VCP behind new AAHA Pet Wellness ProgramOctober 3, 2018Veterinary Care Plans (VCP) has partnered with the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) to bring to market the AAHA Pet Wellness Plan program, a comprehensive wellness plan management solution for AAHA-accredited member veterinary practices. The program combines the practice of wellness, for successful program design, pricing, launch, and management of a wellness plan program, with the business of wellness, for continued growth, real-time analytics and program insight, increased compliance, and ongoing wellness program success. "Our relationship with AAHA opens the door for veterinarians to deploy wellness plans in a way that allows them to use best practices, driving long-term growth for their practice, building lifelong relationships with clients, and a lifetime of improved health for their patients," said Bob Richardson, president of VCP. "To be truly successful, it is imperative to understand the two sides of wellness—the practice of wellness and the business of wellness—and their roles in ensuring both short- and long-term success." "As veterinary professionals, it is important to make routine wellness care more manageable, both to help ensure optimal health care for pets while enabling pet owners to fit veterinary care into their budgets," said Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, DABVP (Emeritus), AAHA CEO. "We believe offering tools like …
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AAHA, Petplan launch association pet health insuranceSeptember 18, 2018The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), in partnership with Petplan, has launched the AAHA Pet Health Insurance Program, available to participating AAHA-accredited veterinary practices and their clients in the U.S. and Canada. With this offering, AAHA is "working to mitigate stress in the veterinary hospital by helping pet owners manage the cost of care for their pets, and by helping veterinarians practice their best medicine without budgetary constraints," said the association in a statement. "When it comes to providing the best care for patients, a pet owner's economic limitations can add stress to the equation," said Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, DABVP (Emeritus), AAHA CEO. "Pet health insurance is important because it offers pet owners and practice teams another way to manage the cost of veterinary care and help pets get the care they need. At the end of the day, this helps reduce strain in the veterinary practice while simultaneously increasing pets' access to care." Petplan provides a dedicated information hotline for all AAHA-accredited hospitals and clients so they can reach a Petplan service representative any time, day or night. "In launching this new collaboration, we're giving veterinary hospital teams the tools their clients need to understand the …
AAHA releases preventive care protocol publicationSeptember 6, 2018The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has released a new publication, developed with the support of an educational grant from IDEXX—Promoting Preventive Care Protocols: Evidence, Enactment, and Economics. "A focus on preventive care can give pets a greater chance at longer and healthier lives. Pet owners are more receptive than ever to engaging in conversations on preventive care and innovation in diagnostics, diets, and treatments," said Janice Trumpeter, DVM, AAHA deputy CEO. Preventive care exams remain a veterinary professional's best chance to influence good outcomes throughout a pet's lifetime, according to AAHA. Through these hands-on moments with patients and regular consultations with pet owners, practitioners can provide advice, preventive care services, and additional recommendations tailored to individual pets, the association said. The new publication features results of various studies and concludes that regular health checks and screenings improve detection and allow for early therapeutic intervention. Notably, it includes findings from a landmark big-data analysis of preventive care profiles from IDEXX. Analysis from 268,817 patient samples across more than 5,000 North American veterinary practices revealed that veterinary professionals who screen pets regularly find significant results in all adult life stages that require further action. The publication also …
Aug. 15 is Check the Chip DayAugust 14, 2018Lost pets have a better chance at finding their way home, thanks to the Check the Chip Day campaign.
