Taking Root 001May 15, 2009 Taking Root « Back | 1 | 2 | Association Surveys Customers The North American Pet Health Insurance Assn. was formed last fall, and to date its membership includes four pet insurance companies representing six plans, says founding member Jack Stephens, DVM, of Pets Best in Boise, Idaho. Since its launch last September, the association has established a website and recently hired a management company to oversee its day-to-day operations. Dr. Stephens says the association has also engaged an independent survey firm that will poll customers of member companies after a claim is made. The surveys will allow customers to rate their insurance companies’ performance and service. Results will be posted on the NAPHIA website. “This is a bold and strong move to provide transparency and improve the image of pet health insurance, which we feel has been damaged in the past few years,” Stephens says. “We know we have to greatly increase awareness and build back trust in pet insurance, and the founding members are dedicated to this endeavor.” Stephens says the association will open membership to all …
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Supplements Gaining Sales And RespectMay 5, 2009 Despite the recession, veterinary supplement makers are reporting better sales in 2009 than they experienced last year, along with a steady flow of new inquiries from veterinarians. Consumers spent $1.3 bill-ion on veteri-nary supplements in 2007. The industry is experiencing 15-18 percent growth each year, with annual revenue of $1.8 billion projected by 2012. Holistic veterinarians have long praised supplements and nutraceuticals, but the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) says some producers don’t provide enough evidence that their products work. Practitioners of evidence-based medicine also can be skeptical. While the CVM hasn’t changed its stance, some in the veterinary industry have. “Supplements are an acceptable component to veterinary medicine today,” says Bill Bookout, founder and president of National Animal Supplement Council, which is trying to create a nationally consistent framework for veterinary supplements. “Supplements are used by 90 to 95 percent of general practitioners and 100 percent of holistic veterinarians.” More research is being conducted and has been publicly presented. Many supplement companies are forging strong relationships with veterinarians and are working together, providing one more tool for veterinarians to use. Internet-savvy clients are finding information online and asking …
Surviving RecessionMay 5, 2009 The veterinary medical industry is said to be recession proof, a reputation earned from minimal damage suffered in past economic downturns. It even has seen notable growth during times other industries struggled to stay afloat. But in reality, veterinary clients are the same Americans featured in daily news reports—people losing their jobs and cutting family budgets. If a practice is feeling the pinch, it’s because clients are feeling it, too. Demographics, client base and a practice’s focus tend to be the top factors in a clinic’s ability to withstand the turbulence. Depending on their location in the U.S., veterinarians report either troubling times or business as usual. Practices that offer grooming, nail trimming or pet supplies are seeing a drop in revenue. Those that focus on vaccinations, spay/neuters or high-cost specialty services have similar issues. “Specialty and emergency care is being affected more than primary care practices,” says Ted A. Sprinkle Jr., DVM, CEO of New York-based Pet Partners LLC. “I own 20 primary care facilities from Maine to Florida and as far west as Denver. Each practice is being affected differently. “The veterinary industry hasn’t been as affected as others, but it has …
Taming HeartwormApril 17, 2009Taming HeartwormTaming Heartwormcover stories, smlanimalBy Marissa Heflin04-06-2009 Click to enlarge When it comes to educating pet owners about heartworms, veterinarians need not stand alone. The American Heartworm Society and the Com-panion Animal Parasite Council have ample education materials and resources, but another group is making a push: the companies behind the preventive medications. For instance, Merial of Duluth, Ga., recently partnered with the America Heartworm Society to launch "April is Heartworm Awareness Month." The campaign supports veterinary clinics in their efforts to educate pet owners about the potentially deadly disease and to correct some of the most common misconceptions about its prevention, transmission and treatment. Almost 50 percent of dog owners who took part in a recent survey regularly took their pets to veterinarians but did not give the animals heartworm preventives, according to the campaign's marketing material. "We are trying to equip the clinic to have a conversation with the pet owner that leads to more pets being on heartworm prevention," said Michael Murray, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, technical marketing director for USA pet parasiticides at Merial. As part of the campaign, the society and Merial developed an unbranded Heartworm …
Lions And Penguins And Bears: Oh My, The CE ExperiencesApril 17, 2009Lions and Penguins and Bears: Oh My, the CE ExperiencesLions and Penguins and Bears: Oh My, the CE Experiences04-06-2009cover stories, smlanimalBy Dennis Arp Once Carol Walton, DVM, gets rolling, the stories trundle from her memory with all the vibrant color of a Kalahari sunset. There's the time she and her adventure-travel clients hunkered in a Botswana clearing as a leopard descended from a tree, then quickly realized he was in the path of approaching lions. "We were terrified the lions would rip the leopard apart right in front of us," Dr. Walton recalls. Instead, the leopard slipped unseen into the marshy grass of a palm island as the lions plopped down in the shade of the same tree, not 15 feet from where he now hid. The visitors enjoyed a clear view as the leopard sat motionless for a while, then slunk silently away, disappearing into the safety of a nearby thicket. Adventure Time Looking for one or more of those veterinary travel opportunities? Below are a few you might want to consider. Except where noted, prices are per person, double occupancy, and don't include …
