Laser Promotes Faster Healing, Less ScarringDecember 15, 2010 Patient Benji is a friendly 5-year-old, 6-pound Pomeranian who loves to make his neighborhood rounds unencumbered by a leash. Problem Dog owner Selda King of Stuarts Draft, Va., let Benji out one morning, regrettably unleashed. Benji came home with huge gaping wounds, the victim of an attack by another dog. After assessing his extensive soft-tissue injuries and loss of skin, emergency veterinarians didn’t give the little dog much hope of recovery. They recommended euthanasia. King refused to accept that recommendation and persuaded David Parker, DVM, at her usual veterinary clinic, Clair Park Animal Hospital, to perform surgery to close Benji’s wounds. Dr. Parker tried to stitch up three large wounds but the skin kept falling away. A life-threatening second surgery attempted to minimize the size of the wound. Clair Park veterinary technicians visited Benji at home to change his dressings every day, hoping for the best. While they waited to see how Benji would recover, King’s friends and neighbors set about collecting money to pay for the expensive surgery and medications as well as the extensive treatment that would be required while the little dog healed. …
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Some Hows And Whys Of Laser TherapyDecember 15, 2010 If you are not convinced by now that laser phototherapy will help your patients, ask one of the tens of thousands of U.S. pet owners whose pets now live pain free after their laser treatments. If you are not convinced that laser therapy will help your practice, ask one of the thousands of veterinarians whose revenue has grown since incorporating a laser into their practices. The question now should be,“Which laser is best for me?” Differences between commercially available laser units lie solely in the wavelength, power density, pulse modulation and aesthetics. From these parameters, you can derive the penetration depth, dose distribution, treatment time and the estimated biological effect. No single magic wavelength or setting is the cure for a disease, and to claim otherwise (as some distributors or sales reps do) is irresponsible. There are, however, certain operating regimens, such as those from K-Laser USA, that give better results than others and are more effective for particular symptoms. And because the primary mechanism of action is the stimulation of the patient’s immune system, the range of symptoms for which this modality is useful knows no bounds. Educating yourself about the …
Financial Opportunity, Challenges AheadDecember 15, 2010 Albert Einstein had it right when he said, “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” For veterinarians, the Great Recession forced the profession to find a way to become more business savvy and sustainable. Amid the economic crisis, a sharp change in veterinary product sales has had some practice owners concerned about their hospitals’ long-term strength. “Veterinarians want to know where they stand in the eyes of lenders and they want to know what they need to do to keep their practice in the green,” says Michael Andrews, DVM, chairman of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) and owner of Woodcrest Veterinary Clinic in Riverside, Calif. “Focusing on profitability is what NCVEI is suggesting to owners for maintaining practice revenue and building on it.” Veterinary-exclusive sales of maintenance products is a thing of the past. Building on and marketing procedures and modalities offered is the focus for 2011, experts say. One of the first steps in making a practice profitable and attractive to lenders is demystifying why patient visits have declined, Dr. Andrews says. The results of a Brakke study on that very question are expected to be released this month at the …
Vendors Give Back To The Vet CommunityNovember 22, 2010 The companies that manufacture or supply medications and equipment and provide services to help veterinary practices run smoothly also perform behind-the-scenes philanthropic work on behalf of the profession and the animals it serves. Organizations that have compelling missions often earn the philanthropic nod. For example, in 2009 Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. donated $15 million to animal welfare programs alone. Nestlé looks for the biggest impact when deciding which organizations to donate to, says marketing official Kurt R. Venator, DVM, Ph.D., of Nestlé. “We like to create shared value, which means our contributions will be good for the community and good for the company,” Dr. Venator says. “We have relationships with all of the U.S. veterinary schools, which house the future of the veterinary industry.” Martin Mulroy, vice president of veterinary sales and marketing at Abaxis Inc., says the company maintains a strong relationship with Colorado State University. “We’re participating in the funding of a new avian/exotic animal wing at the veterinary hospital, and we donate equipment to the veterinary school,” he said. “We also sponsor chair positions at several other universities, including the University of Florida, Texas A&M and the University of Pennsylvania.” …
Ask Appropriate Questions When Shopping For MonitorNovember 22, 2010 Choosing the right patient monitor for your veterinary practice can be a daunting task, but the keys are determining what’s right for your needs, doing your homework, and asking a lot of questions before signing on the dotted line, say industry experts. Here are some things to keep in mind while shopping. Determine Parameters Are you looking for something to monitor just blood pressure or something that measures multi-parameters? The American Animal Hospital Association and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists recommend monitoring blood pressure, ECG/HR, CO2 and SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation). It’s also a good idea to check out your state’s Veterinary Medical Association guidelines. The more parameters, the higher the cost, and one of the most expensive parameters to monitor is the end-title CO2 (ETCO2), which measures the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled by the animal, said Dan Kozisek, customer service director of Bionet of Tustin, Calif. “In the past, they’d have to buy a unit with [ETCO2] included, and that would’ve added $3,000 to $4,000 to the price,” he said. A relatively recent advancement is a monitor that is “ETCO2 ready,” making it easy for practitioners to start with …
