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 …
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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 …
Pull Teeth In 20 StepsApril 17, 2009 The phrase “It’s like pulling teeth” arose for good reason. It’s one thing to extract a tooth with severe periodontal disease that is barely attached to its surrounding structures, and entirely different to extract firmly rooted teeth. Consider the analogy of an archaeologist working at a dig to successfully remove ancient fossils and intact artifacts. Many indications exist for extraction of a firmly rooted tooth, including endodontic disease, tooth resorption, and crowding of persistent deciduous and permanent teeth. Though extractions occur daily in nearly every practice, many practitioners have not been taught how to effectively and efficiently extract firmly rooted teeth. Here are 20 steps to perfect extraction of firmly rooted teeth. Step 1 Wash the mouth with diluted chlorhexidine oral rinse (0.12 percent) This step protects the operator and the patient by decreasing aerosolization of bacteria during the procedure and lowering the bacterial burden at the surgical site. Step 2 Perform a regional nerve block Extraction of firmly rooted teeth is painful because of the need to raise a mucoperiosteal flap and remove bone. A long-acting local anesthetic such as bupivacaine provides …
Pig Spa Appointment Includes Visit With The VetApril 17, 2009 On 30 acres in Warwick Township, Pa., two hours south of New York City by bus and one hour northeast of Philadelphia, sits Ross Mill Farm’s Piggy Resort and Spa, a one-stop shopping destination for potbellied pig owners that offers grooming and boarding services, foster care and adoption, behavioral consultations and veterinary care. “We’re single-minded—we’re devoted to the potbellied pig,” said Richard Magidson, co-owner of the farm and resort with his wife, Susan. Customers from Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area drop their pets off at the lodge while they vacation for a week or two or for extended seasonal stays. “People come to us as a destination,” Richard Magidson said. A custom-designed hydraulic lift at the spa holds an individual pig while it receives treatments ranging from Reiki-inspired massage, dander exfoliation, complete facials, mango-scented baths, skin and hair conditioning and a variety of oil and moisturizing treatments, all set to the sound of New Age melodies. If a pig has put on a few pounds, the Magidsons might offer an individualized weight-loss program that includes lower-fat meals and daily laps around the lodge’s indoor track. Every other …
Manufacturers, Veterinarians Target Product DiversionApril 17, 2009 Veterinary product diversion has become an issue of concern to many veterinarians, particularly in light of the growing number of discount pet medication websites. Millions of dollars worth of flea and tick product are sold through online portals and retail pet product stores each year, even though the products’ manufacturers intend the nonprescription products to be sold only by veterinarians. Over the past year, some veterinarians and manufacturers have begun to address product diversion. A new veterinary organization, the Alliance of Veterinary Hospital Owners (AVHO), has highlighted veterinary product diversion as one of its key concerns. Founded in April 2007, the nonprofit organization represents the owners of about 200 veterinary hospitals in 30 states. Its website, www.avho.net, is a portal through which members can discuss issues affecting independent animal hospital owners. The organization has developed a seal of approval program through which it reviews manufacturers’ business practices for their products. The seal is awarded to companies that prove to AVHO members that they are dedicated to ethical business practices and the integrity of their products. One element considered is the company’s commitment to keeping veterinarian-only products out of other sales channels. …
Supplements’ Role In Cancer TreatmentApril 17, 2009 Doctor, what about supplements to help boost my pet’s immune system? Which ones do you recommend?” I hear this question almost daily as an oncologist battling cancer. I wish I knew the answer. In fact, I know we all wish we knew the answer. But what do we really know about supplements to boost immune stimulation? While there is an incredible amount of information available on the Internet (try Googling “immune stimulants for cancer”—680,000 results appear), there is a paucity of credible information on which to make our decisions. And in the era of evidence-based medicine, few published studies qualify as double-blinded and controlled to help us formulate a decision. Oral Supplements In the past decade, several oral cancer supplements have been marketed for this very purpose. Some of the ingredients have included vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, L-arginine, grape seed extract, N-acetyl cysteine, coenzyme Q10 and green tea extract. All have shown some positive effects, albeit some in vitro, against tumorgenesis. Nutritional supplements for cancer treatment will continue to be a controversial part of therapeutic intervention.
AAEP Adds Core Vaccines To Immunization GuidelinesApril 17, 2009 Earlier this year the American Assn. of Equine Practitioners announced its new vaccination guidelines, replacing those established in 2001. “The new guidelines emphasize that considered judgment is key to designing an effective vaccination program; a ‘cookbook’ approach to infectious disease prevention may leave some horses vulnerable to disease,” says Mary Scollay, DVM, chairwoman of the AAEP’s Infectious Disease Committee during the development of the guidelines. The AAEP also wanted to make sure the information was relevant on the ground level as well as on a theoretical level. So the committee comprised 16 of the best and brightest in the world of infectious disease, including both researchers and clinicians. What Prompted Revisions? Past guidelines were available through the website in a condensed form for non-veterinarians as well as in a published form for the member veterinarians. There have been many advances in vaccine technology since then and AAEP needed to update some of the information. “We also felt that the AAEP website was an opportunity to keep the guidelines much more fluid,” Dr. Scollay says. “Advancements are moving along at such a pace, if a new state-of-the-art vaccine comes out tomorrow we have the opportunity to update …
