AVMA Supports Veterinary Services Investment ActMay 25, 2011 Legislation introduced yesterday by U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, aims to direct resources to help solve the problem of the veterinarian and veterinary medical service shortage in areas designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) President Larry Kornegay, DVM, called the introduction of the Veterinary Services Investment Act (VSIA) as an important step toward addressing veterinary workforce needs. “Shortages of large and mixed-animal, as well as public health veterinarians could have dire consequences on human and animal health, public safety, animal welfare, disease surveillance and economic development,” Dr. Kornegay said. “The USDA has worked with state animal health officials across the country to identify areas that have dire needs. This legislation will directly help address these needs, ensuring the well-being of livestock and helping protect public health.” S. 1053, (VSIA), will establish a competitive grant program to develop, implement and sustain necessary veterinary medical services to those areas of the country in need. “Veterinary services are critical in ensuring a strong and robust agricultural industry in Michigan and too many rural areas …
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USDA Hosting Veterinary Biologics Public MeetingMay 24, 2011 The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today issued a notice to inform producers and users of veterinary biological products of a public meeting from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 16 at the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, Iowa. Attendees will discuss a draft guideline concerning the effectiveness indications statements in veterinary biologics labeling. The USDA is making the concept paper available for review and comment and will consider all comments received on or before July 25. The regulations issued pursuant to the act are intended to ensure that veterinary biological products are pure, safe, potent and effective when used according to label instructions, the USDA states. The regulations prescribe requirements for packaging and labeling veterinary biologics and ensure that labeling provides adequate information concerning the expected effectiveness and safety of the product. Current APHIS guidelines provide examples of statements that may be used in labeling to describe the indications for use of a product, provided that the product has demonstrated a specified level of performance in an efficacy study that was the basis for issuance of the product license. Submit comments and view the …
Research Reveals Pet Owner Interest In Generic DrugsMay 24, 2011 This year’s six-member team of Babson College MBA candidates developed and implemented a market research project addressing veterinary medicine purchasing behavior. Putney, Inc., a pharmaceutical company and partner in the Babson Consulting Alliance Program (BCAP), sponsored the project. Research results show that adoption of generics in the veterinary pharmacy strengthens the pet owner-veterinarian relationship. “I’m impressed by the diligence and level of understanding these students bring to their projects,” says Jean Hoffman, president and CEO of Putney. “The results of their research quantify our message to veterinarians that generic pet medicines improve practice revenues and increase client satisfaction.” BCAP students surveyed pet owners and veterinarians nationwide to investigate key drivers of veterinary medicine purchasing decisions. Among their findings, 83 percent of pet owners surveyed would be happy if their veterinarian offered them a lower-priced, generic version of their pet’s medicine. The statistic mirrors adoption rates of generics in the human pharmaceutical industry, where 78 percent of prescriptions are filled by a generic. “Putney consistently provides our students with challenging projects and professional direction, amplifying their classroom learning and allowing them to generate industry-relevant results,” says Mark Biddle, Ph.D., John Rehm Director of experiential learning at …
Mondays Blue For Pets, VPI SaysMay 24, 2011 More pets are treated for accidental injuries on Mondays than any other day of the week, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) of Brea, Calif., which recently analyzed its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to find the most dangerous days for pets in 2010. The company tracked accident claims by treatment day for a year to discover that more accidents occur in the summer months the day after holidays and weekends. Of the days of the week, Mondays had the largest average number of pets treated for accidental injuries at 152. Sundays were the lowest at 59. “The difference in the number of accidents treated between Sunday and Monday may indicate that treatment is more difficult to find on Sundays and holidays,” said Carol McConnell, DVM, MBA, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for VPI. “In case of an off-hours or holiday emergency, pet owners should know where to find the closest 24-hour animal hospital and have a plan for covering unexpected treatment costs. Preparation and timely treatment can make the difference between life and death.” The amount of accident claims treated spiked following holidays, particularly Labor Day, Memorial Day and …
NC State Veterinary Medicine Library Gets FaceliftMay 24, 2011 The 14,000 square-foot William Rand Keenan, Jr. Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., was recently redesigned to support the curriculum at the College of Veterinary Medicine, animal and human health and life sciences. Designed by Atlanta-based Foil Wyatt Architects and Atlanta-based Jova/Daniels/Busby (FWAJDB) Architects, the library encompasses flexible interior and exterior spaces that support state-of-the-art technology, according to its designer. The facility is divided into well-lit zones to provide different layers of privacy so students can choose the zone that suits their study needs. Six individual areas were designed for independent study and testing, group study rooms, technology-rich conference rooms and a multi-purpose room equipped with a 20-foot white board wall. “Our mission when designing the new space was to essentially showcase the veterinary library and its role in the college’s animal health research initiatives and, within the library, to create a series of spaces to support those functions and requirements,” says Michael Rindsberg, lead designer for the project. “We wanted to create the next generation of technology-rich learning spaces.” A repositioned reference desk serves as the nexus and focal point of the library with a central location in the space to …
