Synchrony acquires Pets Best to expand CareCredit platformMarch 12, 2019Pets Best will now operate under Synchrony's CareCredit to offer pet parents more options to pay for veterinary care. "With Pets Best, we now have unique insight into the fast-growing pet health insurance market and can offer pet owners more choices for their pet's care," says CareCredit CEO, Beto Casellas. "This acquisition will further strengthen our strong veterinary relationships by giving veterinarians the ability to offer comprehensive financial options and a seamless customer experience." Pets Best has more than 125,000 pet health insurance policies, more than one million claims processed, and payouts of $200 million in claims. "CareCredit has unmatched expertise with consumer financing in the veterinary industry, and their digital-first, customer-focused culture perfectly complements our priorities," says Pets Best president, Chris Middleton. "Joining forces with CareCredit, we can quickly scale our offerings and provide a full suite of financing options to our customers, benefiting veterinarians, pet parents, and ultimately pets for the long term." As a result of the acquisition, CareCredit will offer consumers comprehensive care for their pets by merging financing and insurance options.
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Osteosarcoma: Beyond amputation and euthanasiaMarch 12, 2019When a patient is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, we tend to focus on three options: • the "gold standard," i.e. amputation with or without chemotherapy; • what many call palliative care, meaning pain medication and rest; or • euthanasia. But what if amputation is not an option? What if chemotherapy or radiation is out of the owner's financial capabilities? Or a couple of medications are not enough to numb the pain? What if visible metastasis to the lungs is already present? Bob Stein, DVM, pain management guru and founder of the Veterinary Anesthesia & Analgesia Support Group (www.vasg.org), recently shared another valid option.* "With my suggested approach, we can often provide quality of life to even large-breed dogs for six to 12 months and sometimes more than 20." Let's detail Dr. Stein's protocol. Pamidronate Pamidronate, a bisphosphonate, is an injectable drug that is inexpensive and easy to administer (ref: TM Fan et al. JVIM 2007). It helps to reduce pain (in 30 to 50 percent of patients), inhibit bone osteolysis, and has potential cancer-suppression effects by impeding proliferation and inducing apoptosis. The drug has a wide safety margin and can even be used on patients with renal or …
2019 World Veterinary Day highlights the value of vaccinesMarch 12, 2019Vaccines are critical to animal health, which is why this year World Veterinary Day (WVD) is focusing on the value of vaccination. Created by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000, WVD reminds pet owners of the importance of animal care, and how veterinarians and their teams can help. According to the WVA, vaccines are an essential tool for preventive veterinary medicine, promotion of animal health and welfare, and reducing the risk of human exposure to many zoonotic pathogens. Vaccination programs can reduce the need for antimicrobials, and in turn, decreases the risk of emergent antimicrobial resistance. According to WVA and HealthforAnimals, it is vital for the global veterinary profession to educate the public, particularly animal owners and producers, about the benefits of vaccination for animal, human, and public health. This year, WVD takes place on April 27.
How therapeutic home-delivery programs can benefit your practiceMarch 11, 2019This is an exciting, but challenging time for small-animal veterinarians, as we help clients manage their pets' health in ways that were unavailable when I started practicing more than 30 years ago. Take nutrition, for example. New therapeutic diets are enabling us to manage a much broader spectrum of disorders than ever before. But advances don't stop there. Our multiple-location dermatology practice has found success using e-commerce to deliver therapeutic diets directly to pet owners' homes. This convenient and efficient system benefits our clinic, our clients, and the patients in our care. Why sign up for a home-delivery program? While I'm not an expert regarding such programs, I will share my experience with home delivery of therapeutic pet diets in the hope other veterinarians can benefit. It's no secret online pet food sales have grown dramatically in the last few years, especially as more people use e-tailers for their shopping needs. According to a 2017 article, e-commerce accounted for more than 18 percent of dog food sales and close to 13 percent of cat food sales. Further, Amazon's pet food sales increased 34 percent in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017, and retail …
Elanco Animal Health becomes stand-alone companyMarch 11, 2019Elanco Animal Health says it is now a fully independent company after completing its split from Eli Lilly. In 2017, Lilly announced the exploration of potential strategic alternatives for Elanco. "This is a historic day for everyone at Elanco," says company president and chief executive officer, Jeff Simmons. "It reflects our team's hard work over the past two years, and the confidence we have the right strategy and are successfully progressing the execution against it." The share exchange was finalized a little less than six months after 19.8 percent of Elanco's shares were sold to the public. Since then, Elanco reported two quarters of financial and operating results as a standalone company. "With this milestone behind us, we look forward to a singular focus delivering innovative solutions and services for our customers—the farmers, veterinarians, and pet owners that are central to our success," Simmons says. "We welcome our new Elanco shareholders who join us and offer our appreciation to our customers, and Lilly for the decades of support."
