The Vet And The 'NetJuly 3, 2012The Vet and the 'NetThe Vet and the 'Netcover stories, practicemgmtPosted: June 30, 2010By Jessica Tremayne The days of using the Yellow Pages alone to promote a veterinary practice are long gone. Most veterinarians today have a hospital website and find the Internet to be an integral part of working in the industry. The 2008 Digital Clinic Study, conducted by the global public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard Inc., reported the patterns of veterinary professionals' Internet use and is the only survey of its magnitude to date. The study showed that veterinarians are recognizing how to make the Internet work for them—from enhancing research capabilities to making the daily practice more efficient. "We wanted to offer insight into how technology and digital communication play a role in meeting the needs of veterinarians, their staffs and clients," says Greg Connel, senior vice president and co-chairman of Fleishman-Hillard's animal care practice. "We had about 2,000 responses that showed that while research online is a priority for veterinarians, only 43 percent of respondents say they use the Internet for client communications." More clients than ever are using the Internet to find a veterinarian and learn …
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FTC Workshop To Look At Pet Med PricingJuly 3, 2012 The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, to examine the ways pet medications are distributed to consumers and how these practices affect consumer choice and price competition, the agency reported today. “American consumers spend a tremendous amount of money on medications for their pets every year. High prices on these medications mean that consumers have less money for necessities. It’s important that these medications are safe and effective and that pet owners get the benefits of a fair and robust marketplace,” said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC. “This workshop will help us understand these and other issues related to the medications we buy for our pets to keep them healthy.” The workshop will be free and open to the public, and pre-registration is not required. The FTC has not yet released an agenda for the workshop, which will be held at the commission’s satellite conference center in Washington, D.C., but questions to be addressed include: How are pet medications distributed to consumers? What are the business rationales for various pet medication distribution practices? How do these practices affect prices to consumers? …
Foreign Objects Cause Pedigree Dog Food RecallJuly 2, 2012 Mars Petcare US recalled three varieties of Pedigree weight management canned dog food products due to a potential choking risk, the Franklin, Tenn.-based company reported Saturday. The affected products may contain small pieces of blue plastic, which entered the food during the production process. Mars identified the source of the plastic and resolved the issue, the company reported. Some consumers have found plastic pieces, but Mars has not received any reports of injury or illness with from the recalled food. Mars is working with distributors and retail customers to ensure the recalled products are not being sold and are removed from inventory. The company encouraged consumers who purchased recalled cans to return them to the retailer for a full refund or exchange. The recalled products include Pedigree weight management canned dog foods with a lot code printed on the end of the can that begins with 209, 210, 211 or 212 and a Best Before date that falls between 2/24/2014 and 3/23/2014, and the following UPCs and descriptions: UPC Description 2310034974 Pedigree Healthy Weight Premium Ground Entrée in Meaty Juices 2310001913 …
DOT May Expand Pet Incident Reporting For AirlinesJuly 2, 2012 Prompted by letters from U.S. Senators and a petition submitted in 2010 by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the U.S. Department of Transportation in late June proposed expanding its reporting requirements for airlines that transport animals. “This new rule is good news for animal lovers,” said Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “It will help ensure that all animals can be transported safely and will enable consumers to more accurately compare airlines when it comes to the care provided to their pets in the air.” Proposed changes include extending the mandate to an additional 21 U.S. airlines (currently only the 15 largest U.S. airlines are required to report animal losses, injuries and deaths) and to require reports for all cats and dogs transported (current rules only apply to animals transported as pets by their owners but not those transported commercially by breeders and distributors). With the expansion of airlines to include all airlines operating at least one plane with 60 or more passenger seats, the reporting requirement would apply to airlines carrying 99.6 percent of domestic passengers and 98 percent of international passengers that travel on …
Vets Trusted, But Seen Less Often By Owners, Survey SaysJune 29, 2012 Pet owners are spending less money and visiting the veterinarian less frequently, but they still rely on veterinarians to help them make spending choices for their pets, according to a recent survey. Pet owners rely on veterinarians as their primary channel for pet products, including flea and tick control, heartworm prevention, joint health, pain management and therapeutic food, according to the survey, conducted in November by consulting firms Pert Group of Hartford, Conn., and Brakke Consulting of Dallas. However, respondents visited the veterinarian nearly 20 percent less in 2011 than they did in 2007, when Pert and Brakke conducted the first study. And the portion of pet owners who visit the veterinarian at all declined from 88 percent in 2007 to 77 percent in 2011. “Dogs and cats are feeling the bite of the recession as pet owners put a leash on pet care expenses,” said Susan Spaulding, executive vice president and principal at Pert. “The recession has not only decreased what consumers spend on their own health, but what they spend at the veterinarian.” Cat owners spent 28 percent less on heartworm prevention, 23 percent less on dental products and 20 percent less on flea …
