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Pet Insurance Gurus Answer SkepticsMarch 7, 2011 Many veterinarians say they don’t recommend pet insurance to their clients for a variety of reasons: • It is an inappropriate or unproductive activity. • A fear of powerful insurance companies dictating veterinary practice in the future. • Concerns that pet insurance increases paperwork. • A need for a better understanding of plans. We asked three colleagues in leadership positions at pet insurance companies to address these concerns and a few others. Bill Craig, DVM, chief medical and underwriting director at PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance. • Bill Craig, DVM, is chief medical and underwriting director at PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance in San Antonio. He is responsible for all medical-related aspects of the plan, ranging from designing policies to reviewing applications for medical issues to overseeing claims processing. • Jack Stephens, DVM, is president of Pets Best Insurance in Boise, Idaho. He invented the concept of pet health insurance in the U.S., founding Veterinary Pet Insurance in 1980 and Pets Best in 2005. • Carol McConnell, DVM, MBA, is vice president and chief veterinary medical officer of Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea, Calif. She has been with VPI for more than six years and is responsible …
What Will We Say To The Children?February 14, 2011 It was back to business as usual at January’s North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC). Attendees considered the future of veterinary medicine in a recession-battered economy. Attendees and lecturers toiled over questions such as: What will high tuition and student debt do to our profession? What can we do for our clients who love their pets but can’t afford cost of standard care recommendations for ill and injured pets? What can we do when faced with sick pets of homeless, underprivileged and jobless people? We did not find easy answers to these tough questions at the abundant business, medical management or behavior and shelter medicine classes. We encountered some colleagues with set philosophies who solved the problem in their own minds by saying that pets are going to have to be reclassified as “elective” or strictly considered luxuries. The AAHA statement on responsible pet ownership, which suggests that pet owners prepare for medical emergencies with savings accounts or get pet health insurance or make arrangements with third-party payment programs, isn’t much help. Pet Companionship 101 Since before my days in veterinary school (1968-72), I have advocated that being close to animals and keeping pets is a …
Veterinary Equipment Can Pay For ItselfFebruary 14, 2011 Veterinary Equipment Can Pay for Itself and consultants advise looking at the return on investment when weighing a big-ticket purchase. Manufacturers and consultants advise looking at the return on investment when weighing a big-ticket purchase. Manufacturers and consultants advise looking at the return on investment when weighing a big-ticket purchase. Lynn M. Tiffany Investing in new clinic equipment can quickly improve or create a profit center. “Equipment is an investment instead of an expense,” says Jamie Renner, veterinary products market manager at Midmark Corp. of Versailles, Ohio. “Every business owner knows the best investment is in yourself. If veterinarians think in those terms, they are helping their own bottom line.” Vendors can be very helpful to veterinarians, practice owners and managers by providing an analysis of the return on investment, says Shelley Johnson, founder of Company 42 LLC, a veterinary management solutions business in Winchester, Va. “A vendor is motivated to sell equipment,” Johnson notes. “Good business relationships with vendors who help your practice shop for the right equipment may be beneficial. When a high-end purchase is made and installation has been completed, who will help troubleshoot any issues? Some vendors …
VCS Salutes Oncology Icon WithrowFebruary 7, 2011 The Veterinary Cancer Society’s 2010 Theilen Tribute Award honored Steve Withrow, DVM, of Colorado State University for lifetime achievement in veterinary oncology. The award recognizes the visionary “One Medicine” career of Gordon H. Theilen, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM (oncology). Dr. Theilen is one of veterinary oncology’s most prolific and internationally appreciated forefathers. He contributed diverse pivotal research in cancer virology, initiated the first veterinary clinical oncology service, was a founding member and first president of the VCS in 1976 and contributed the first reference textbooks, Veterinary Cancer Medicine, 1979 and 1987. Dr. Theilen created the Comparative Cancer Center, which evolved into the Center for Companion Animal Health at the University of California, Davis. He mentored many researchers and the first generation of veterinary oncologists, who became leaders in their respective fields, touching millions of lives worldwide. The VCS’s first Theilen Tribute Award in 2009 honored Dr. Greg MacEwen posthumously. Dr. Withrow, Dipl. ACVS, Dipl. ACVIM (oncology), was selected as the second recipient, to be honored during the VCS meeting in San Diego in October. The winner’s name was kept a surprise. VCS host Dr. Greg Ogilvie invited Dr. Withrow to be a keynote speaker, which …
