Topic:Creating an app for your practice

Price: Free for members!

Topic: Creating an app for your practice

Free for GVMA members!!

Year-to-year, 2015 is posting much better numbers for veterinarians than the previous few years. Business is up 6 percent to 8 percent across the board, industry consultants report.

Over the years, researchers have explored various non-surgical options to spay and neuter surgery but as yet, have not come up with a viable option. (NEWStat reported on some of these options previously.) But a new player may be emerging.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have developed an intramuscular injection that results in long-term infertility in male and female mice, and which could have future implications for cats and dogs.

Researchers from the Slovak Republic developed a rating scale for assessing the severity and progression of CDS from mild to severe. Their results were published in Applied Animal Behavior on August 31.

Canine cataracts: a nonsurgical solution looms on horizon

One of the most common eye problems in dogs is cataracts, and most are inherited, according to the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation.

But a simple “solution” may be the answer.

After more than two years of analysis, the Federal Trade Commission published a much-awaited report on the pet medications industry. The FTC found that veterinarians will continue to face increasing competition from non-veterinary retailers on pet medication sales.

In October 2012 the FTC brought together a number of stakeholders for a public workshop to examine consumer protection issues within the pet medications industry. That workshop, along with more than 700 written comments, informed the agency’s report released yesterday.

Canine Influenza Update

H3N2, the new strain of Canine Influenza (dog flu) has been confirmed in Metro Atlanta. This is the same virus strain as the recent Chicago outbreak. We still do not know if this is an isolated dog, or if this will move into an outbreak. Thus far only one has been reported. We will keep Georgia dog owners updated as we know more.

Important Information

A bipartisan proposal to eliminate the federal tax on a Department of Agriculture program that pays off student loan debt for veterinarians working in underserved areas of the country is back before Congress.

On Feb. 10, Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan introduced the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act (S. 440) to exempt VMLRP awards from a 39 percent federal income withholding tax, which would allow more veterinarians to participate in the program.

Owners whose dogs became ill after consuming pet jerky marketed by Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. or its Waggin’ Train subsidiary may be entitled to reimbursement for the treats, veterinary care and post-death expenses if those treats were made in or contained ingredients from China. 

 

The potential payout is part of a $6.5 million class-action settlement fund created last spring that allows Nestlé Purina and Waggin' Train to “move forward” without admitting guilt in an eight-year mystery about why the jerky seems to be sickening pets. 
 

Owners who purchased products made by Waggin' Train or the Nestlé Purina brand Canyon Creek Ranch have until April 1 to submit a claim. Illinois federal Judge Robert W. Gettleman is expected on June 23 to consider the class action’s merits.

 

When an MRI unit exploded at Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey, last week, it took the staff less than five minutes to evacuate its patients, clients and team to safety. Three representatives from the MRI company, who were dismantling the unit, were injured—one critically.

Jeremy Hogan, 37, was transported to a local hospital with lacerations and crushing-related injuries to his body. Although still critical, his condition has been updated to stable and he is expected to recover. His two coworkers were also hospitalized but have been released.

The robust advances in pain management for companion animals underlie the decision of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) to expand on the information provided in the previous 2007 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. The 2015 guidelines, now available, represent a consensus of expert opinions that summarize and offer a discriminating review of new research and knowledge.

"The management of pain is a crucial component in every veterinary practice," said Mark Epstein, DVM, DABVP (C/F) CVPP, guidelines co-chair. "Practices should be committed to educating the entire healthcare team about prevention, recognition, assessment, and treatment of pain. Alleviating pain is not only a professional obligation, but also a key contributor to successful case outcomes and enhancement of the veterinarian-client-patient relationship."