Why AAHA accreditation is a big dealMarch 23, 2018Becoming an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredited veterinary practice isn't about prestige—it's about operating at a higher level, according to an article at consumersadvocate.org. The accreditation process is challenging, rigorous, voluntary, and not guaranteed. When a veterinary facility steps up to become accredited, it's making a proclamation that the organization is committed to excellence, the article stated. That's not to say unaccredited practices are engaging in sub-par animal health care. However, it "raises the question of how much more successful they would be if they truly reached for their full potential by obtaining accreditation," said Darren Taul, DVM, AAHA president elect. Since 1933, the association has charted the course for approximately 3,700 practices to achieve accreditation. "Accreditation is a way to force yourself to be the best you can be," said Bo Williamson, DVM, owner of the Tennessee Avenue Hospital in Cincinnati, the oldest continuously accredited AAHA animal hospital in the world. "Owners and employees of accredited hospitals constantly look to make things better." Currently, only 12 to 15 percent of animal hospitals are accredited; the association wants more practices to make the commitment to achieve accreditation. Accreditation serves two purposes. First, …
AAHA releases new edition of Veterinary Fee ReferenceMarch 20, 2018Discover how to remain profitable and competitive within your unique market with the 20th anniversary edition of the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) statistical book, Veterinary Fee Reference. The new edition includes U.S. veterinary fees for more than 530 services and cases and more than 640 tables with data on discounts, vaccination services, and time scheduled for procedures. The reference's evidence-based fee setting data allows veterinarians to confidently price services correctly for per market (accounting for median household income of clients, metropolitan status of the practice, etc.) and practice philosophy, age, and size. New and updated data include: Fees for acupuncture and in-home euthanasia Reasons practices elected to change fees Gross annual revenue of survey respondents Information on in-home euthanasia services Frequency of preventive care exams, rabies vaccines, FVRCPÂ vaccines, and other services Veterinary Fee Reference, Tenth Edition American Animal Hospital Association Pages: 460 Product Code: VFRE10 ISBN: 978-1-58326-027-2 Publication Year: 2018 Edition: Tenth Format: Paperback Member: $154.95 Nonmember: $259.95
Cummings vet med center earns large AAHA referral accreditationFebruary 15, 2018The Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University recently earned referral accreditation from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) in 15 areas of specialty veterinary medicine. Foster Hospital is one of only a few facilities in the country to receive AAHA referral accreditation for such a large number of specialties, according to Tufts. The accreditation followed a rigorous review of the hospital's practice protocols, medical equipment, facility, and client service. Foster Hospital is one of seven academic teaching hospitals and clinics that comprise Cummings Veterinary Medical Center, located at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The hospital, which treated nearly 35,000 patients in 2017, provides care for dogs, cats, and exotic pets, offering consultation, referral, and 24-hour emergency veterinary services. Board-certified veterinarians across a range of specialties diagnose and treat complex conditions using advanced veterinary tools and procedures. As part of the accreditation, Foster Hospital was evaluated for the following specialties: Anesthesia Avian Behavior Emergency & Critical Care Exotic Companion Mammal Internal Medicine – Cardiology Internal Medicine – Neurology Internal Medicine – Oncology Internal Medicine – Small Animal Nutrition Ophthalmology Radiology Radiology – Radiation Oncology Surgery Zoology Unlike human …
AAHA releases 2017 Canine Vaccination GuidelinesSeptember 5, 2017The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has released its newly revised Canine Vaccination Guidelines. Experts and veterinary practitioners believe vaccination protocols should be individualized based on the patient's risk factors, life stage, and lifestyle, according to the Lakewood, Colo.-based organization. Published in the September/October edition of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association—and for the first time as an online educational resource for the veterinary medical profession—these revised guidelines offer important updates to the 2011 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines that will help practicing veterinarians meet patient and client needs in a complex infectious disease environment, according to AAHA. The new guidelines include the Lifestyle-Based Vaccine Calculator, an interactive tool to support a veterinary team's vaccination recommendations based on risk factors and lifestyle, quick-reference tables for client-owned and shelter-housed dogs, antibody testing algorithms, recommendations for overdue patients, rabies law and exemption resources, vaccine storage and handling information, immunotherapeutic product summaries, and an expansion of the Frequently Asked Questions section. The guidelines also provide expert insight on several controversial issues, including frequency, dosing, scheduling, and duration of immunity for core and noncore vaccines; titer result interpretation; and adverse reaction identification and reporting, AAHA stated. The …
New AAHA practice management program aims to improve veterinary cultureAugust 7, 2017The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has introduced a new continuing education program designed to help managers improve culture, human resources, and digital marketing within their practices, according to the organization.
Standardized chart of accounts available to veterinariansJune 7, 2017Through a partnership led by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), Veterinary Management Groups (VMG), VetPartners and the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA), veterinarians now have access to the AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts for free.
