Microchips Open Murky Legal Waters, But AVMA Still Urges The PracticeFebruary 3, 2014 Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of Dog Fancy magazine, a sister publication of Veterinary Practice News. Most owners presume that if they have their pet tagged with microchip identification and she becomes lost, someone who finds the pet will scan the chip and notify the owner. Often, fortunately, the scenario does play out this way. Shelters, animal-control organizations and veterinarians usually scan for microchips on recovered dogs. "While microchipping is, indeed, a new and helpful way to reclaim a lost pet, there are some occasional murky legal waters stemming from certain circumstances and facts,” explains Heidi Meinzer, an animal law attorney in Alexandria, Va. For example, when microchips are placed in the dog upon the client’s request, rarely is any "proof” of ownership required. "A lost, non-microchipped dog owned by family X may be found by family Y, who after diligently trying to find the owner decides to keep the dog and microchip her,” Meinzer explains. "If family X locates the dog, perhaps even showing up with registration papers, the door opens for a property dispute between the families.”In some cases, ownership may not be so clear-cut. Generally, in common …
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New Veterinary Drugs Debut At NAVCJanuary 29, 2014 Merial, based in Duluth, Ga., released NexGard (afoxolaner) Chewables, an FDA-approved flea and tick killer for dogs. The company reported that NexGard is the first and "only soft, beef-flavored chew” designed to provide "long-lasting, next-generation flea and tick control.” The prescription-only drug comes in a vegetable-based, meatless nugget that is approved to prevent flea infestations and kill both fleas and the American dog tick. NexGard contains a new molecule, afoxolaner, that disrupts the nervous systems of fleas and ticks, causing hyperexcitation and death, the company stated. The drug may be given once a month to dogs at least 8 weeks old and more than 4 pounds. Bayer, based in Shawnee Kan., introduced Remend, a topical line formulated to manage wounds, abrasions and lacerations in cats and dogs and lubricate dry eyes. Wound Spray Gel and Corneal Repair Gel contain hyaluronic acid (HA), which Bayer’s director of veterinary technical services, Cristiano von Simson, DVM, MBA, said fosters "an environment conducive to re-epithelialization at the site of the wound.” The company’s Eye Lubricating Drops is a preservative-free gel containing 0.4 percent Hyasent-S (cross-linked HA). All three products are designed for use in-clinic and at …
Veterinary Technician Group Gets Permanent DirectorJanuary 8, 2014Julie Legred, CVT, has been named executive director of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), a role she filled on an interim basis for the past year. The technicians group and NAVC in November announced a partnership that brought NAVTA under the larger organization’s oversight. The arrangement allowed NAVTA, a volunteer-run group, to maintain its independence while relying on NAVC to handle many of the day-to-day responsibilities. "With NAVC and NAVTA working together, it opens up tremendous opportunities to provide unique, leading-edge educational formats, as well as bringing the veterinary technician profession together to foster change and progression with the best use of people and resources,” Legred said. "Now I can truly concentrate on not only the day-to-day activities but also moving forward on strategies and opportunities specifically for the veterinary technician profession, working to bring great ideas from our NAVTA board, NAVTA members and veterinary technicians closer to becoming a reality,” she added. Legred is a two-time president of NAVTA and the owner of Veterinary Technician Advancements, a consulting company. She agreed to transfer current clients to her business partners, NAVC …
Correct Body Temp During Surgery Speeds RecoveryDecember 30, 2013Anesthesia is a very fragile time for animals because they easily can become hypothermic, putting them at risk of infection and delaying their recovery. "When you anesthetize a patient, one of the functions it loses is its ability to affect thermoregulatory control," explained Kelson Danielson, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, a surgeon at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in New York. "For instance, as you get cold, you shiver to help keep warm, but under anesthesia, they are unable to do that. "In addition, their brain loses its ability to keep that set point that keeps the temperature normal. They are also less metabolically active, so the body is burning less energy during anesthesia and that will decrease the amount of heat that is produced." Many of the drugs used during anesthesia compound the problem because they cause vasodilation, which the body normally uses to stay cool when it is overheated. So, if it is already cool and drugs cause vasodilation, the body will become hypothermic. "Human research shows that once surface cooling occurs, blood moves from the extremities to the core blood compartment, which can make it very difficult to rewarm the patient," explained Sandra …
Rapid Growth Seen For Pet Health InsuranceDecember 30, 2013 The rising cost of veterinary services and Walmart’s likely entry into the market should help push U.S. sales of pet health insurance toward the $1 billion mark by 2020, the market research firm Packaged Facts stated in a new report. The Rockville, Md., firm predicted enormous potential for an industry that started in 1980 with Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) of Brea, Calif., a company that today is fighting to maintain an estimated 47 percent market share amid growing competition. U.S. sales of pet health insurance were expected to reach $536 million in 2013, which would represent a 16 percent jump in one year, Packaged Facts reported. Among the reasons for the spike, and a 12 percent increase the previous year, are post-recession consumer optimism, greater competition and rising support from veterinarians, Packaged Facts added. Pet owners learn about insurance most often from a veterinarian or clinic staff, who reveal to clients a means to help pay for a growing menu of costly procedures such as pacemaker implantations, radiation therapy and CAT scans, according to the report. Younger veterinarians tend to be more enthusiastic about pet health insurance, the report’s authors, George Puro and David Lummis, …
