New initiative honors veterinary customer service representativesJanuary 2, 2019Veterinary client service representatives (CSRs) across the U.S. are being recognized for their role in the animal health industry.
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Electronic surveillance in the veterinary settingNovember 6, 2018A veterinary practice owner in Pennsylvania was recently charged with 10 counts of violating the state wiretapping law by secretly recording workplace conversations. If convicted, the practice owner could be imprisoned for up to seven years and be required to pay a fine of up to $15,000 for each offense. At the practice owner’s arraignment, bail was set at $25,000.
Morris Animal Foundation funds 13 wildlife studies with $850KSeptember 25, 2018Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) will extend $850,000 to fund 13 wildlife research studies. Through the new grants, the foundation is supporting scientists from Tufts University, Cornell University, and the Smithsonian Institution. The foundation's Wildlife Animal Scientific Advisory Board reviewed all submitted grant applications and selected, based on scientific merit and impact, the studies with the greatest potential to save lives, preserve health, and advance veterinary care. Wildlife studies funded for 2018 include: Understanding the Impact of Lead Poisoning in Bald Eagles Researchers will analyze multiple data sources to learn if lead continues to impact the long-term health and recovery of bald eagles. This new information will be used to help inform policy and public communication about lead exposure in bald eagles and other wildlife. Tackling Another Contagious Cancer in Tasmanian Devils Researchers will investigate a second, recently discovered, contagious cancer in Tasmanian devils, devil facial tumor 2 (DFT2). Understanding how the disease is evolving and spreading will provide important clues on how to manage this disease and other contagious cancers affecting both Tasmanian devils and dogs. Saving Endangered Frogs from Deadly Fungal Disease Researchers will look at ways to boost the immunity of …
Eli Global acquires veterinary derm company Stratford PharmaceuticalsAugust 28, 2018Eli Global LLC, based in Durham, N.C., has acquired Stratford Pharmaceuticals LLC, DBA Stratford Animal Health. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Stratford, which currently provides a wide arrangement of dermatology products to more than 10,000 veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and eight other countries, will continue to operate independently under the leadership of Brian Nugent, founder and CEO, from its Oldsmar, Fla., corporate headquarters. Greg Lindberg is chairman and CEO of Eli. "Partnering with Eli Global was a natural fit as it allows Stratford to keep our corporate identity, provide stability and continuity for our amazing employees while continuing to provide excellent products and services to our large base of veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and abroad," said Nugent. "In addition, Eli Global's resources include more than 100 businesses with 7,500-plus employees and over $20 Billion in proforma assets, which will allow Stratford to continue its double-digit organic growth while at the same time being extremely aggressive in the pursuit of animal health acquisitions."
Four steps to improved veterinary client complianceJuly 6, 2018Approaching veterinary client compliance is a multipronged process that includes determining who your client is, assessing your team, assessing the practice, and more. As a veterinary practice management consultant, I regularly meet veterinary professionals who struggle with client compliance. Why won't they accept our recommendations? Why don't they get it? How can I make them understand? They just don't want to pay. These are all common problems I am asked to help solve. Determine who your client is Before you attempt to increase client compliance, you have to figure out who your clients are. What does your target audience look like? What demographic are you serving? How does that compare to the mission and goal of the practice? If there is a disconnect between the type of pet owner coming in to your practice and what your practice is trying to deliver, success is going to be harder to achieve. Assess your team The second part of increasing client compliance is having a team that is well trained in interpersonal skills, communication styles, and fostering relationships with clients, pets, and each other. Creating a supportive culture and fostering comradery are the first two steps to having team members who …
Remind horse owners to safeguard against rabiesJune 7, 2018According to veterinary research published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the American Horse Council, horses are nearly four times more likely to contract rabies than dogs. Across the U.S., the majority of horses are not vaccinated for rabies and often run a higher risk of exposure than dogs, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Everybody is at risk for developing rabies," said Bonnie R. Rush, DVM, MS, DACVIM, Interim Dean at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "[Horses are] at higher risk for being exposed probably at pasture, but being in a stall does not preclude exposure. The consequences of interacting with a horse that has rabies are significant." Horses can be exposed to rabies most commonly through bats, raccoons, foxes, and skunks. Two examples of public equine rabies cases include the 2008 Missouri State Fair; and the 2006 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, which required the notification of more than 150,000 people for potential rabies exposure. Rabies is the deadliest among the five core equine diseases, which also include Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, tetanus, and West Nile. Horses are continually exposed …