Myco Medical Adds Scalpel Blade Removal Devices To InventoryMay 23, 2011 Myco Medical, a national medical supply company and vendor of surgical products to the veterinary industry, today announced it’s adding the Qlicksmart BladeCassette and Bladesingle blade remover systems to its product line of surgical devices and disposables. Qlicksmart produced the first single-handed scalpel blade removal system and specializes in producing safer devices to improve patient and staff safety, according to the company. “For years the healthcare system has focused primarily on patient safety but the reality is staff safety is essential for patient safety,” says Sam Kumar, CEO of Myco Medical. “Healthcare workers in the U.S. report between 600,000 and 1 million sharp injuries annually, however it’s estimated an additional 70 percent of sharps injuries are never reported. Forty-one percent of sharp injuries occur after use and prior to disposal of a sharp device.” Myco reminds veterinarians that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an inspection of the sharps-safety programs in surgery centers and medical clinics in four southeastern states. The unannounced reviews will target clinics in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi and will run from April through September. The sharps inspections are being conducted along with the usual inspections and will examine employers’ …
Non-Surgical Options For IVDD? Keeping Hope, And Dogs, AliveMay 23, 2011 All too often, those whose dogs have disk disease are offered only two options: costly MRI followed by surgery, or euthanasia. Thirty years ago, surgical intervention was recommended “when there is no response to conservative management, when the animal becomes progressively worse, when the condition recurs, and when the animal is more severely disabled.”1 Where has conservative management gone in so many cases, and why are some specialists reluctant to inform clients of the diverse multimodal interventions available for spinal cord-injured dogs? With or without surgery, a dog can experience multiple intervertebral disk disease episodes during her life. As Brisson et al noted, “All intervertebral disks in dogs are susceptible to degeneration; therefore, a dog can have several episodes of disk extrusion.”2 They continued, “Dachshunds were found to be approximately 10 times more likely to have recurrence than other breeds…” In this retrospective look at the recurrence of thoracolumbar (TL) intervertebral disk extrusion in chondrodystrophic dogs after surgical decompression +/- fenestration, the authors discovered that: “The rate of euthanasia in dogs that developed recurrence of neurologic signs after decompressive surgery but did not return to the OVC [Ontario Veterinary College] for evaluation was …
Self Indulgence Seeks CommiserationMay 23, 2011Why I’ll take teeth and claws over clients any day. As any self-respecting service worker well knows, there’s nothing worse than an angry customer. Our veterinary workplaces are no different except that our customers come in a variety of species. Given the choice, though, I’ll always choose to take my chances with the ones baring teeth and claws over the ones wielding checkbooks. Irate clients are the stuff of any service industry. And just because we’re animal-loving doesn’t mean the occasional client’s entrance doesn’t provoke the staff to yell, “Incoming!” ... at which point everyone dives for cover while the angry person unleashes vitriol and generally makes a nuisance of him- or herself. Most of the time these are belligerent rants aimed at no one and everyone alike. And, as most of you reading this well know, the downtrodden reception staff gets it 99 percent of the time. What gets me about these people is that their issue is usually something maddeningly trivial like, “How could you not have my cat’s food in stock?” (though we specifically ask our clients to pre-order) or the occasional grief over a dearly departed patch of fur the clippers …
Websites Offer A Window Into The PracticeMay 23, 2011 According to Nielson Net-Ratings, 85 percent of consumers say a quality website is fundamental to earning trust. More than 77 percent said they were more likely to make a purchase from an unfamiliar business with a quality website than a poor website from a known business. Some website developers say veterinarians can expect 30 new clients per month, but a more typical outcome is six to 12 new clients a month. The increased traffic depends on local competition and level of Web marketing. “On the Web, perception is usually reality,” says Chris Plueger, director of sales for Internet Matrix Inc. in San Diego. “Like a storefront, a website can be indicative of a business’s professionalism, experience and attention to detail. Consumers are constantly evaluating the websites they visit and shopping only with the ones they trust.” Branding A website also serves as a way to perpetuate a practice’s brand. Incorporating the same business logo onto a website, business card, mailings and social networks makes a practice more identifiable to potential clients. “Veterinarians often don’t know what to include on a website because they’re not in marketing,” says Mark Feltz, DVM, owner of VetNetwork LLC in …
UF’s CVM Recognized In Gainesville’s Beautification Awards ProgramMay 20, 2011 The University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine’s new small animal hospital was recognized April 27 with one of the top awards given by the city of Gainesville as part of the its annual Beautification Awards program. The 104,000-square-foot hospital which opened for business in November 2010, received the Outstanding Institutional Award. The building features three stories of state-of-the-art clinical and teaching space as well as faculty offices and a 140-seat conference room. The building is the first veterinary facility in the country to achieve Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The new facility provides enhanced patient care and serves as a model for environmental and energy efficiency. See related story: U of Florida Plans Grand Opening for Small Animal Hospital <Home>
