Finding Software’s Hidden GemsOctober 31, 2011 Veterinarians would pay closer attention during practice management software training if they realized how much revenue they could gain and how much time they would save. Software companies offer on-site, on-phone and online training with the purchase and installation of software, but many clinic staffers never quite get to the “hidden gems” that can grow revenue and save time. “Especially in this economy, utilizing your software to the fullest is the key to helping your practice grow,” says Stephen McAllister, president of McAllister Software Systems of Piedmont, Mo., the company behind AVImark veterinary practice management software. Information searches, for example, can target patients for specific marketing. “Track who’s coming in regularly and who’s not,” McAllister says. “Or target certain breeds or ages of pets and develop certain programs for groups of clients. That’s captured revenue.” Some software lets practitioners look at how the clinic discounts services and tracks inventory. Integrating the software to track procedures for surgery, lab and radiography, along with reference labs and specialty hospitals, prevents missed charges. Software systems present a variety of communications aids, from educational handouts to e-mail reminders to direct mail. Owner compliance translates into increased revenue. “Through …
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Building Bonds To Improve Patient CareOctober 27, 2011 If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that the ability to build strong relationships with clients and their pets is one of the most defining characteristics of a successful veterinary practice. It’s not rocket science—we live and breathe the importance of this bond. We train our staff to master it, keep our eyes and ears open for new ways to enhance it, and recognize that a practice’s greatest strength can be found in how well it becomes an integral third party in the relationship between owners and their pets. Similarly, could there potentially be additional benefit for a practice that chooses to emphasize building a bonding between individual veterinarians and clients? According to the 2011 Bayer Study, the answer is a “yes,” and the data from the study actually point to this one-to-one relationship between a practitioner and client as a key driver of increased visits. The study found that practices that encourage clients to bring their pets to the same veterinarian for every visit are the same practices that experience increased compliance and acceptance of recommended treatment protocols. It appears that the apparent disconnect between what veterinarians think they are …
Why We Hate Online ReviewsOctober 27, 2011 Here’s a not-very-well-kept secret: Most of us detest online reviews. Why? Well, isn’t it obvious? We know that plenty of people now use them almost exclusively to find their new pets’ healthcare provider (us). So we can’t ignore them. We’re compelled to read them and make sure they say only good things about us—for the sake of our livelihood (never mind our egos). As if it weren’t enough to have one more task to manage, now we’re told by practice management gurus (you know who they are) that we’re supposed to assign a staff member to manage these reviews and sign up for Google alerts to make sure our reputations are squeaky-clean. So it is that our already-stretched resources must be allocated in this direction—stressfully. We know how angst-provoking reading the reviews can be. She said what about me? After all that awesome work I did on her cat? Which, of course, only makes you want to furiously check the timing on your PLIT policy. And invariably, also makes for one downer of a day. Sure, everyone knows a disgruntled client is a hundred times more likely to leave a negative review than a perennially …
Banishing The Bane Of BandagingOctober 27, 2011 “Bandaging is the bane of my world.” These words were recently spoken by Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, the world-renowned veterinary orthopedic and neurosurgeon. This echoes the sentiment of many in our profession. Bandages are ancient, dating back to the early Egyptians, and many chapters in veterinary texts and even entire books are dedicated to their design and application. Although many other areas of veterinary medicine have radically changed, bandaging techniques have changed little. How many of the bandages you have recently applied look like something out of King Tut’s tomb? The materials that we now commonly use—such as Vet-Wrap, Elasticon, nonadherent semi-occlusive sponges, hydrogel dressing and calcium alginate dressing—have superior properties for bandaging and have replaced white linen strips and cotton batting. The aural compression bandage. Yet we still use some techniques from the King Tut days with honey- or sugar-based bandages. We would all like bandaging to be a science, masterable by the majority of practitioners simply by exact and consistent following of a set of well-understood steps. The reality is that it is currently more like an art, where skill and imagination applied to basic materials are uniquely combined. Two …
Case Study: Managing Feline Hyperthyroidism With NutritionOctober 21, 2011 Veterinarians have a new option in feline hyperthyroidism management: nutrition. Until now, they have typically relied on radioactive iodine, thyroidectomy and antithyroid drugs, options that can prove expensive and have varied side effects. This new therapy is expected to transform the management of feline hyperthyroidism, according to Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. of Topeka, Kan., which is launching Hill’s Prescription Diet y/d Feline Thyroid Health in both dry and wet formulations this month. Chad Dodd, DVM, a senior brand manager for Hill’s, said the company has spent about 10 years studying the relationship between dietary iodine and feline hyperthyroidism. The theory was if iodine is an essential component of all thyroid hormones, then limiting dietary iodine in hyperthyroid cats would result in normalization of circulating thyroxine concentrations. Hill’s studies proved the theory correct. A technician and Dr. David Bruyette examine Billy while owner Judy Bernath looks on. The next task was manufacturing a pet food that was limited in iodine content without being iodine deficient. The result: Prescription Diet y/d Feline. The therapeutic pet food has an iodine content of 0.1 ppm – 0.3 ppm, compared to 1.5 ppm - 99 ppm found in …
