Compounding Pharmacists Think Big To Meet Vet Clients' Specialized NeedsSeptember 27, 2012 When compounding pharmacists say that they provide targeted solutions, it seems that they really mean it. After all, if your 5,000-pound rhinoceros balks at taking his antibiotics, who else are you going to call? The Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, N.M., called Michael Blaire, R.Ph., co-owner of Diamondback Drugs, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based national veterinary pharmacy with an emphasis in compounding. One of the zoo’s rhinos had an infection, and 150 ground-up antibiotic tablets were making his food extremely bitter. “We needed something sweet and chewable,” Blaire said. The answer? A Rice Krispies treat the size of a car hood. It took two technicians 21/2 hours and two dozen boxes of cereal to prepare the prescription and cut it up into 21 doses. “But 21 days later, we had a cured rhino,” Blaire said. Not all compounding solutions have quite so much snap, crackle or pop. But the case of the sweet-toothed rhino does illustrate both the depth of the problems compounders sometimes face and the creativity they can bring to their work. On the horns of a dilemma, a specialized response can mean the difference between wasted effort and welcome relief. The …
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Treat Your Clients Like FriendsSeptember 24, 2012Well, you’ve probably figured out that now I’m on the “other” side of the exam table, as a pet owner rather than as a technician, and it’s been quite an eye-opening experience. Here’s the latest. I took one of my cats in to update her vaccinations (yes, she was overdue), and just happened to see the technician who saw Minnie the one other time she’d been to this vet, back in 2008 for an aspirate of a lump in her “belly waddle” (you know, that thing that hangs down from every cat’s belly, and waddles when they walk). I remembered her, but she didn’t give me any indication of knowing me … and I know that a quick glance at her chart would have clued her in that we had met before. I don’t why it bothered me so much. I guess because I know it can be done SO much better, and I just don’t think it’s very hard to give a client the best experience ever. It’s simple, in fact, you just have to become aware and put a little bit of thought into it. Here are some quick tips for making your client feel like your …
What It Takes To Be An Effective LeaderSeptember 24, 2012 A leader can both use and exploit different forms of power to assist herself in her position, but many of these forms can have some pretty problematic side effects. For example, while the power of position, the power to give rewards, the power to punish and the power to control information may have some strength in limited situations, they ultimately place the people being led in an unhealthy position of weakness. Leaders who use coerciveness and threats to accomplish their objectives are seen as autocratic and out of touch, and rarely succeed in exerting any positive influence over their organization or people. Societies have changed tremendously over the last 50 years, and today individuals are encouraged to create their own power and take responsibility for their own decisions. Few of us enjoy having power exerted over us and will do what we can to undermine those who try to use these powers on us. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscle; but today it means getting along with people.” The Art of Power Today’s effective leaders have found a tremendous amount of power in knowledge, and that pursuing the …
Quality Control Counts With In-clinic Veterinary Labs, Heska And Abaxis SaySeptember 24, 2012 All blood analysis equipment has a propensity for certain errors. It’s just that reference laboratories are usually better at catching them, said Leslie Sharkey, DVM, Ph.D., diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology and president of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathologists. “Quality assurance programs in reference labs usually include running high, low and normal control materials purchased from the manufacturer of the analyzer or another commercial source at regular intervals, often about once a day,” she said. “We graph the data over time to make sure that we are getting the expected results and to look for trends that might indicate the analyzer is developing a problem. “In addition, many reference labs participate in external quality assurance programs in which labs are sent ‘unknowns,’ which we test and then return the results to the program,” Sharkey continued. “The program lets us know how our results compare with other participating laboratories so we can gauge our performance.” Kendal Harr, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVP, owner of a private pathology consulting firm, said quality control programs for in-clinic blood analysis equipment would frequently be considered substandard to measures taken by reference labs. A recent survey she …
Why Veterinarians Self-Treat...But Shouldn'tSeptember 21, 2012 Many veterinarians will confess to eschewing physicians, even in the case of some serious injuries. Yes, it’s an uncomfortable concept.Many among us will confess we often eschew physicians even in the case of some serious injuries. Got scratched or bitten this week? Kicked recently? Hurt your back hauling pets? Wrangling a calf? It’s inevitable, right? But never fear; the answer to what ails us is easily found in a pill, patch, spray, pomade, ointment or injection ... on your hospital’s shelves, of course. Many among us will confess we often eschew physicians even in the case of some serious injuries. Yes, it’s an uncomfortable concept: Veterinarians are way willing to script-up whenever the need arises. Plenty among us find the answer to our ills within our own hospital’s pharmacy—or via prescription pad. That can prove problematic. Self-Serve Medicine A 1988 study (Landercasper et al.) found that 77 percent of respondents to a survey reported self-treatment of injuries (most commonly involving sutures and antibiotics) while a 2000 study (Jeyaretnam & Jones) confirmed that high incidence. But I’ve witnessed or accepted confessions pertaining to more than a round of Clavamox for a bite wound or a …
