The Number Everyone Gets Wrong
When clinic owners calculate the cost of a staffing gap, they usually look at the relief vet’s daily rate and stop there. That is not the number that matters. The number that matters is what the gap actually costs in lost revenue, staff overtime, client attrition, and team morale.
The daily rate of a relief DVM is almost always lower than any one of those figures on its own. Together, the comparison is not even close.
Breaking Down the Real Cost
Lost appointments: a doctor covering 20 visits at an average of $190 per visit generates $3,800 that day. A vacant DVM slot generates zero. Over a five-day vacation that is $19,000 in unbilled services, not counting the clients who found another clinic while they waited.
Staff burnout: when remaining staff absorb a departed colleague’s caseload, quality of care declines and turnover risk rises. Replacing a veterinary employee costs an estimated 50 to 100 percent of their annual salary in recruiting, onboarding, and training.
Client attrition: clients who are turned away or experience worse service during a gap do not always come back. The lifetime value of a veterinary client is often $6,000 or more over a pet’s life.
The Conservative Financial Choice
Framing relief staffing as an expense is the wrong lens. It is a mechanism for protecting revenue you have already built. Your Neighbor Vet provides experienced, personally matched relief professionals across Washington and Oregon so your clinic keeps running, your team stays supported, and your clients do not notice that anything changed.
Ready to take the next step?
Before your next coverage gap opens up, let us run the numbers together. Contact Your Neighbor Vet at 425-448-8882 or visit yourneighborvet.com. We will help you build a coverage strategy that protects your practice.
Related reading: Avoiding the Hidden Costs of Understaffing · How Relief Vets Help You Grow Revenue Without Adding Overhead