USPS is changing prices on some mailing and shipping products on January 22. The new rates include a 3-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 60 cents to 63 cents. Some Priority Mail flat-rate retail product prices will be reduced compared with the temporary rate adjustment currently in place, and Priority Mail commercial rates will increase by 3.6 … [Read more...]
Seasonal affective disorder is. Here are the signs.
For millions of Americans, this time of year is tough. As the days get shorter and colder, they suffer from sadness and struggle. What affects them is winter pattern season affective disorder, or SAD. It’s more than just the winter blues and can last up to five months. This article offers sources believed to cause SAD, its signs and ways to get relief. Source: The Washington … [Read more...]
People aren’t taking this seriously. Experts say U.S. Covid surge is big risk.
Commentary If the photos and videos from VMX are any indication, mask-free animal health professionals may fall into the group of Americans who are “collectively forgetting” or hopefully, have stayed current with boosters. Moving into the fourth year, Covid-19 is again spreading across America. It is being driven by the recent holidays, fewer precautions and the … [Read more...]
Important small talk
"How are you," are the three most useless words in the world of communication. The person asking doesn't really want to know, and the person responding doesn't tell the truth. Be interested instead of trying to be interesting.” – Patrick T. Malone Source: CNBC, November 11, 2020. Link. The key to making the most out of small talk, according to Harvard researchers, is to … [Read more...]
Considering access to veterinary care
Veterinarian shortages in the workforce and animal owner access to veterinary care will remain significant issues in coming years. Mark Cushing, JD, shares new and encouraging initiatives and experiments underway to solve access to care at a fundamental level beyond the plethora of call-to-action slogans. Cushing shares survey results from APG/O’Hara that indicate upgrading … [Read more...]
Galaxy Vets shares list of 60 veterinary conferences in 2023
Galaxy Vets released a comprehensive list and an interactive map of veterinary conferences for 2023. There are 60 events listed with descriptions, pricing and CE hours. Most events went back to the offline format, with no virtual options. AHD will keep this listing as a place keeper in the Worth a Glance section of the AHD Bulletin for your convenience and … [Read more...]
The new normal is, in fact, the old normal
These two reports from the National Retail Federation are good reads for animal health pros as strategies for 2023 get implemented and refined. NRF’s 2023 Big Show in New York City featured a live, free-flowing discussion between Walmart’s John Furner and Harvard Business School's James Cash. They covered change, the importance of long-term perspective, faith, perseverance, … [Read more...]
Consistency critical to manage marijuana and workplace policies
Maintaining a drug-free workplace increasingly challenges employers. While marijuana remains a Schedule I illegal drug at the federal level, medical marijuana is legal in 38 states with recreational use legal in 21 of those states. Choosing an approach to marijuana testing can only be successfully defended if it is consistently enforced and well-known to employees. Adequate … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 19, 2023
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 12, 2023. Link. Most read posts from January 12th AHD Bulletin – Social media users more inclined to browse than post content. Link. Place keeper:2023 Veterinary Conferences provided by Galaxy Vets. Link. ====================================== New strain of bird flu kills hundreds of snow … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 12, 2023
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 5, 2023. Link. Most read posts from January 5th AHD Bulletin – Handling tardy clients. Link. Clarifying the recission of the FDA VCPR waiver. Link. Does post-transport, pre-processing rest make a difference in calf growth performance. Link. Virus hunters spotting threats in new … [Read more...]
Umbilical infections taking a toll on dairy calves
David Renaud, DVM, PhD, considers navel infections to be the most under-diagnosed disease in dairy calves, particularly in the first two weeks of life. Sharing research and on-farm experiences, Renaud and Matthias Wieland, DVM, say the symptoms of diarrhea and pneumonia are often readily seen but umbilical infections are rarely noticed. Renaud encourages veterinarians and … [Read more...]
Calving season begins
Calving season brings promise and challenges to producers and the veterinary teams who support them. An early calf born in Missouri reminds us of the need to help producers get ready for late winter and spring calving. Here are several calving resources we’ve shared in AHD posts over the last seven years. Source: Search results for: calving, Animal Health Digest. Link. … [Read more...]
Music therapy reduce stress in hospitalized cats
Researchers sought to evaluate the use of music compared with no music, to reduce stress in cats during hospitalization. Cat-specific music and classical music were tested. Both styles had some benefit to hospitalized cats. Source: Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, October 2022. Link. … [Read more...]
Oral care; a New Year’s resolution for veterinary teams, pet owners
Opinion and Sponsored Content Asserting the importance of oral care is as important as discussing vaccines and flea, tick and heartworm prevention. Pet oral care is a critical component of healthy pet stewardship. Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment and Treatment (COHAT) remains an opportunity for veterinary clinics to educate pet owners on the importance of oral care at … [Read more...]
Lifescient, Inc., developing long-acting injectable drug delivery platform
Complimentary Commercial Content Seeking to relieve the challenges of daily dosing of prescription medications, Kamalesh Rao and his team at Lifescient have developed a promising drug delivery platform to administer medication via a long-acting injectable for companion animals. LAIs will offer: Freedom from the stress and commitment required of daily dosing … [Read more...]
A better way to calculate a dog’s age in human years
Complimentary Content The long standing 7 to 1 ratio for calculating dog age in human years is flawed, writes Brooke Bundy. She shares some variables for making age comparisons and a new dog age calculator to understand the different stages of a dog's life. The tool also provides insights like average life expectancy, weight and height for more than 100 dog breeds. Try … [Read more...]
