I was recently reviewing an employee manual for a client and in the introduction, it stated, “Professional commitment, integrity and cooperation are the qualities that our practice demands from its employees.” Since I know this practice owner, I am sure that she leads with personal integrity and that her team will follow her lead. It is unfortunate that in today’s world we see a loss of personal integrity in the companies we buy from, the candidates we are given to vote for (both sides) and the celebrities we hold as icons.
The dictionary defines integrity as the “quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” Recently we have had several major players in the animal health space fined by the Food and Drug Administration. “Covetrus shipped over $20 million in prescription drugs to unauthorized end-users in violation of federal laws that are designed to ensure prescription drugs are kept within a controlled chain of distribution and to prevent diversion and inappropriate use.” Covetrus will forfeit $21,534,091, pay $1,000,000 to the Virginia Department of Health Professions, as well as a fine of $1,000,000. In addition, Covetrus is obligated to keep in place appropriate compliance measures to prevent future violations. In addition, nine companies received warning letters: American Aquarium Products, Aquanest Biotic, Aquarium Pharmacy, California Veterinary Supply, Chewy Inc., Kraft Drug, Midland Veterinary Services, Silver Lease and Valley Veterinary Clinic for violating federal law by selling unapproved animal antibiotics. The fact that selling these antibiotics in an unapproved manner could lead to the development of drug resistant “super bugs” for humans seemed to have no effect on the ‘moral principles’ of these companies.
Nationwide recently dropped coverage on 100,000 animals and in a statement said, “Inflation in the cost of veterinary care and other factors have led to recent underwriting changes and the withdrawal of some products in some states — difficult actions that are necessary to ensure a financially sustainable future for our pet insurance line of business.
These measures, being taken at a state level, comply with the law and our contracts, and are not associated with the pet’s age, breed or prior claims history. This will involve the non-renewal of approximately 100,000 policies between this spring and the summer of 2025.” OUCH!
As someone who lives at the beach, I understand dropped coverage. Fortunately, there is usually another provider who will step into the role, albeit at a higher premium, to cover my home. Hopefully, these pet owners will find coverage but I am sure they now question the “moral principles” of a company they paid to protect their pets. I also ponder how many new pet owners will feel confident in starting new coverage or how many veterinarians will recommend them.
Outside of animal health, a company I certainly have relied on to get me from point A to point B many times – Boeing reached a plea deal stemming from two crashes of 737 Max jetliners that killed 346 people. Not only did the lack of integrity in the culture of this once great company cause the deaths of all these passengers but now the company faces according to the Associated Press a “plea deal, which still must receive the approval of a federal judge to take effect, calls for Boeing to pay an additional $243.6 million fine. That was the same amount it paid under the 2021 settlement that the Justice Department said the company breached. An independent monitor would be named to oversee Boeing’s safety and quality procedures for three years. The deal also requires Boeing to invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs”.
Lack of integrity always comes with a cost to someone. Covetrus laid off over two hundred employees following the fine. Trust was lost with the nine companies who received warnings and Nationwide probably lost a multitude of new customers after it’s decision to dump 100,000 of it’s existing ones. I certainly look at the equipment I am flying on and hope that it is an older plane when I see Boeing on the door. I am sure the pilots are looking even harder!
So why did the decision makers choose to do what they did?
In business it is vital that people be empowered to “do the right thing” but more often they are pressured to create profit at all costs.
Some say veterinary medicine has become like this, but I still believe most veterinarians work to help their patients first and foremost. As a “listener” to feedback from many doctors I know, when they felt pressured to perform unnecessary services for their patients to meet production numbers, they balked and quit. Good for them! The ones who didn’t or couldn’t leave, lost some of their passion for the work and suffered mental anguish.
We are straddling a fence. On one side we must communicate the value of our services effectively so that owners understand why their pet needs care, preventives and quality food. On the other hand, we have to be cognizant of our client’s ability to afford pet care, preventives and quality food and if not, offer another tier of options and certainly make plans for payment provider choices.
I confess to being a medical snob when it comes to care for my pet. Still, when Rocky was diagnosed with Cushing’s and it was recommended by a specialist to my GP that I retest him, I said “no.” Not because I couldn’t afford it but because it was useless to improve his quality of life. His medication was not helping and options were exhausted. My GP agreed. That is practicing with integrity as a practice owner. We managed him with hospice care and Lap of Love came shortly after to send him over the rainbow bridge.
I always recall a story told to me by a consultant friend who is not in veterinary medicine but was a cat owner. She had an old, sick cat that was being treated at her veterinarian’s. They had worked to help the cat for over 2 years and had done a good job keeping it comfortable. But the cat had declined and on a visit, the veterinarian wanted to run several more blood panels. The owner asked, “will the results change what we are doing to keep him comfortable?” The veterinarian paused and said, “No, we wouldn’t change anything.” Then the owner asked, “then why would we put him through the stress and discomfort?” The doctor agreed. Later that day the veterinarian called her and said, “I want to apologize to you for offering the blood tests. I got caught up in the science of the case and lost sight of the reason I practice – for the betterment of my patients. Thank you for calling me out.” Integrity also means confessing when you are wrong and stepping up to make it right. After this call I know that Rochelle will never look for another veterinarian for her pets.
Temptation is hard to resist, especially when we gain financially from “bending the rules” or “fudging the numbers” but these lapses in our integrity do take a toll on our soul. As a consultant who is fairly well known, I am offered work with companies that I don’t feel are good options for practices and I turn them down because my integrity is not for sale. I also turn down clients when I can’t serve them well or tell them dates when I am available to give them all the effort they deserve. This costs me financially but I can’t in good conscience take on more work than I am capable of doing well and feel good about it.
Is it a lack of moral compass that points us to do the “right thing’? If so, perhaps this is something we should be instructing our children. I certainly learned it at a young age. One of my favorite stories is about my great grandfather. When he got very old he went to visit the preacher at his church. He said,” preacher I want to pay you now to preach my funeral because I know I won’t be here to return the favor.” I learned to do my best to be fair in my dealings with others from this and stories like it.
Let’s talk about integrity with our teams. Tell stories so they can learn and role model those “upright” behaviors.
We can keep being one of the most trusted professions if we keep integrity forefront in our mission. I am all in…how about YOU?
