ABSTRACT
I. Introduction The expenses and income associated with doing radiology as an ambulatory equine practitioner (AEP) are subjects that have received little attention in veterinary literature or in the educations of students while receiving their veterinary medical training. Consequently, few AEPs can provide an answer to the following three questions:
1. How much does it cost you to produce an 8” x 10” radiograph? 2. How much profit do you make for each 8” x 10” radiograph produced? 3. What effect does the quantity of radiographs produced have on the net income you generate?
I am going to provide the methodology needed to answer these questions in a generic manner. The details I am going to present are not absolute. So, please do not try to find “errors” in this data. Rather, try to understand the methodology. Then, apply this methodology to your practice circumstances and determine how much it costs to produce an 8” x 10” radiograph, your income, and how a greater number of radiographic examinations produced influences your net annual income1. This information will be extremely valuable. In fact, when presenting this subject to AEPs, I tell them this new knowledge will allow them to reach the goal of my presentation, i.e., provide information and insights that will at least allow you to pay your expenses to attend that conference… and one more meeting each year for the foreseeable future.
