Is it time we change our tune on telemedicine?May 24, 2019At some point, our profession got it into its collective head to start hating on telemedicine. Perhaps it was the image of non-veterinarians armed with third-tier vet tech degrees hunched over laptops banging out answers to questions they have no business fielding. And in their pajamas, no less! It's a mental picture my state's association—the Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA)—is advancing this legislative season, as it seeks to limit telemedicine's reach into Sunshine State living rooms. And Florida is by no means alone in its quest to curb the telemedicine industry's growth. Most other state associations also are seeking a legislative solution to the perceived threat posed by online veterinary services. Telemedicine was front and center at American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA's) House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in January, the findings of which they'll likely present at this summer's conference in Washington, D.C. These are the best minds our profession has at its disposal, grappling with issues as fundamental as the nature of the veterinarian-client-patient-relationship (VCPR). It all comes down to the hands In its wariness of telemedicine, professional organizations like AVMA and state veterinary medical associations (VMAs) argue the definition of VCPR is at the heart of the …
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What happens when big veterinary merges with big dataMay 7, 2019It's not just Facebook and Google. It's also Big Veterinary Supplier, Inc. What do I mean by that? Data is a huge source of income for all three. So much so, they're making use of private information we diligently collect and, in some cases, they're using it to compete directly against us. Veterinarians are not immune As our industry becomes increasingly consolidated, it's also adopting some of the habits with which other industries are plagued. In the case of data mining, it seems they're getting more aggressive about it, and seemingly less likely to back down when confronted with evidence of their transgressions. Here's a recent example of what happened at my clinic: Until recently, I was the reluctant user of a large-scale online pharmacy, which was integrated into my clinic's website. In return for a small commission, I'd send my clients to this site when they expressed interest in buying products or medications online. To be clear, I knew the Faustian bargain I was entering into: My clients were theirs to contact and do business with for as long as I said it was OK. My reasoning was that I'd be losing out on these sales anyway. I …
Nine tips for tidying up our practices this yearApril 17, 2019If it doesn't bring you joy… throw it out. It's an inexplicably alluring (if slightly depressing) code to live by. Championed by professional organizer Marie Kondo in her wildly successful book, The Life-Changing Method of Tidying Up, the eponymous KonMari approach to organization urges us all to examine the impulses tethering us to things that don't really matter. Among other human urges that define spring as a season (procreation comes to mind), the drive to reestablish control over our lives plays a prominent role in our culture. Maintaining our homes and workplaces clean, tidy, and ordered represents a psychological thawing of our winterized brains and a resurrection of our normal daily activities. We as veterinary professionals experience much the same as it applies to our workplaces. As the busier seasons approach, many of us take stock of what we have and seek to improve our environment. Tidying up à la KonMari, with an eye toward getting rid of what doesn't serve us, is how I'm managing my life this year. To that end, here are this year's things to tackle and tips for tidying, as I seek to tame the chaos that inevitably builds over the previous year. 1) …
Why LGBTQ-friendly is business-friendly and good karma, tooMarch 22, 2019I'm one of those people whose hatchback is decorated with pet-themed bumper stickers—everything from Malinois silhouettes and silly cat faces to a cheeky "pugs not drugs" decal. To wit, my collage has never elicited anything but positive commentary in parking lots and driveways. It was only when I added one simple "equal" sign (you know the one, yellow on blue) that my cute and cuddly spread attracted any negativity. It happened in a Target parking lot during the holidays. The guy put his pickup in park behind my vehicle, exited his car and brachiated his disapproval––up close. "Learn how to drive, you f-ing liberal!" (For the record, he used the whole uncensored expletive along with a degree of hostility I hardly deserved.) Now, I may or may not have taken the parking space he was hoping I'd overlook, but that kind of thing only happens when you've touched more than just the "girl-got-your-spot" nerve. This guy probably does not like gay people––or anyone who likes gay people, for that matter. Which got me to thinking about my practice. At each of our two glass-doored entrances, I've affixed a similar gold-on-blue sticker next to our Yelp decal and the one …
Veterinary gender wage disparities—Why planet Venus pays less (and what to do about it)February 8, 2019Last July, the principal flutist at the Boston Symphony Orchestra filed a lawsuit alleging it had discriminated against her "by paying her an amount less than other comparable males." Though she records and performs more solos than the principal oboist (a comparable position in any symphony orchestra), she's paid 75 percent of what he makes. When I heard about this lawsuit, my brain veered directly toward veterinary medicine. Of course there's a wage gap, but surely there's more to it than that. As the French say, men and women are equal… yet different. No one can deny the biological, the cerebral, and the societal differences separating us. Our bodies differ, our brains vary, and our culture therefore perceives us in very disparate ways. This, it's clear, forms the basis for fundamental unfairness when it comes to compensation. Yet, there's more to it than that. This is what we'll have to grapple with if we're going to change things. And change them we must for our profession's sake. Mind the veterinary wage gap There's no arguing the fact of the gap. The 2013 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Report on Veterinary Compensation shows us that in 2011, female veterinarians in …
What's the deal with CBD?July 16, 2018Perplexed or annoyed by the consideration of medical marijuana in veterinary medicine? I was. As a veterinarian who finds controlled substances a total pain to manage, I was put out by the prospect of one more item I had to oversee meticulously.