Butter: A Story Of Compassion And HealingNovember 19, 2010 For many, the spiritual aspect of the bond spins a vibrant web that catches us and holds us together, at least for the pet’s lifetime and often longer. Pawspice, my name for pet hospice, is a bigger part of our practice as the recession deepens and families can’t afford first-line care for their pets. Is Pawspice a containing structure for witnessing this thread more often? Is it the loom that holds the elements, emotions and threads of the human-animal bond? A Spiritual Bond As a beloved pet nears the end of life, pet owners often tell me about the transcendent elements in their relationship. The spiritual threads in their bond spin into a very meaningful realm that may extend after the pet has passed. This was the case for Carole Kammen and her beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Butter. A friend told Carole to call me for advice after Butter’s cutaneous lymphoma became resistant to the best of care at the University of California, Davis. Butter “found” Carole only four years previously, as a 9-year-old retired service dog. Butter became so attached to Carole that it became obvious to Carole and Butter’s owner that Butter …
Cost Issues Plague Recession-Battered Clients, DVMsOctober 21, 2010 The human-animal bond does not weaken during recessions, but many caregivers feel more financial and emotional stress when their pets are sick. These days, we might see three or four clients in a row who have serious financial concerns. Some of us recall previous recessions and felt more prepared to deal with this one. But few of us were prepared to endure and share the burdens of a prolonged economic downturn. This recession continues to batter our clientele with job cutbacks, unemployment, falling property values, foreclosures, maxed-out credit cards, health care issues, etc. This unrelenting pressure pushes a big percentage of our clientele deeper into debt and desperation and causes anxiety and heartbreak on both sides of the veterinary exam table when their pets are sick. During my first recession, many of our well-intended clients requested payment plans. Our facility became burdened with accounts receivable that climbed as high as $250,000. Our well-intended clients “slow paid” or “no paid.” Dr. Villalobos Shares Her Thoughts on Each Scenario Example 1: Five thousand dollars is a lot of money. It is tempting to take this case to small claims court because the veterinarian did everything correctly, but …
Holiday Nutrition A Challenge For Pets, TooOctober 20, 2010 Winter months in general and the holidays in particular mean colder weather, more time indoors and increased access to large portions of decadent foods—for both people and their pets. Just a single season of increased caloric intake combined with a sedentary lifestyle can have significant effects on the health of a pet. But a little client education can go a long way. Craig Prior, BVSc, medical director and partner at Nashville’s Murphy Road Animal Hospital and partner at the Nashville and Rivergate Pet Emergency Clinics in Tennessee, says veterinarians can serve as valuable partners in reducing the ill effects the holidays can have on pet health. “In the winter, there’s definitely a holiday splurge going on,” he says. “Clients have the attitude that it’s OK because the pet will lose the weight in the summer. That’s a bad mindset to get into, and it’s up to us to try to break it. After all, it will get harder to lose that weight over time.” S. Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, a scientific affairs representative for Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Topeka, Kan., agrees. “Unless there is an increase in exercise and play activities indoors …
Home Monitoring Key To Diabetic RegulationOctober 18, 2010Compliance also improves when client has stake in management Home blood glucose monitoring is the care standard for human diabetics. In humans, glucose is typically monitored four to six times per day. Exogenous insulin by injection is contraindicated without home monitoring. This is a safety issue, as glucose values in humans vary significantly day to day. This same daily variability has been documented in dogs and cats. Variables known to influence glucose in both species include stress, excitement, exercise, quality and quantity of diet, as well as amount of insulin absorbed from the subcutaneous tissue. Varying the injection site leads to different absorption. For this reason, the author does not advise rotation of the injection site. If local inflammation associated with repeat injections occurs, the injection site is changed to a new site rather than rotated between sites. Variability in glucose also occurs in the absence of an explainable cause. Inconsistent glucose values are a source of frustration for veterinarians and owners. Once daily glucose monitoring is instituted, the magnitude of the fluctuations becomes apparent. Simply stated, every day is not the same. In the absence of home monitoring, one is unlikely …
Help Provide Peace Of Mind For ClientsOctober 6, 2010 As practicing veterinarians, we are constantly faced with pet owners making that difficult decision between life and death, treatment or euthanasia. And, unfortunately, more often than not, the decision is financially based. In the process of discussing the nature of the needed care, we frequently offer the client “options” for treatment: radiographs vs. labwork; medication vs. surgery; IV fluids vs. SQ fluids. While discussing the cost of recommended care, we also need to offer the “options” for payment. Two of these options—pet insurance and third-party payment plans—were once thought to be competitive entities. Actually, they are quite synergistic. Here’s how: Synergy at Work In its business definition, synergy can be defined as a state in which two or more agents, entities, factors, processes, substances or systems work together in a particularly fruitful way that produces an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. It’s also expressed as “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The owner of an insured pet has the security and peace of mind of knowing that if her pet becomes ill she has the insurance to reimburse a portion of what she has paid out. The …