U.S. congressmen introduce bill to end deadly experiments on kittensMarch 11, 2019A new bill has been introduced to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stop performing harmful experiments on felines. U.S. congressmen Brian Mast and Jimmy Panetta have introduced the Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019. "The fact we need a piece of legislation to tell the federal government to stop killing kittens is ridiculous on its face, but what's even worse is when you hear the government is actually breeding hundreds of these cats just to intentionally feed them parasite-ridden raw meat and then kill them even though they're perfectly healthy," Mast says. "These tests are awful, abusive, and unnecessary, not to mention a serious misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars. This needs to stop now." "This common sense, bipartisan bill will require the USDA to adhere to the same animal welfare standards the department is charged to uphold," Panetta says. "While I strongly support scientific research, taxpayer money and federal resources should be spent on advancing scientific research in an ethical manner, not on inflicting pain on innocent kittens in outdated experiments. I hope this bill helps us get closer to ending this cruel practice.
Getting to the bottom of root canal therapyMarch 8, 2019Anyone who has tried to extract a firmly rooted mandibular canine tooth in a dog or cat has likely muttered the phrase, "There's got to be a better way," (amongst other muttered phrases!) while performing the frustrating procedure. In some cases, there is indeed a better way. Although root canal therapy is not an option for every diseased tooth, it is an elegant way to treat dead teeth and teeth with pulp exposure. Terminology, development, and anatomy Endodontics refers to the study and treatment of the inside of the tooth (pulp) and periapical tissues, the latter of which are located around the tip (apex) of the tooth root. The pulp consists of nerves, blood vessels, lymphatics, and connective tissue. Pulp tissue is found in the pulp chamber of the crown and the root canal of the root. The pulp communicates with the periapical tissues through numerous small openings in the apex of the tooth root called the apical delta. Dental pulp is important for the development of the tooth in a young animal. Cells called odontoblasts continually produce dentin internally throughout the tooth's life. This makes the walls of the root and crown thicker. Recently erupted teeth have walls that …
Veterinary pain management market expected to be worth $1.73 billion by 2026March 8, 2019A marketing and consulting firm says the global veterinary pain management market is projected to reach $1.73 billion by 2026. According to a report by Grand View Research, the growth will be partially fed by an increase in the number of veterinary practitioners. In addition, a high rate of chronic illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and osteoarthritis, will help boost the market over the next seven years. Further, North America is expected to be a major player in the growth. In 2018, it held the majority of the veterinary pain management market, as a result of favorable pet insurance policies and strategic initiatives implemented by numerous companies. Other highlights from Grand View Research's report include: • nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) accounted for the largest market share regarding revenue in 2018 due to the increase of chronic diseases; • the number of people who own a companion animal is anticipated to grow over the forecast period due to the rise in pet adoption and expenditure for better pet care; • Osteoarthritis (OA) is expected to hold the largest market share as a result of the increasing rate of obesity; • postoperative pain is expected to exhibit …
Kansas State University to study impact of supplement in geriatric dogsMarch 8, 2019Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine is set to study the impact of a lean muscle supplement in geriatric dogs. Forty dogs suffering from three of the four following conditions will be enrolled in the study: • weakness; • weight loss; • slowed or altered mobility; and • exercise intolerance. The study—which will test MYOS RENS Technology's Fortetropin—will be performed under the supervision of Kenneth R. Harkin, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), professor and section head of small animal internal medicine. All the dogs will be fitted with an activity collar. After monitoring their activity for two weeks, 20 dogs will be assigned to receive the supplement and 20 will receive a placebo. Activity levels will continue to be monitored and the quality of life assessment, based on the Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs questionnaire, will be used to evaluate results. "Pet owners often remark their dog is slowing down as they enter their golden years," Dr. Harkin says. "Although osteoarthritis is often tipped as the culprit, the loss of muscle mass associated with old age is an underappreciated cause. Geriatric dogs with muscle mass loss fatigue easily, which by itself can negatively impact their quality of …
Four Kansas State University veterinary students receive $1,000 AVMA scholarshipsMarch 7, 2019Four Kansas State University veterinary students have each been awarded $1,000 by the Auxiliary to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Legacy Endowed Scholarship. The awards are given to students at 32 AVMA-accredited veterinary colleges in the U.S., the Atlantic Veterinary College in Canada, and St. George's University and Ross University in the Caribbean to support their education. This year, the scholarships went to third-year veterinary medicine students, Danielle Pickering and Katelyn Guill-Sanchez, and second-year veterinary medicine students, Rebecca Tomasek and Katya Luckenbach. "This scholarship will help me relieve some of the financial burden of veterinary school, as I pursue a career in small animal or mixed medicine, and eventually a doctorate," Pickering says. "As a veterinary student who is interested in public health and international veterinary medicine, I am always looking for educational opportunities to travel to other countries to experience what the field of veterinary medicine is like in them," Luckenbach says. "Being an out-of-state student, it is hard to justify borrowing extra money for electives involving international travel, so having the privilege of being awarded this scholarship will help to fund my upcoming international veterinary tours elective." "I am so excited to receive this award for the …
