United Front Tames The FlamesApril 17, 2009 The recent Southern California wildfires forced more than a half million people from their homes, many with their pets, and quickly consumed almost 800 square miles. At one point, at least 15 fires burned from Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley south to the Mexican border. When fires of this great magnitude ignite, it takes preparedness and collaboration between veterinarians, animal control, pet owners, government agencies and other organizations to help ensure the safety of people and their pets. This is one reason the American Red Cross now partners with local animal control in setting up emergency shelters. When the Red Cross opens a shelter, it informs local animal control that more than likely it will have animal needs. Animal control then sets up a shelter adjoining the Red Cross shelter. The Southern California wildfires brought many types of animals to Red Cross shelters, including dogs, cats, snakes, birds and even fish, says Amy Hegy, public affairs manager of the San Diego chapter. “The initial concern for many of these evacuees is ‘What’s going to happen to my pet?’” Hegy says. “It was very comforting for people to know that …
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Laparoscopic Spays Are Not Just For SpecialistsApril 17, 2009 Endoscopy has experienced significant growth among both specialty and general veterinary practitioners in recent years, and perhaps the greatest area of growth is in laparoscopic-assisted spays. As with many relatively new surgical procedures, the technique and its equipment have evolved rapidly to meet the needs of veterinarians. Jim Houchens, DVM, of Arvada Veterinary Hospital in Northern Denver, says that adding laparoscopic-assisted spays to his practice’s arsenal of offerings has helped him to attract new clients. “For established veterinarians like me, the procedure is a terrific cure for burnout,” he says. “For younger veterinarians, it’s a way of whetting their appetite for the skills and technology that will be coming down the pipeline.” The clinical advantages of the laparoscopic-assisted ovariohysterectomy technique were established in a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Assn. in 2005. For the study, Chad Devitt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, of the Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado, worked with Ray Cox, DVM, of the Deer Creek Animal Hospital, and Jim Hailey, DVM, of the Redstone Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colo., to compare traditional OHE with a laparoscopic-assisted OHE using two portals. The study found that dogs spayed using …
Companies That Offer DR TechnologyApril 17, 2009 For information about digital radiography equipment, contact these providers: AFP Imaging Corp. www.imageworkscorporation.com/ (800) 592-6666 All-Pro Imaging www.allproimaging.com (888) 247-8481 Diagnostic Imaging Systems www.vetxray.com (800) 346-9729 Eklin Medical Systems Inc. www.soundeklin.com (800)-268-5354 InnoVet www.innovetpet.com/ (888) 269-3154 Quantum Medical Imaging www.quantummedical.net (631) 567-5800 RF System Lab http://www.rfsystemlab.com/en/ Sedecal USA Inc www.vetray.com (800) 920-9525 Vetel Diagnostics www.veteldiagnostics.com (800) 458-8890 **Seen in the September 2007 issue of Veterinary Practice News** <HOME>
Vet Pay Up; Gender Gap RemainsApril 17, 2009 The mean professional income of veterinarians in private practice hit $115,447 in 2007, with a $91,000 median, up 4.6 percent annually from 2005 figures, the American Veterinary Medical Assn. says in a new report. However, the AVMA’s 2009 “Report on Veterinary Compen-sation” and “Report on Veteri-nary Practice Business Mea-sures” show that growth may be slowing, with salaries for clinical practitioners up 19.8 percent from 2003 to 2007, compared to 28.8 percent from 1997 to 2001. From 1997 to 2007, private practitioners averaged annual income growth of 5.9 percent. “According to our latest biennial economic survey, veterinary incomes are up across the board, but some sectors are doing better than others,” said W. Ron DeHaven, DVM, MBA, chief executive officer of the AVMA. “Salaries are growing at a higher rate than inflation, which is good news. But we need to further explore the disparities in what veteri-narians earn based on their type of employment and even their gender.” The compensation report showed that female veterinarians in private practice had a mean annual income of $91,551 ($79,000 median), one-third less than the $138,633 mean ($109,000 median) salary for male veterinarians in private practice. Male veterinarians, …
Tips For Welcoming A New Vet AssociateApril 17, 2009Successfully integrating a new graduate or associate veterinarian into your practice can be equally stressful for both practice owner and employee. Here's some advice from a prominent consultant and a veterinary student who will soon be the new doctor: Place "Welcome Our New Doctor" signs on the reception counter and bulletin boards. Post announcements the month before your associate arrives. . Profile the new doctor on your Web site. Feature your associate on the homepage for the first few months and in the "Meet Our Staff" section. T he profile bio should list degrees, areas of special interest, pets and hobbies. Personal touches help clients bond with the new doctor. . Have business cards printed before the new doctor's arrival. Imagine the pride your associate veterinarian will feel when he or she can hand clients a business card on the first day of work. Display business cards on the reception counter and in exam rooms. The new doctor should give a card to every client he or she meets. . Provide a lab coat embroidered with the doctor's name. Having your logo on the lab coat makes your new doctor …