The Evolution Of Pet Health InsuranceSeptember 21, 2012 Starting with one company that could barely keep its head above water for years, pet health insurance in the United States now boasts 12 companies that are strong and growing. Industry leaders talked about the secrets of their success and visions of the future. VPI Pet Insurance With half a million policyholders and a 60 percent market share, VPI Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif., is the granddaddy of them all. Its first policy was issued in 1982 to TV’s Lassie. “We have doubled the number of policyholders every five years since 1982,” said Scott Liles, the company’s executive leader. “Our nearest competitor has a little less than 10 percent market share.” With a second office in Denver, VPI has 500 employees, 110 of whom have veterinary experience, said Carol McConnell, DVM, the chief veterinary officer. “We go out of our way to minimize the impact on the vet,” she said. “Our staff can read the invoices and understand them, and we process 97 percent of claims without having to call the veterinary hospital for the medical records. This is important, since we are processing about 80,000 claims per month, or from 1.1 million …
Medical Costs, Bond Drive Pet InsuranceSeptember 21, 2012 Imagine making the gut-wrenching decision to humanely euthanize your sick dog when medical technology exists to save him. You can’t afford everything, and your human kids must come first. And, by the way, those human kids are looking up to you, faces tense with grief. Veterinarians have families, too. And, boy, do they have feelings. Veterinary medicine has been statistically documented as one of America’s most stressful careers. While ending a geriatric dog’s life is sad enough when the pain has become unbearable, ending the life of an animal that could make a full but expensive recovery is a shame. That choice bothered Jack Stephens, DVM, in 1979. “A client and her daughter brought their dog, Buffy, into my practice,” recalled Dr. Stephens. “Ultimately, the mother decided she couldn’t afford the dog’s treatment and requested euthanasia.” Like many of us, Stephens complied with a heavy heart. A few weeks later he ran into the mother and her daughter at the grocery store. “When her mother asked her daughter if she remembered me, she replied, ‘Yes, you’re the man who killed my dog.’” Birth of a Company This was Stephens’ defining moment. …
When Clients Fear For Their PetsSeptember 14, 2012 So I’m lying on the bed this morning, appreciating a quiet moment with my daughter and our dog Georgia as they both wake for another day. As before, I notice that Georgia’s breath is, well, less than pleasant you could say. My thoughts linger on a discussion we’ve had about her having a dental prophy, and a pit magically appears in the bottom of my stomach: fear. What am I afraid of? I’m a veterinary technician, for heaven’s sake. I know how to convince pet owners of the important of a dental prophy, so why am I having a hard time with it? It could be a I know TOO much and have seen anesthesia go wrong for no good reason. That seems to be what I fear most, especially when I look at her little muzzle already graying and consider her age of 7 to 8 years. Yet still, if I didn’t know anything about anesthetic disasters, would I be any less afraid? In my years of being a tech and discussing this type of procedure with clients, I could say all the right things and believe them whole-heartedly. Now …
Do You Know Your Veterinary Clients’ Financial Secrets?September 10, 2012 According to a recent and frightening CareerBuilder survey, 40 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. More specifically, 44 percent of women and 36 percent of men are in this situation. Based on multiple private conversations at vet clinics, this sad state of affair applies not only to many of our clients, but also to our employees, from “the front” to “the back.” The study is based on a sample of almost 3,900 U.S. workers employed full-time (not self-employed, non-government) over 18 years of age, polled between May 14 and June 4, 2012. Here are some striking results from the survey: • Almost 60 percent of workers have cut back on leisure activities. Yet some will not cut back on some activities such as the Internet (57 percent), driving (44 percent), cable TV (29 percent) or cell phone use (24 percent). • Interestingly, in tough times, more workers would give up their phones and cable before their pets. Sadly, it doesn’t mean they all do, as we painfully experience all too often. • More than 25 percent of workers don’t ever save any money (27 percent to be exact); 17 percent save $50 or less each …
Don't Overlook Customer Service Basics At Your PracticeSeptember 7, 2012 If you read this blog with any frequency, you know I love to take lessons from “real life” and apply them to veterinary medicine. While some of that urge may be to acquire ideas for blogs, most of it is an automatic after working in a “service” field where our skills of communication are vital to the success of the business, and for us, the health of the animal. I also urge you to do the same, to take both good and bad events in your reality and see if and how they are a reflection of veterinary medicine. So here’s today’s story…chiggers. Here’s what chiggers are, because you may not be familiar if you haven’t lived in areas where they exist: Chiggers are the larval (juvenile) form of a common mite from the family known as Trombiculidae. I’ve known about chiggers all my life, but perhaps that’s because I spent a lot of time being raised in the south. Regardless, we have them up north here in Wisconsin. My family experienced their wrath after a camping trip where they went out on a lake in a canoe (minus me, who stayed on land). The bites were smaller …
