Preventive veterinary medicine may not be the newest clinical approach, it has surely stood the test of time better than any other, writes Jenifer Chatfield, DVM, Dipl. ACZM, Dipl. ACVPM. She shares the progression of veterinary medicine and the integration of preventive measures which are expanding in the current context.
Chatfield urges veterinarians to consider, “putting down the firehoses long enough to start looking to prevent clinical fires rather than simply arriving on scene in time to put them out.”
Source: DVM 360, September 24, 2022. Link. Veterinary preventive medicine has traditionally been vaccination, nutrition and husbandry. Advances in microbiome understanding, molecular analysis, genetic testing, recognition of point mutations and the ability to test individual animals for pharmaceutical sensitivities are more current advancements.
Genetically based preventive care may seem like Star-Trek stuff to most practitioners (and it kind of is), but there is no reason that veterinarians should fear the future or avoid integration of all available tools into treatment regimes.” – Dr. Jen the Vet