Internet Vet Loses Court FightNovember 30, 2015Texas veterinarian Ronald Hines, DVM, today declared partial victory after the U.S. Supreme Court permanently silenced his online practice. “I’m just elated,” the 72-year-old practitioner said of his success in shining a light on the issues of free speech and telemedicine. “I think it’s great for veterinarians and I think it’s great for pets.” The Supreme Court refused to hear Dr. Hines’ appeal of a lower court ruling that found telephone and Internet communication to be insufficient when establishing the required veterinarian-client-patient relationship in Texas. The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners in 2013 ordered Hines to shutter his small online business and placed him on a year’s probation. Hines argued that he never diagnosed or treated pets remotely but merely offered advice for a fee. As more pet owners and veterinarians connect with each other through websites and smartphone apps, the question of when such contact crosses the line is bound to be raised again, Hines said. “Look at what’s around us now versus what was around us two years ago,” he said of a growing number of outlets such as the new Vet24seven app, which offers fee-based texting and video chatting with veterinarians. “You just can’t keep …
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Auburn University Vet School Hires PsychologistNovember 26, 2015Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine recently appointed Kathryn Bieri, Psy.D., a psychological counselor, to help students through their veterinary academic program. “The veterinary medical profession can be stressful for students as they experience the academic rigors of the program and transition into roles as young veterinarians,” the university noted in its announcement in early November. “I am very pleased to have Dr. Bieri working on our team to care for individuals within the college as she seeks to assist others in developing, maintaining and restoring the skills necessary to endure challenges without becoming distressed,” said Dan Givens, DVM, Ph.D., the associate dean for academic affairs. “When we allow challenges to lead to distress, we are unable to see and appreciate the great opportunities that surround us in our profession.” Dr. Bieri has an extensive background in many diverse fields of psychology and medicine. Her main focus at the school is psychodynamic therapy, which aims to help people understand how their past experiences affect present behavior. “I prefer psychodynamic therapy because I feel like it helps identify the real causes of psychological stress on a person, and you …
Penn Vet Teams Up With N.J. HospitalNovember 24, 2015University of Pennsylvania veterinarians and students will practice at a suburban Philadelphia hospital under a new partnership called Penn Vet Affiliates. Mount Laurel Animal Hospital in New Jersey is Penn Vet’s first affiliated clinic, the university announced Monday. The arrangement provides greater access to clinical trials and to Penn Vet specialists, who at times will work out of Mount Laurel. In addition, students enrolled in the School of Veterinary Medicine will “gain educational and training opportunities in a private practice setting,” Penn Vet stated. “There are many choices for specialty care in South Jersey; however, we are proud to offer a unique family-friendly experience with the cutting-edge Penn Vet standard of medicine,” said Robert Mankowski, VMD, co-owner of Mount Laurel Animal Hospital. The service will save pet owners from having to drive 20 miles from Mount Laurel to Penn Vet in Philadelphia. “We’ve listened to our clients, and what we’ve learned over the years is that they need increased access to the specialty care that we provide,” said Bo Connell, MS, MBA, the executive director of Penn Vet’s Ryan Veterinary Hospital. “By extending our board-certified specialists to affiliated practices, patients will receive the same standard of care available …
RCVS Enhances Hospital Accreditation SystemNovember 24, 2015Qualified British veterinary practices may promote themselves as “Good” or “Outstanding” in a variety of areas under a revised accreditation system. The updated Practice Standards Scheme, unveiled Nov. 20 at the London Vet Show, is designed to persuade more veterinary hospitals to achieve high levels of performance and service. The system is managed by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and a coalition of groups such as the British Veterinary Association and the Veterinary Practice Management Association. “Over half of all veterinary practice premises in the U.K. are already RCVS-accredited … but we’d really like to help more practices to get on board,” said Jacqui Molyneux, MRCVS, chairwoman of the Practice Standards Group. Accreditation and awards may be granted under separate guidelines for three practice types: small animal, equine and farm animal. Small animal practices may seek accreditation in any of three areas: core standards, general practice and emergency service clinic. A fourth level, veterinary hospital, is reserved for practices that meet the core and general practice requirements. Accredited hospitals then may apply for “Good” or “Outstanding” awards in areas such as diagnostic service or professional responsibility—achievements based on points earned in relevant sections, or modules, of the Practice …
Georgia Opens VetCAMP 2016 RegistrationNovember 24, 2015The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine is now accepting applications for its VetCAMP 2016, a week-long opportunity for high school students to explore the field of veterinary medicine. The event will be held June 19 to 25, 2016. VetCAMP, or Veterinary Career Aptitude and Mentoring Program, gives current high school sophomores, juniors and seniors the opportunity to experience veterinary medicine as a potential career path through the clinical and research services offered by the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center and the college’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories. Attendees will learn about requirements for admission to the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, research opportunities, study abroad opportunities, the college’s veterinary curriculum and underserved specialties in the field of veterinary medicine. For details on requirements, registration and pricing, visit the website. Registration is open through January 29.