The future of veterinary inventory managementMarch 23, 2018Running a veterinary hospital is no easy task—managing staff, client experience, finances, and marketing, not to mention delivering quality medical care to patients, are top of mind. In general, inventory management gets pushed aside. Having managed veterinary hospitals large and small, I certainly understand how inventory can be neglected. During my career, the priority in managing inventory was to keep the hospital stocked, with little regard to controlling costs. If we ran out of a medication or a product, I would get an earful. Over the past five years, veterinary medicine has changed. The cost of goods, overhead expenses, and, especially, wages are increasing at an unstainable rate. Minimum wage laws and "living wage" campaigns across the county are touching every aspect of veterinary medicine. These costs will continue to rise. Human healthcare went through a similar transition two decades ago. The answer to reducing costs was process improvement. Today most large healthcare systems have invested in Lean, Six Sigma, or some other form of Kaizen (continuous improvement) programs. The veterinary industry would be wise to follow this lead. Although change is difficult, the good news is human healthcare has already started this journey. Most of the methods, processes, …
Are you missing pet health communication opportunities with your clients?March 19, 2018Pet owners don't always get the full message that veterinary teams think they're communicating, according to a Partners for Healthy Pets (PHP) study presented during an American Animal Hospital Association session at VMX Veterinary Meeting & Expo in Orlando, Fla. The study compiled responses from surveys of 1,193 practice staff members, 833 dog owners, and 527 cat owners from April 2012 through June 2017. Practices have an opportunity to better communicate not only what is being done during a preventive examination but also how the examination benefits the pet, according to the study. Among the findings About 45 percent of dog owners and 30 percent of cat owners believed that a pain assessment was discussed or performed at their pet's most recent checkup When staff members were asked whether a pain assessment is typically performed at every examination during a visit for preventive care, 73 percent said yes for dogs, and 68 percent said yes for cats About 95 percent of staff members indicated that a dental exam is typically performed at every preventive care visit About 77 percent of dog owners and 78 percent of cat owners believed a dental examination was discussed …
Veterinarians are mentally well but experience poor well-beingFebruary 17, 2018Veterinarians as a group don't experience psychological distress at significantly higher rates than the general population, according to a new mental health and well-being study by Brakke Consulting and Merck Animal Health. The Merck Animal Health Wellbeing Study, designed to definitively quantify the prevalence of mental illness and stress in the veterinary profession, compared findings to previous studies and to the U.S. population in general. The survey, which polled 3,540 American Veterinary Medical Association members (from a random sample of 20,000), is the first to measure well-being of such a large veterinary sample using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, which is widely used in assessing psychological distress among general and clinical populations. "This survey is unique in that, for the first time, a nationally representative sample of veterinarians in the U.S. were asked about their well-being, which is a broader measure of happiness and life satisfaction than mental health alone," said study investigator Linda Lord, Ph.D., DVM, academic and allied industry liaison lead for Merck Animal Health. One big takeaway is that 5 percent, or 1 in 20, of veterinarians struggle with serious psychological distress (roughly that of the employed general population). "The …
Cornell, Tufts scientists receive $2.5M from NIH for cancer studyNovember 14, 2017Cornell and Tufts University scientists have received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to use dogs as a model for studying cancer immunotherapies. The dogs used in the study are treated with similar care as human patients, with the potential of being cured of lymphoma. Kristy Richards, Ph.D., MD, associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine with a joint appointment at the Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine is co-principal investigator on the grant, along with Cheryl London, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, a research professor at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The grant will investigate whether combinations of PD1 inhibitors and other targeted therapies may increase effectiveness of cancer treatment in dogs, thereby setting up the possibility for human trials. Clinical trials in dogs should begin in the next six months, at which time, the researchers will reach out to referring veterinarians for candidate canine patients with lymphoma. Veterinary oncologists at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Conn., will enroll and treat patients during the trials. Patients also will be enrolled at the …
