Only 8.6 percent of U.S. veterinary practices are open on Sundays, and 49.6 percent on Saturdays, according to the 2026 AVMA Economic State of the Veterinary Profession. Melissa Magnuson, DVM, read that landscape and moved in the opposite direction of expansion: after COVID, she cut Saturday and Sunday hours at her three New Hampshire hospitals.

"It was the best business decision I ever made," says Dr. Magnuson, owner of Canobie Lake Veterinary Hospital, All Pets Veterinary Hospital, and Greenland Veterinary Hospital, and an American Animal Hospital Association board member. "The more I compress the schedule, the better my teams get. We learned to become more efficient and do more during the week."

What does compressed scheduling actually deliver?

The closest available benchmark comes from human dentistry, where 30 percent of dentists under 40 are considering or already working a shorter clinical week, and 18 to 22 percent of practice owners are doing the same. Practices adopting a four-by-10-hour-day model hold production at 95 to 100 percent of five-day output while overhead drops three to five percent, because they eliminate one full day of facility and staffing variable costs.

For veterinary medicine, the operating target is the appointment fill rate: appointments seen divided by appointments available. Aim for 85 percent. Above 90 percent, practices risk turning away sick same-day cases, new clients, and burning out staff. Below 80 percent, profits and employee wages suffer — a signal to compress hours.

How do practices make a shorter week work?

Teams moving to compressed schedules typically extend daily hours — opening 30 minutes earlier, closing an hour later — and stagger lunch breaks to preserve appointment capacity. Technology carries the efficiency load:

• Online scheduling. Sixty percent of consumers book appointments online, and 76 percent of millennials are more likely to choose a provider that offers it. QR codes and links in recall notices let clients book 24/7.
• AI-assisted medical records. AI notetaking tools save an average of 30 hours per week, according to industry data. "My notes are more detailed now with AI than they were before," says Jeffrey A. Sachar, VMD, of Milford Animal Hospital in Milford, Conn. "I'm done before the next client walks in."
• Telehealth. About 28 percent of veterinary practices now use telehealth for tele-triage, follow-up care, behavior consultations, diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring.
• Online pharmacy. The 2026 AVMA economic report found 69.2 percent of practices operate their own online pharmacy — auto-ship for preventives and chronic medications is the margin lever.
• Digital intake forms. Sent two days ahead, tailored to the visit reason, online forms save 10 to 15 minutes of history-taking per appointment. Just Cats Veterinary Clinic in Guilderland and Mechanicville, N.Y., asks on its form whether the cat is on flea, tick, or heartworm prevention — flagging the feline heartworm conversation before the client sits down.
• PIMS-integrated client communication. Emails, texts, digital payments, and AI records that write back to practice software eliminate manual entry and reduce errors.

What about the weekend revenue question?

Before changing hours, practices should audit weekend expenses and revenue, and determine whether weekend appointments serve established clients or one-time visitors. Employee retention is the second metric to watch. The average annual turnover rate among veterinary team members is 23 percent — nearly one in four leaving each year. Magnuson saw retention improve after the cut, especially among single mothers on her teams who valued predictable schedules and weekend family time.

"When your staff is happier, your clients are happier," she says.

Is a compressed schedule right for every practice?

No. Success depends on patient volume, local competition, staff size, and practice type — factors each owner must weigh before touching the appointment book. But with weekend openings already the minority position in the profession and turnover near one in four, the compressed schedule has moved from lifestyle experiment to measurable business strategy worth running against your own fill-rate data.