Merck Launches H3N2 Canine Flu VaccineNovember 20, 2015Merck Animal Health today matched competitor Zoetis Inc. with the release of a dog flu vaccine that protects against the new H3N2 strain. Merck, based in Madison, N.J., received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Canine Influenza Vaccine, H3N2, Killed Virus. Zoetis announced the same achievement, the first company to do so, on Nov. 12. Merck’s vaccine will be made available to U.S. veterinarians starting Monday. H3N2, which emerged in Chicago in March before striking dogs in other states, quickly caught the drug maker’s attention. “Early on, we suspected veterinarians were dealing with an outbreak of canine influenza and not kennel cough, which spurred us to implement the collection of nasal and pharyngeal samples from sick dogs that were tested by Cornell University,” said Kathleen Heaney, DVM, director of Companion Animal Technical Services. “We came to realize what was actually unfolding was the transmission of an influenza strain, H3N2, never before seen in the United States. “Based on the highly contagious nature of the strain, the severity of clinical disease and the rate at which we were seeing newly diagnosed cases, we knew we needed to act fast,” Dr. Heaney said. The canine …
IAH Expands Sales Into Baltics, BelarusNovember 20, 2015A young company that moved its headquarters this year from Australia to Lawrence, Kan., is reaching into Eastern Europe with a distribution agreement covering some of its large animal products. Integrated Animal Health, which makes mastitis-fighting Udder-Mate for cows and toxin-tackling Scour-Mate for calves, announced a contract this month with Baltic Zoolife Ltd. The Latvian company will distribute IAH products in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. IAH is tapping into what Baltic Zoolife’s founder, Victoria Podberezina, called significant growth in the region’s agricultural industry. Belarus and the Baltic countries, she said, have embraced “modern, state-of-the-art farming operations equipped with advanced technologies.” Overseeing IAH’s European operation is a new hire, Laszlo Kiss, DVM, MBA, who is based in Budapest, Hungary. “Agreements with strong, specialized companies in the industry, such as Baltic Zoolife, are critical to our global expansion,” Dr. Kiss said. IAH reinforced its Oceania roots by appointing Jo Wrigley as the New Zealand business development manager. Based in Auckland, she previously served as managing director of IAH’s recently signed New Zealand distributor, Domhealth, as a technical services manager at Merial Ltd. and as a territory manager at Elanco Animal Health. Established in 2013 in Queensland, Australia, IAH relocated to …
University of Florida’s Shelter Program Hits $11 Million in Grants from Maddie’s FundNovember 20, 2015The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine recently received $4,192,657 from Maddie’s Fund to support the university’s shelter medicine education program. This most recent installment brings Maddie’s Fund contributions to $11,220,221 — the largest award the college has ever received for veterinary education. “This grant will allow our program to provide the necessary training to veterinarians and veterinary students with the specialized knowledge they need to take on that job,” said Cynda Crawford, DVM, Ph.D., Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program Director at the University of Florida. “Our program is the largest of its kind in the world, and thanks to Maddie, we have provided training to veterinarians now working in shelters all over the United States as well as in other countries. We are regularly consulted by shelters on how to prevent and treat diseases in their animals and to improve their well-being. We work with shelters to help their animals get adopted and conduct research that has saved the lives of countless homeless dogs and cats.” Over the past 10 years, Maddie’s Fund has made five grants totaling more than $11.2 million to the college. “This is the …
When Breeds Cross, Hybrid Dogs AppearNovember 19, 2015Breed a border collie with an Australian shepherd and what do you get when a puppy emerges? The most popular hybrid dog in the Pets Best Insurance Services database. The pet health insurer teamed up with policy partner Farmers Insurance to determine which two purebred canines get together most frequently to produce offspring. Procreating border collies and Australian shepherds yield a hybrid known simply as a border-Aussie. Hybrids are defined as the progeny of two purebred dogs. Mixed breeds, according to Farmers, are “the offspring of two or more different dog breeds where neither the mother nor the father is a registered purebreed dog.” Mixed breeds are the most common dogs in Pets Best’s massive file of 140,000 canine insurance policies. Labrador retrievers are second, followed by hybrids. A fashionable example of a hybrid is the Labradoodle, the product of a Labrador retriever and poodle. But Labradoodles aren’t No. 1—or even No. 5—on the Pets Best list. Boise, Idaho-based Pets Best provided descriptions of the most popular hybrids from the perspectives of veterinary adviser Eva Evans, DVM, MBA, and the dogs’ owners. 1. Border-Aussie (border collie and Australian shepherd) The product of highly intelligent and agile livestock herders, …
Penn Vet Receives Challenge Match for Shelter Program Mobile UnitNovember 19, 2015The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) recently received a $150,000 challenge match from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation to support a new mobile unit for the Penn Vet Shelter Animal Medicine Program. As such, all gifts made by Dec. 31 toward the purchase of the mobile unit will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $150,000. The medical-grade mobile clinical unit will significantly expand the program’s teaching capacity and elevate the quality and breadth of services offered to the Greater Philadelphia community, according to the university. In addition, a $225,000 gift from the Wiederhold Foundation will support two new clinical trials through the Veterinary Clinical Investigations Center at Penn Vet. “Mr. and Mrs. Wiederhold shared their lives with many animals and had great affection and respect for all living creatures,” said Susan Linker, Trustee of the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation. “We are proud to provide this grant, which honors the Weiderholds’ legacy by helping animals in need, and inspiring veterinary students to seek ways they can personally contribute to the welfare of animals.” For details, visit the Penn Vet Shelter Animal …
