterinarians
The 2026 economic outlook for veterinary practices is concerning, with visits, client numbers, and revenue trending downward.[1] Veterinary appointments declined 3.1% in 2025.[2]
Because full schedules ensure healthy profits, experts advise aiming for an appointment fill rate of 85%.[3] Exceeding 90% capacity could lead to less same-day appointment availability for sick patients, turn away new clients who can’t get timely care, and risk team burnout. Fill rates below 80% will hurt profits and limit employee wages. To calculate your appointment fill rate, take the number of appointments seen divided by the number of available appointments.
If your appointment fill rate drops below 85%, use these four strategies to fill empty slots:
1. Schedule progress exams at the end of visits.
When acute issues, chronic diseases, and procedures require follow-up care, schedule progress exams when wrapping up today’s appointment. You’ll have more appointment availability and ensure timely care.
Say “progress exam”—never “recheck.” Clients may misinterpret “recheck” as optional and free care. The word “progress” shows you are moving forward in resolving the health concern and makes follow-up care medically necessary.
Book follow-up care in exam rooms. In dental practices, hygienists have greater success with pre-appointing patients than scheduling coordinators at checkout.[4] By the time clients reach the checkout counter, they want to leave and may dismiss staff attempts to schedule. To improve compliance for follow-up care, have technicians book progress exams in exam rooms. If you don’t have computers in exam rooms and clients must schedule at the front desk, put alerts in patient records so client service representatives (CSRs) know to schedule progress exams.
Lead clients to schedule. Pick the same weekday and time or use the yes-or-yes technique when booking follow-up care. Share benefit statements such as getting the first appointment choice. Use the action word of “needs” to indicate follow-up care is medically necessary instead of the wiggle word of “recommend.” Book with the same veterinarian for exam efficiency and continuity of care.
Say, “Dr. <Name> needs to see <patient name> in 10 days for a progress exam for the ear infection. Does this same time on <date> fit your schedule?” Another opportunity is the yes-or-yes approach. Say, “Dr. <Name> has progress exams available on <date, time 1> or <date, time 2>. Which do you prefer?”
Contact clients who don’t book. Enter a medical callback or automated text. In this ear infection scenario, call the client or send a text three days later when seven days remain before follow-up care is due, ensuring appointment availability. (See graphic above: Follow Up If Clients Don’t Book Progress Exams.)
2. Offer Online booking—especially for new clients.
New clients account for 8% of revenue but were down 8.6% in 2024.[5] Offering online scheduling is a key strategy to attract new clients. Veterinary practices’ utilization of online booking grew 87% in 2025.[6] New clients made 23% of online appointment bookings and 37% of all online appointments were scheduled after business hours.
Millennials have digital first preferences. As the largest segment of pet owners (33%), millennials overwhelmingly prefer online scheduling and forms.[7] As the first generation to grow up with the internet, they find digital tools more convenient and efficient than traditional methods like phone calls and paper forms.
Send confirmations with digital forms upon booking. Your client communications platform can automatically send text and email confirmations with new client forms. This lets you set up the medical record and request records from a previous veterinarian or adoption paperwork in advance.
Reduce call time. Brodheadsville Veterinary Clinic in Brodheadsville, PA, reduced the length of new client calls by 67% using online forms.[8] “A call with a new client could easily take 15 minutes,” explains CSR Amanda Mitchell. “I can cut that down to 5 minutes with online forms.”
Enjoy faster check-ins. New clients can share patient details of breed, birthdate, vaccine status, reproductive status, and more through online forms—avoiding paperwork that could rob 15 minutes from the appointment.
3. move patients up to fill openings.
Shifting patients up in the schedule to fill empty slots is known as “schedule optimization.” This strategy improves efficiency, resulting in fewer schedule gaps and more consistent patient flow. A veterinarian saw an average of 15 patients per day in 2024.[1] Let’s say the doctor has seven empty slots on Tuesday. Look for sick pet appointments on Wednesday and Thursday that could be moved up to Tuesday. This fills empty slots, gives priority scheduling to ill patients, and furthers client satisfaction.