Trade Group Born At Pet Insurance SummitApril 17, 2009 The biggest problem with pet insurance in North America today is that it is insurance—and people don’t like insurance, participants at the North American Pet Health Insurance Summit concluded. The summit, planned as an annual event, was held in Sun Valley, Idaho, in early September. Key goals were to increase the number of pet owners buying pet insurance policies and making efforts to improve customer satisfaction with pet insurance in general. Four pet-insurance providers, out of 11 invited, attended the summit and agreed to form the North American Pet Insurance Assn. as a non-profit organization to bolster the awareness and quality of pet insurance. “If our focus is better care for pets, we will all benefit,” said participant John Kramer, principal of American Pet Insurance Co. and a founding member of the group. One concern is that substandard players will create dissatisfaction in pet insurance, hindering industry-wide efforts to boost acceptance among both pet owners and veterinarians. Thus, establishing or re-earning trust from veterinarians and pet owners alike is one of the group’s goals. Or, as summit organizer Jack Stephens, DVM, of Pets Best Insurance said, the goal is to “fix …
Product DiversionApril 17, 2009In recent years, online pet pharmacies have become a significant competitor in the veterinary products industry. Internet-based retailers offer everything from prescription NSAIDs and heartworm medications to toothpaste and breath fresheners, representing a booming multimillion-dollar industry. Although such pharmacies naturally evolved from the growing online sales culture, they have long been a source of controversy among veterinarians, who now compete for product sales with online giants with significant buying power. And perhaps no area is more contentious than that of veterinary-exclusive nonprescription flea products that are diverted—in violation of manufacturers' stated sales policies—to online and other over-the-counter channels. Paul Pion, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, president and co-founder of the Veterinary Information Network in Davis, Calif., says the controversy speaks to a greater issue: the need for veterinarians to rethink the extent to which they rely on product sales. "I think it was a big mistake that, for a long time, the recommendations of practice management consultants pushed veterinarians toward more product sales," he says. "I believe veterinarians should focus on the services they provide and, ultimately, they're losing money on inventory and the time lost for providing services." Dr. Pion points to the human medical industry as an example of the …
Exotics Endoscopy Sets Care StandardApril 17, 2009 The U.S. has more than 100 million exotic pets, compared to about 70 million dogs and 80 million cats.1 Unlike domestic animal medicine, few serologic diagnostic tests are available, and therefore a definitive diagnosis often relies upon the demonstration of a host pathological response (e.g. histopathology) and identification of the causative agent (e.g. microbiology, parasitology, toxicology). Indeed, because of the difficulties of achieving a definitive diagnosis, many exotic-animal diseases have traditionally been identified to organ level only, such as avian liver disease and iguana renal disease, or generalizations have been made: All rabbits with rhinitis or pneumonia have Pasteurella multiocida. Endoscopy offers a minimally-invasive means of collecting biopsies and hence making a definitive diagnosis, which in turn enables more accurate and targeted therapy and improved treatment success. Today, with cost-effective endoscopy equipment commonly available, it is difficult for veterinarians to offer an appropriate standard of care for exotic pet clients without an endoscopy service. Diagnostic Endoscopy Financial constraints in most small-animal practices imposed a choice: Either buy a rigid endoscopy system or a flexible system because few could afford both. The recent surge in rigid and flexible endoscopy has certainly been helped by the availability …
TV Newsman Pursues Career As Vet TechApril 17, 2009Ernie Bjorkman, a Denver news anchor for more than 26 years, was recently laid off when two competing news stations merged, a layoff many Americans are experiencing in this economic climate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent in January. About 598,000 jobs were lost that month, the department said, meaning the number of unemployed people is at 11.6 million. Bjorkman, whose last day at Denver's News2 was Dec. 31, was fortunate. He already had a backup plan in motion: Become a veterinary technician. "On Dec. 31, I looked in the mirror and I didn't have to say, 'What are you going to do now?' because I had this other path going," said Bjorkman, who just graduated as a veterinary technician after 2 1⁄2 years at the Community College of Denver. Bjorkman said he doesn't know whether it was a supreme being or a Mr. Bluebird on his shoulder, but he woke up one morning a couple of years ago thinking, "I need to rekindle my passion, and that was veterinary medicine. The TV job is not going to last forever." Bjorkman said he always had a …
Vets Fare Relatively Well During Current Credit PinchApril 17, 2009 Despite the upheaval in the U.S. financial landscape, veterinarians remain one of the top three most reliable professions to lend to, joining dentists and physicians. Experts say the availability of veterinary business loans has stayed stable as well. Working off the concern of member veterinarians, the American Animal Hospital Assn. conducted a study of the economic impact on practice revenues. Of the veterinarians polled, 93 percent said they were working off of actual data as opposed to a gut feeling. Fifty-six percent reported a revenue increase in the first six months of 2008 compared to 2007, while 28.4 percent said their revenue had fallen. About 79 percent of those polled in the AAHA Rocky Mountain Market Research survey said they do not anticipate a decrease in total revenue in the last six months of 2008. “We had received a number of inquiries, both from the media and from companies in the animal health industry, asking whether economic conditions had resulted in pet owners seeking less veterinary care for their pets,” says John W. Albers, DVM, executive director of the AAHA. “We only had anecdotal information, so we conducted the study.” Although results may …