Third-party Financing Can Help Clients PayFebruary 3, 2011 It’s long been a tradition in the veterinary community to discount services for a sick or injured animal, especially when pet owners’ emotions are running high and pocketbooks are perceived to be low. A recent survey by veterinary consultants Tracy Dowdy, CVPM, and Shelley Johnson, CVPM, finds that veterinarians are sacrificing substantial revenue that could be saved through promoting third-party financing, such as ChaseHealthAdvance client financing, and pet insurance options to their clients. Dowdy is founder and managing director of MRG Consulting LLC in Dallas and Johnson is founder and owner of Company 42 LLC in Winchester, Va. The two conducted a survey of members of the National Committee of Veterinary Economic Issues and the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association asking how veterinary hospitals give discounts for services. The query was divided into two parts: planned discounts and unplanned discounts. Planned Vs. Unplanned Planned discounts are part of the practice’s strategic marketing plan. Many practices offer predetermined reduced rates for seniors, employees, good neighbors, community partners, special promotions and other situations. Most practice management software programs even have built-in measurement tools to track these discounts. Unplanned discounts are those that veterinarians or practice managers …
New Healant Helps Corneal WoundsJanuary 21, 2011 John Moss, DVM, has treated many animals, mostly dogs, suffering from corneal ulcers during his 30-plus years of practice. But part of what prompted him to consider new treatment solutions was something both simple and personal–he developed an indolent ulcer himself. “It really, really hurt,” says Moss, owner of Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital in Coatesville, Pa. “I think these dogs suffer the same way. I’ve always been aggressive on treating corneal ulcers, but now I don’t hesitate to be even more aggressive.” In searching for ways to accelerate healing, Moss began adding a cross-linked hyaluronan wound healant to his treatment protocol, a step he first tried in late 2009 with a boxer with a stubborn recurring ulcer. Within days, the treatment worked where months of traditional antibiotics and other treatments had failed, Moss says. Now, “I use it as my first-line treatment with most corneal ulcers, especially in boxers,” he says. The new-generation corneal wound healants accelerate healing time, cutting it to as little as 48 hours, while also alleviating pain and reducing the risk of scarring, says Heidi Lobprise, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, senior technical manager at Virbac Corporation in Fort Worth, Texas. Virbac is introducing …
Charting CDS Science And Looking To The FutureJanuary 21, 2011 There are scores for evaluating patients with dental problems, for overall body condition and for distinguishing levels of pain. Why not a means for scoring the cognitive condition of aging pets? The idea is just one of the potential steps forward addressing cognitive decline in animals. And as Ken Lambrecht, DVM, considers the growing possibilities, he gets more and more excited. “We are just in the infancy of diagnosis and treatment,” he says, “but it’s encouraging that we’re seeing new options that reflect an evidence-based approach.” Each step in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction syndrome, or CDS, can mean a substantial advance in quality of life, says Dr. Lambrecht, founding owner and clinical medical director at Westside Family Pet Clinic in Madison, Wis. The AAHA-accredited small-animal practice sees a healthy number of senior patients. That’s why Lambrecht champions early detection and has added questions about cognitive function to every six-month senior wellness exam he and his clinic colleagues perform. At Westside, the list of options for addressing cognitive issues has included Anipryl tablets and Hill’s Prescription Diet Canine b/d. To that list, the doctors have added a new chewable dietary supplement, Neutricks by Madison-based …
CR Imaging Is Affordable Digital OptionJanuary 21, 2011 When a veterinarian wants to take the leap from analog X-ray to digital imaging, the decision usually comes down to one central question: Computed radiography (CR) or direct digital radiography (DR)? A growing number of veterinarians have found that CR systems are becoming an easy, viable and—at about half the price of DR systems—more affordable way to enter the digital world. CR systems use a phosphor plate, instead of film, to capture images. The cassette is inserted into a CR reader, which scans the plate and produces a digital image on a computer screen. (Some lower-end systems require manual removal of the imaging plate before the plate is scanned.) The image can be manipulated, e-mailed, archived and printed. DR systems, which usually use flat-panel detectors either retrofitted to an X-ray table or included in a new X-ray table, skip the secondary processing step and produce an image directly from the panel. But for some veterinarians, especially those with start-up practices, the expense can be a deal breaker. Cost Considerations Practice manager Lisa Jendrasek jokingly calls herself a bona-fide expert after her extensive research exploring systems for Deer Run Animal Hospital in Schererville, Ind. “Digital …
Minimal Marketing Spend, Max ResultsJanuary 21, 2011 It’s not enough anymore to place an ad in the Yellow Pages and count on referrals from existing clients to market a veterinary practice. The Internet has changed the way people search for all types of businesses, including veterinarians. It’s time for most veterinary practices to reassess what they are doing and make new marketing decisions. It’s not as hard as you might think; keep in mind that marketing is really about understanding what your clients want and need and communicating how you can meet their needs in ways that are relevant and appealing to them. People in medical professions are often uncomfortable with marketing. They often have companies knocking on their doors promising quick-fix, instant-result marketing programs. Most medical people do not have the training or expertise to make these decisions and can make costly and ineffective choices. Marketing should get the phone to ring and the door to swing, retain existing clients and attract new ones. The key is identifying marketing efforts that will produce the best results for the lowest investment. A good place to start is to assess what your colleagues are doing and compare your marketing activities to …