Talk with Terry at VMX about streamlining paperwork, saving time
Sponsored Content Talkatoo is an affordable, subscription-based, HIPAA-compliant dictation software, made for veterinary clinics to save time entering medical records. It works in all practice management software, in any browser, on any email platform and beyond. Veterinary teams are spending more time with patients and less time typing, thanks to Talkatoo” – Talkatoo … [Read more...]
CE – Tailoring services to clients’ needs
Sponsored Content – earn RACE-approved CE Credit Wendy Hauser, DVM, presents an online course that examines how to identify what clients value, and ways to create a tailored approach to create alignment and meet the needs of veterinary teams and pet owners. Client expectations have been evolving over the past decade. The ‘fit’ between veterinary hospitals and clients isn’t … [Read more...]
5 conditions affecting the pinnae
Pet care services personnel are often first to notice changes in skin conditions on pets in daycare and boarding facilities or when presented for grooming. The pineal margins and pinnae of dogs and cats can be affected by many dermatologic diseases and disorders. Andrew Rosenberg, DVM, DACVD, shares five common conditions that affect only the pinnae, are most severe on the … [Read more...]
BuddyID™ announces a Partnership with FirstVet & the launch of BuddyID™ collar tag
Complimentary Commercial Content Microchip ID Systems, a leader in the animal microchip and companion pet registry industry, is announcing its partnership with FirstVet. FirstVet will provide telehealth services to Microchip ID Systems customers that register their companion animals to the BuddyID™ registry and sign up with FirstVet. The company is launching a … [Read more...]
Oklahoma kennels, groomers require canine flu vaccines plus influenza mapping
Taking a pet to a dog park, groomer or boarding business can put dogs at risk in areas where canine flu outbreaks occur. Businesses that group dogs together are requiring owners to get their dogs vaccinated with a canine flu vaccine. Source: KOCO-TV via AVMA Animal Health SmartBrief, January 3, 2023. Link. INSIGHTS: Canine influenza vaccine is a lifestyle vaccine … [Read more...]
IBPSA Fast Bites – January 9, 2023
Gaining animal owner trust, 2023 in pet nutrition, transforming the pet care industry marketing, incorporating sustainable methods, Invoxia’s smart collar launch and more. . . Source: IBPSA Fast Bites, January 9, 2023. Link. … [Read more...]
The top 5 skills you need to get hired in 2023
Technical skills found on a résumé are no longer the most appealing traits that employers are seeking, writes Nicky Garcea. Instead, hiring managers are keen on identifying skills that build out other skills. She says hiring managers are the most impressed by these five behavioral skills: Curiosity Learning agility Growth mindset Critical analysis … [Read more...]
Successful manager traits
Becoming a successful manager is not easy; it requires their developing trust with their team members and continuous development to become better. Source: Inc, December 12, 2022. Link. When micromanagers do not let go and trust their team members to perform their work the employee experience is demoralizing. INSIGHT: Clear, concise and measurable expectations is a great … [Read more...]
VetWatch shows more dollars YOY, fewer pets, fewer invoices
VetWatch year end report for the ~3,000 reporting practices shows: For the month ending December 31, 2022, aggregate YTD practice revenues are at + 4.5 percent net growth versus YTD 2021 Period performance growth in unique patients (pets) is at (-1.9 percent) Unique client and invoice growth posted (-2.0 percent) and (-3.1 percent) growth respectively vs PYTD … [Read more...]
Employee retention replaces talent acquisition as top HR priority for 2023
Phil Albinus shares key findings from a Lattice report showing human resource teams will focus on retaining valuable talent this year. He notes employee engagement and the growing pay transparency laws as factors for consideration. Absent the ability to hire talent from the outside, HR teams are investing in the people they already have.” Source: Human Resource Executive, … [Read more...]
Telemedicine veterinarian identified as new job type in TIME
Features Commercial Content TIME named telemedicine veterinarian as one of five jobs that didn’t exist five years ago. Brian Evans, DVM, from Dutch contributed information about the opportunity of telemedicine in the veterinary setting. He shared telemedicine is never going to replace real-life care. It’s always going to be an adjunct to in-person care, because telemedicine … [Read more...]
Social media users more inclined to browse than post content
A recent Gallup survey reveals Americans use social media more as information sources to find out what is happening with others and to hear what others think than to share their own experiences and opinions. Sharing original content is an exception. Younger adults are far more active than older adults across almost all social media platforms. The one exception is Facebook, for … [Read more...]
AVMA House of Delegates rejects midlevel practitioner idea, favors support for CVTs
The AVMA House of Delegates’ Veterinary Information Forum addressed the topic, The veterinary healthcare team—Is there a need for a mid-level position? during the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference, January 5-7 in Chicago. The consensus from conversations was that a mid-level practitioner would not be a smart solution to workforce or access-to-care concerns. Rather, time … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 5, 2022
Top five most read posts from December 2022 - Middle managers are exhausted. Top teams need to listen. Link. Find happiness at work instead of quiet quitting. Link. What a cat friendly veterinary experience looks like. Link. The top pet products of 2022. Link. Thank you! Link. ================================================= Quiz: Surgical … [Read more...]