2014 Brings Promise Of Technological AdvancesDecember 30, 2013 Two researchers believe the status quo will soon go out the window in veterinary medicine, and they are advising veterinarians to consider updating their education if they’ve been out of vet school very long. Individualized veterinary medicine, or IM, is a game changer, they say. IM is the use of a pet’s genetic information to optimize drug therapy or to institute preventive measures suited to that patient, according to researchers Katrina Mealey, DVM, and Michael Court, BVSc. Both are professors and endowed chairs in the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. They are also key parts of the WSU Individualized Medicine Program, which is studying hundreds of animals with the goal of identifying predictors of drug effects. Why is this so important? They say such research will help veterinarians more safely and effectively treat patients with drugs. It’s common knowledge that there is high variability in drug efficacy and safety in many drugs used in veterinary patients. Some cancers, for example, can be fought with a drug to which 50 percent of patients will respond well, while other cancer drugs can positively affect 90 percent of the patients. For other drugs, most …
Aggressive Appearance Can Mimic NeoplasiaDecember 3, 2013 Why do we love encountering zebra diagnoses? They are real-world tests that walk through our door at any given moment. They add variety to the more frequently presenting conditions. Accurate assessment of the zebra diagnosis allows us to utilize our years of training for the good of our patients. A question for those of you who are veterinarians: When was the first time you heard of the disorder sublingual linear foreign bodies? Was it when you worked in veterinary practice before veterinary school? Or was it during veterinary school? I vividly remember learning about sublingual linear foreign bodies in a second-year course of veterinary school. The professor described this as a common occurrence when cats ingest a piece of string or thread, which wraps beneath the ventral surface of the tongue. This results in sublingual/lingual swelling and often vomiting if the piece of string is long enough to cause irritation of the stomach or plication of the intestinal tract. I recall thinking, "This has got to be a rare occurrence. I doubt I will see many cases of this throughout my veterinary career.” …
Confused About ACA? So Are The Insurance ExpertsDecember 3, 2013 When it comes to the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, there has been a lot of confusion of late. But there are some options that small businesses, such as veterinary practices, can explore. Gary Glassman, a CPA who works for Burzenski & Co. in East Haven, Conn., advises veterinary clinics and hospitals to look carefully at health plan options and try and find benefits among the sweeping changes being ushered in by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. "Hospitals with under 50 employees have lots of options,” Glassman said. "The issue is the uncertainty related to the cost. Unfortunately, no one at this point knows how this will turn out, so employers can continue to do what they have done in the past and continue to provide health coverage with coverage purchased through their past carriers, or they can buy employer-provided coverage through the employer-provided exchanges.” He also encouraged employers who want to receive tax credits for health insurance coverage to continue providing coverage or those credits will lapse. "For those that have received small-employer tax credits for health insurance coverage, the only way to …
Wellness Plans Allow Vet Clients To Budget For Pets’ Preventive CareDecember 3, 2013 In the minds of most veterinarians there’s a plan for just about every pet they see to ensure that pet’s immediate and long-term medical needs. But the reality, according to proponents of wellness plans, is that those details too often go unrelated to pet owners. "We really do have a full-year plan for their pets in our head,” said Carol McConnell, DVM, MBA, chief veterinary medical officer with Veterinary Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif. "When a pet comes in you look at the age, where they live, and other factors, and you formulate a plan.” It’s a detailed plan, Dr. McConnell said, adding, "But we’re clearly not good an explaining it to clients.” VPI in January launched a wellness service for veterinarians to offer clients called "Preventive & Wellness Services, which McConnell pronounces as "paws.” "We are basically positing ourselves as a silent partner with veterinarians,” McConnell said. She said the service is proving popular, with between 2,000 and 3,000 plans across the U.S. in place through more than 100 practices. Jeffrey S. Klausner, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, senior vice president and …
Monitoring The Monitor MarketNovember 15, 2013 The veterinary monitor market seems to be steering away from aging human hand-me-downs, and there are more choices today than ever before. Variety is usually a good thing, but not always, warned Andrew W. Schultz Jr., director of business development for Midmark Animal Health in Versailles, Ohio. "Quality [can be] an issue because there are no regulatory requirements or manufacturing standards that must be adhered to,” Schultz said. When Schultz talks about monitor quality today he’s referring to not just how well those products are made but the quality of everything in the monitor market from the sales experience to the user interface. While some monitors may fall short of Schultz’s expectations, he does believe some recent monitors provide an ever-improving experience for the buyer. Neonatal medicine has contributed greatly to improvements in veterinary monitors. SystemVet The better companies continue to improve the customer experience, Schultz said, "from intuitive menus, better functioning accessories and veterinary-specific instructions, to professional clinical technical support that helps to train staff on monitor set-up and more quickly diagnose and fix trouble when it occurs.” Monitor Hand-Me-Downs The market …
