Americans love their animals. About 62% of us have at least one pet. In the United States, there are at least 46.3 million homes that have a dog and another 38.9 million with a cat. In 2013, we spent $55 billion on our animals and about $14.31 billion of that was on our pet’s health care. If you are starting a veterinary office, you probably know how important finding the right veterinary exam table is to your business.

1. How much weight can it hold? Do you treat many large dogs? The average veterinary exam table will be ok for smaller animals but if your practice caters to larger ones, you should take that into consideration when looking at veterinary exam tables. You can specify the weight that you know you need when you start shopping for veterinary equipment. If you plan to treat only small animals and birds, you might not need a veterinary exam table that can carry a lot of weight. Then again, your practice may expand think about that when looking at tables.
2. How comfortable is the veterinary exam table? You need your staff and you to be comfortable and you want the animals that you will treat to be comfortable as well. Going to the veterinarian is stressful enough an experience for many animals so you do not want the table you are treating the pet to make them feel better, not worse. Many veterinary practices opt for a metal table but that can lead to discomfort for the animal. Consider your employees’ backs, too. You want them to be able to access all of the table without bending too far over. Your staff and your back with thank you for that.
3. Do you want a veterinary exam tables with storage or hydraulics. Many new veterinary exam tables have those options. If you are short on space for storage, the added storage under the table might come in very handy. Look at the space where it will be used and you can decide what additional features or storage space you need. This can also cut down on the clutter in your exam room when you have that under the table storage.
4. How tall do you want it? There are pros and cons to both higher and lower veterinary exam tables, hence the addition of hydraulics to many of them. Some veterinarians like a shorter veterinary exam table to make lifting heavy animals onto the table. Other veterinarians prefer a taller table to perform closer exams but that makes it harder when heavier pets are being examined. If you have a practice of several veterinarians, you might want to go with a veterinary exam table that has the hydraulic options to change the height for different staff members and their personal preferences.
5. Do you want to be able to move the table? Some veterinary practices like to be able to maneuver the table to get a better look at the pet they are treating. Stationary tables are used by a great many veterinarian practices, too. This is a matter of personal preference.

Consider used used medical equipment or refurbished veterinary equipment. If you are on a tight budget when you go to open your veterinary practice, and who really is not? The American Veterinary Medical Association recently released a study showing that more than 90% of new veterinary school graduates will begin their careers in a lot of debt. You might want to look into buying used stuff. You can get the same veterinary supplies that have been used and you can get better stuff than you might think. Most items that you will need to get your veterinary practice up and running can be bought used or refurbished. Just it all to make sure it works. If you want a hydraulic veterinary exam table, you should try it out before you buy.

When buying used veterinary equipment, common sense goes a long way. If a deal looks to good to be true, it probably is. If you know a veterinarian who is closing their practice, you might want to talk to them about buying what you need for your new office from their old one.

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