Recapping A Bit Of AVMA St. LouisSeptember 28, 2011 The American Veterinary Medical Association Convention in St. Louis provided a forum for numerous aspects of our profession. Philippe Cousteau presented a vital keynote address with awe-inspiring videos advocating global clean water and a sustainable earth. AVMA marked World Veterinary Year with a display created by Dr. Fred Born of the American Veterinary Medical History Society honoring the 250th anniversary of the first veterinary school in Lyon, France. Dr. J.F. Chary, the president of Vet2011, opened a full day symposium with Drs. Pappaioanou, Gorczyca, B.A. Miller, Vallat, Deem, Jessup, Vroegindewey, and Mazet, covering history, public health, wildlife and disaster response for improving global One Health. The Leo Bustad Companion Animal Award went to Dr. Nancy Kay, Dipl. ACVIM, for her book, “Speaking for Spot,” and her devotion to helping pet owners learn more about the health, care and well-being of their companion animals. The prestigious award is sponsored by The Delta Society, AVMA and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. At next year’s AVMA convention in San Diego, Dr. Kay will present the Bustad Memorial Keynote Lecture to kick off the human-animal bond sessions organized by Dr. Robin Downing, president of the American Association of …
How To Be Found Above The Noise On The WebAugust 24, 2011 Your knowledge, experience, and commitment to your practice and community are exceptional. But that does not mean you can ignore a few new laws of nature. One: The Web is the way communications are done, now and for the foreseeable future. Two: There are a bazillion people on the Web (both users and businesses) and your grand entry will not be greeted with the fanfare you deserve. Three: To market your practice you must rely on the Web. Four: It is hard to be found on the web. If you really want to grow your business, even in a horrible economy, learning findability on the Web helps connect you with new clients. The SEO Process The term “SEO,” or search engine optimization, is a process that optimizes your site’s content to allow search engines to easily find you. It adds focused key words and phrases to your site so that when a user types in appropriate key words—there you are, at no cost to you. The goal of any smart marketer is to gain Page 1 visibility in a search tool such as Google. Page 3 may not be bad out of …
Verify Computer Backup For Best ResultsAugust 18, 2011 Most veterinarians are good about remembering to back up clients’ medical data, but critical steps are often missed. In-house backups are typically saved to CD, flash drive or internal and external hard drives, but information can be lost if these devices are damaged. “Veterinarians are good about backing up their daily client information, but many don’t verify that the information has saved properly,” says Ronald A. Detjen, president and CEO of ImproMed in Oshkosh, Wis. “It’s amazingly damaging to a practice when client data is lost. If they don’t have a secure offsite copy, they have to try to recreate the information.” Practice Backup Options According to John Bellos, technical support manager at Sneakers Software, Inc./DVMAX located in New York, three types of backup options are typical in veterinary practices. • On-server backup Backs up the current data to a local hard drive on the same computer. Good for: Quick access if the data file gets mangled by a power outage or a computer crash Bad for: Hard drive failures, fire or theft • Onsite backup, off-server storage device Good for: If main hard drive or computer …
Applications Of Therapeutic Laser In Everyday PracticeAugust 18, 2011 Advancements in technology provide practices with the versatility of laser therapy, which can relieve pain, reduce inflammation and increase microcirculation in tissues. Adding a therapeutic laser to the practice armamentarium provides an extremely effective and versatile modality that benefits many patients. Understanding and expanding the potential clinical applications within the practice is the key to providing the highest standard of care for your patients. Advanced engineering has allowed therapeutic lasers to accomplish relief of pain, a reduction of inflammation and an increase in the microcirculation within the tissues. The clinical outcome of this deep penetrating photobiomodulation is an accelerated healing time within the target tissues. Laser therapy, therefore, is a healing modality that can benefit a large and varied number of patients on a daily basis. Therapeutic Dosage Laser therapy can help pets in any number of ways. The World Association of Laser Therapy (2002) and a consensus of the literature have established that cells need 4 to 10 joules/cm2 to stimulate a positive photobiochemical response. Penetration through skin, hair, water and blood requires the right combination of power, wavelength and treatment time to achieve favorable clinical results. Superficial target …
Compounding Pharmacy Sets Its Site HighAugust 17, 2011 For those who order compounded medications from a pharmacy, the words “fun” and “easy” can sometimes seem far more than a click away. But when Wedgewood Pharmacy officials decided to create a brand new website to serve the veterinary community, the concept of enjoyment was right beside efficiency at the front of their thinking, said Marcy Bliss, executive vice president of Wedgewood, a compounder with more than two decades of experience. “We wanted it to be as fun and easy to make an appropriate selection as it is to buy shoes on Zappos,” said Bliss, referring to the online shoe seller famous for its customer service and the devotion of its clientele. Like customers who shop on the best consumer websites, Wedgewood veterinary clients want to swiftly maneuver through a large number of choices, Bliss said. It’s just that instead of size, style, color and price, they navigate dosage forms, strengths, flavors and quantities. Oh yeah, and price. “Our inventory includes 14,000 unique preparations and we’re adding a couple of hundred a month to meet veterinarians’ requests,” Bliss noted. “Any one chemical need might come in 10 dosage forms and 30 flavors. Those kinds of …