Study Highlights Shelters’ Success In Finding Owners Of Microchipped PetsJune 28, 2012 <img alt=" border=" 1"="" height="140" hspace="3" data-cke-saved-src="/images/vpn-tab-image/shelter-cat1-250px.jpg" src="/images/vpn-tab-image/shelter-cat1-250px.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;"> Pets that are microchipped have a better chance of being returned to their owner after entering an animal shelter than those that are not, according to a recent study by Linda Lord, DVM, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State and service head for Community Practice, Outreach and Shelter Medicine. Specifically, the return-to-owner rate for cats was 20 times higher and for dogs 2.5 times higher for microchipped pets than were the rates of return for all stray cats and dogs that had entered the shelter. “This is the first time there has been good data about the success of shelters finding the owners of pets with microchips,” Dr. Lord said. “We found that shelters did much better than they thought they did at returning animals with microchips to their owners.” For the study, 53 shelters in 23 states agreed to maintain monthly records about microchipped animals brought to the facilities. Only shelters that automatically conduct scans for microchips on all animals were eligible to participate. Collectively, there were …
Searching Nearby Best Strategy for Finding Lost Pets, Study SaysJune 28, 2012The keys to finding a lost pet include searching within one’s neighborhood, putting up posters, using the Internet and checking local shelters, according to a survey conducted by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The ASPCA interviewed more than 1,000 pet-owning households to find out if they lost a dog or cat in the past five years, and if they did, whether or not they found the pet and where they looked. Among those surveyed: 15 percent had lost a dog or cat in the past five years; 14 percent of dog owners lost their dog in the past five years; 15 percent of cat owners lost their cat in the past five years; 85 percent of those lost dogs and cats were recovered; 74 percent of lost cats were recovered; 93 percent of lost dogs were recovered; 49 percent of dog owners found their dog by searching the neighborhood; 15 percent of dogs were recovered because they were wearing an ID tag or had a microchip; 30 percent found their cat by searching the neighborhood; 59 percent of cat guardians found their cat …
Drent Exits VPI, Replaced InternallyJune 28, 2012 Dennis Drent, president and CEO of Veterinary Pet Insurance, left the company earlier this month and has been replaced by Scott Liles of VPI parent company Nationwide Insurance, VPI reported today. Drent announced his departure internally about three weeks ago and left the company with the intent to find a position where he could leverage his entrepreneurial skills to “turn around” another company, said Curtis Steinhoff, director of communications for Brea, Calif.-based Veterinary Pet Insurance. Liles’ official title with VPI will be chief pet insurance officer, but he will fill the role of “executive leader” left by Drent’s departure, Steinhoff said. Prior to joining VPI, Liles held strategy roles at both Nationwide corporate and most recently for the Nationwide Growth Solutions portfolio of companies. He has also worked for McKinsey & Company, Accenture Strategic Services and the British Broadcasting Corporation. <HOME>
Vet Diagnostic Market Eclipses $1.5 Billion In 2011June 26, 2012 Consumers and governments are the primary drivers of the animal diagnostics market, which generated $1.5 billion in global sales in 2011, according to a report published by healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information. Many diagnostic methods from mainstream human healthcare, including immunodiagnostics, molecular testing, hematology and clinical chemistry, have become standard applications in veterinary care, according to the report. Governments are determining the direction of the food animal testing market through expenditures, and lower public spending in the European market has hampered growth in the market. Meanwhile, high-income households with pets have been driving veterinary visits and the instrumentation needed to support them. “While veterinarians and industry vendors have played a role in steering the development of veterinary care, the potential of the companion animal diagnostics market rests with the consumer,” said Emil Salazar, an analyst with Kalorama. <HOME>
Pharmacy Options For Veterinary PracticesJune 26, 2012 It’s certainly no secret that the pharmacy landscape has shifted in veterinary medicine. Consultants, practitioners and other industry experts point to a steady transformation rather than a tectonic jolt, but that doesn’t make the shift any less unsettling. “These days everyone is selling pet drugs, both prescription and non-prescription,” said Karen E. Felsted, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, chief executive of Felsted Veterinary Consultants. “There’s no doubt that veterinarians are feeling the competitive pressure.” From discount online pharmacies to neighborhood drug and grocery stores as well as big-box retailers such as Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club, competitors for pet-medication business abound, chipping at sales that once were solid for veterinary practices. The struggle to retain such revenue has stirred emotions, but the challenge is best met strategically, say experts, who suggest new tools to navigate successfully. Considerations range from creating contract partnerships that give practitioners their own pharmacy presence, to the realization that some segments of drug and product sales might no longer be worth the fight. Those most closely connected to the issue agree that a well-constructed plan can have a substantial effect on the bottom line. “It’s not like …