Keep a wait list of clients who want to be seen sooner. Fill cancellations or no-shows from your wait list. Text will be the fastest way to reach clients about newly available appointments.
4. forward book wellness appointments.
Wellness appointments account for 24% of visits and are falling behind 2.9%.[9] When a client visits today for a pet’s wellness appointment, book the next care six or 12 months in advance, filling your future schedule. An AAHA report found increasing forward booking appointments from 5% to 10% could grow revenue 3%.[10]
Build your schedule 12 to 18 months out. Don’t worry if veterinarians’ schedules change. Doctors will request time off in advance for vacation and conferences, especially if booking travel. Simply contact clients with forward booked appointments that need to be moved.
Pre-block wellness appointments. In my online course on Scheduling Mastery (https://csvets.info/SchedulingMastery), I teach how to pre-block four wellness appointments in each doctor’s daily schedule. These wellness appointments are strategically placed as the first appointment of the day, before lunch, after lunch, and the last appointment of the day. These wellness pre-blocks help keep your schedule on time and ensure your team goes home at closing time, reducing overtime and stress.
Lead clients to forward book. Say, “Just as your dentist has you schedule your next appointment at checkout, we do the same to proactively manage your pet’s health. By scheduling today, you will get your first choice of doctor, date, and time. Dr. <Name> can see your pet on <date, time 1> or <date, time 2>. Which do you prefer?”
Have your hospital manager track appointment fill rates monthly. Adjust the schedule to respond to trends such as adding more urgent care pre-blocks during busy summer months. Knowing fill rates also lets you tweak staffing levels and identify whether it’s time to hire another veterinarian to meet appointment demands.
This article also was published in the January 2026 issue of Veterinary Practice News, where Wendy has a monthly Business Builder column.
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About the Author: Known as the “Queen of Scripts,” Wendy Myers trains veterinary teams to communicate with clarity and confidence, inspiring client trust and better medical care. Founder of Communication Solutions for Veterinarians, she teaches proven skills through online courses, conferences, and consulting. Wendy’s experience as a partner in a specialty and emergency hospital gives her insight into practice challenges. Explore Wendy’s online training at CsvetsCourses.com.
References:
1. Larkin M. Benchmarking Data Plus Elevating Efficiency Equals Practice Productivity. AVMA News. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://www.avma.org/news/benchmarking-data-plus-elevating-efficiency-equals-practice-productivity
2. Ferguson A, Gilmartin S, Hansbauer J, Lara C, Yost B. White Paper. Turning trends into opportunities: Insights to meet client expectations and build loyalty in 2026. Accessed February 18, 2026. https://assets.vetsource.com/m/792028a0a8071385/original/Turning-trends-into-opportunities-white-paper.pdf
3. Suiter A. Stop-Gap Measures. Today’s Veterinary Business. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://todaysveterinarybusiness.com/stop-gap-measures
4. Faustino A. How to Improve Dental Recall with These Tips. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://capforge.com/how-to-improve-dental-recall-with-these-tips/
5. Larkin M, Nolen RS. Less Foot Traffic at Veterinary Practices Spells Declining Revenue. AVMA News. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://www.avma.org/news/less-foot-traffic-veterinary-practices-spells-declining-revenue
6. Beyond the Bark: Communications That Transform Clinic Success. Otto. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://otto.vet/client-engagement-2025/
7. Megna M. Pet Ownership Statistics 2025. Forbes. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/
8. How Brodheadsville Veterinary Clinic’s Staff Helps More Clients in Less Time with Flow. Accessed Nov. 3, 2025. https://otto.vet/how-brodheadsville-vet-clinics-staff-helps-more-clients-in-less-time-with-flow/
9. Gilmartin S, Yost B, Zirkle K. Behavior Shift: Implications of today’s pet owner trends on veterinary medicine in 2025. Vetsource. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://assets.vetsource.com/m/3e5197539521d838/original/DataServicesWhitePaper.pdf?&target=_blank
10. Forward Booking: How Forward Booking Leads to Better Patient Care. AAHA. AVMA. Accessed Nov. 18, 2025. https://www.aaha.org/wp-content/uploads/globalassets/04-practice-resources/Forward-booking