Prepare For Pet First-Aid AwarenessApril 17, 2009cover storiesPet First-AidPet First-AidWith April designated as National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month, it's an opportune time to put client educational plans into action.With April designated as National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month, it's an opportune time to put client educational plans into action.Prepare for Pet First-Aid Awareness Dr. Amy Shroff shows pet owners in a first-aid class how to check a dog's mucous membrane color. By Marissa HeflinVeterinary Practice News A veterinarian's role is not just about helping injured and sick animals. It is about client education, says Amy Shroff, VMD, emergency and critical care chief of staff at Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center of New England in Waltham, Mass. With April designated as National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month, it's an opportune time to put client educational plans into action.The better veterinarians train pet owners on how to prepare for emergencies and how to act when one occurs, the better chance the pet has to survive, says Dr. Shroff, who holds pet first-aid classes at her clinic. She says that the classes have been increasing in popularity, going from quarterly to almost monthly, drawing sometimes as many as 50 people. The classes teach pet owners how to …
Editors Announce 2006 Winner Of The 'You Found What?' ContestApril 17, 2009cover storiesX-ray Contest Winners 2006X-ray Contest Winners 2006It is official, snakes have dominated the Eklin Challenge for the past two years. It is official, snakes have dominated the Eklin Challenge for the past two years. Editors Announce 2006 Winner Of the 'You Found What?' Contest Snake, Snake, MouseLaura Chenault, DVM, and Scott Johnson, DVM, of the Animal Emergency Clinic of Northwest Austin in Austin, Texas, submitted the grand prize winning X-ray of a boa constrictor that ate a pit viper that ate a mouse. It is official, snakes have dominated the Eklin Challenge for the past two years. This year's grand prize winner is the snake that ate a snake that ate a mouse submitted by Laura Chenault, DVM, and Scott Johnson, DVM, of the Animal Emergency Clinic of Northwest Austin in Austin, Texas. Their patient was a 5-year-old female boa constrictor named Princess who shared the house (but not a cage) with a pit viper. Princess' owners took her to the emergency clinic after they found her loose in the house curled up inside the pit viper's cage. The viper was nowhere to be found. The winning X-ray clearly shows that Princess had eaten the …
Veterinary Practice News Cover Stories ArchivesApril 17, 2009cover storiesrrhfsfgrdfdfsrfgfdagesesedagrersdd 1-22-2007Veterinary Practice News Cover Stories ArchivesVeterinary Practice News Cover Stories ArchivesVeterinary Practice News Cover Stories ArchivesFind past featured veterinary practice cover stories in the archives.Find past featured veterinary practice cover stories in the archives.Find past featured veterinary practice cover stories in the archives.
Still More Recall Questions Than AnswersApril 17, 2009 The Menu Foods Inc. pet-food recall, which began mid-March and has grown to include more than 100 brands, is still making headlines. The list continued to grow at press time, including the addition of the first ferret food: 8 in 1 Ferret Ultra-Blend Advanced Nutrition Diet. People have been concerned about what to feed their pets, says Ann Hohenhaus, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, chair of the Department of Medicine at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. But if you look at the overall picture, she adds, only a small percentage of pet food has been recalled. “Most pet food is actually OK to feed your pet,” Dr. Hohenhaus says, adding that the real problem lies in the ongoing recall announcements. “People have anxiety because they pick a food that they think is safe, and then because it is a moving target, it may not be safe tomorrow,” she says. From Jan. 1 to March 31, AMC saw about 35 cases of nephrotoxicity, representing about half dogs and half cats, in which pets with kidney failure had eaten the recalled foods. Hohenhaus says that the hospital has seen deaths associated with the recall, but …
Snake X-ray Takes Top PrizeApril 17, 2009For the third year in a row, a snake radiograph has been named the winner of Vet Practice News' annual "They Ate WHAT?" radiograph contest featuring the odd things that animals have been known to ingest. And this was a snake to reckon with – a 12-foot-long, 65-pound Burmese phython that had not only consumed its dinner, a rabbit, but the electric blanket underneath the bunny. The annual contest is sponsored by Eklin Medical Systems of Santa Clara, Calif. Gregory Rich, DVM, of Metairie, La., is the veterinarian who the snake and posed for a photo of with the blanket. Elizabeth Boland, North Carolina State Class of 2008, was named winner in the student category for her radiograph of a dog that had swallowed a small stuffed dog—which she also radiographed. Both win single-lens reflex digital cameras. Dr. Rich won in the professional category, and Roland in the student category. "It was interesting to see the marked increase in digital radiographs this year compared to past contests," said Gary R. Cantu, president and chief executive officer of Eklin, which has sponsored the contest every year. "Even though a snake radiograph won for a third time, we always marvel at the …
