{"id":11500,"date":"2022-02-03T13:34:10","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=11500"},"modified":"2022-10-01T23:46:46","modified_gmt":"2022-10-01T23:46:46","slug":"parasite-gold-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/parasite-gold-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiggle Room"},"content":{"rendered":"

In June 2011, I walked into the American Animal Hospital Association office for my first day of work as a marketing copywriter. While the job was my first in the veterinary industry, it didn\u2019t take long for me to learn the phrase \u201cgold standard of care.\u201d AAHA was all about high standards, after all. Now, nearly 11 years later, the industry has shifted. The focus has pivoted from the gold standard to the spectrum of care in an effort to be inclusive and improve access to veterinary services.<\/p>\n

While most veterinarians want to recommend the gold standard to clients, many practitioners in small animal practice provide the spectrum of care whether they know it or not. According to the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition\u2019s 2018 survey (bit.ly\/33ZfbAm<\/a>), 95% of U.S. veterinarians surveyed agreed that \u201cAll pets deserve some level of veterinary care,\u201d and 98% of private practice veterinarians had implemented at least one strategy within the past year to address and mitigate financial barriers to veterinary care. The most frequently cited strategy was exploring treatment options with clients to best match their economic constraints.<\/p>\n

But what if the economic constraints mean pet owners can\u2019t purchase year-round parasite prevention? Isn\u2019t year-round parasite prevention the gold standard? It\u2019s best for the pet, right?<\/p>\n

According to the AAHA-AVMA Canine and Feline Preventive Healthcare Guidelines (bit.ly\/33YVuwZ<\/a>), every dog and cat should have annual heartworm testing and at least annual intestinal parasite testing. The guidelines also state that every dog and cat should receive year-round broad-spectrum parasite control with efficacy against heartworms, intestinal parasites and fleas.<\/p>\n

How can veterinarians balance what\u2019s best for the pet with what the owner can afford? Here are five tips.<\/p>\n

1. Stop Assuming<\/h3>\n

I live in Denver. A couple of years ago, I took my dog to a veterinarian I hadn\u2019t seen before. Toward the end of the wellness visit, I asked about flea and tick prevention.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, we don\u2019t really have fleas in Colorado,\u201d a technician responded. \u201cWe could order something for you if you want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling perplexed, I left without a flea and tick preventive.<\/p>\n

A few days later, I spoke with the practice owner, who told me that her clinic didn\u2019t \u201cpush flea and tick prevention on clients\u201d because they might think the practice was just \u201ctrying to get more money out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She seemed surprised that I wanted to spend the money. The moral of the story? Stop assuming what clients want, what they will or won\u2019t purchase, and how much money they have to spend.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an industry, we tend to prejudge clients way too fast,\u201d said Craig Prior, BVSc, a board member and past president of the Companion Animal Parasite Council. \u201cI\u2019ve seen too many times where we see this little old lady who\u2019s on a fixed income, and we say, \u2018She can\u2019t afford it, so we\u2019re just not going to offer it.\u2019 Who gave us the right to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Practice Relationship Medicine<\/h3>\n

Establishing protocols and standards in your practice is a good thing, right? But how flexible should those protocols be? Should you ever bend the rules?<\/p>\n

Absolutely, said Stacee Santi, DVM<\/a>, who designed a veterinary practice mobile app because she wanted an easier way to remind clients to administer monthly parasite preventives.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t assign a blanket policy to everyone,\u201d Dr. Santi said. \u201cIf your client lives 8 miles away from everything in the Colorado mountains, their pet truly never encounters pets from other locations and they don\u2019t want to pay for parasite prevention, that\u2019s a judgment call you have to make as a veterinarian.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CAPC\u2019s Dr. Prior stresses the importance of asking about a patient\u2019s lifestyle to get the complete picture. Then, clearly and concisely communicate the reasoning behind the questions and the implications of a client\u2019s answers.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the clinic location, here\u2019s what to ask clients:<\/p>\n