As COVID-19 cases drop drastically in some states and spike in others, we want to keep you as informed as possible with the latest pandemic news as well as our coverage of the veterinary industry.

View the video below for this week's top veterinary headlines:

Amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns, we are proud to announce the launch of 

our first virtual Fetch dvm360 conference 

Veterinary student Chris Hollingsworth is

 the only black male student in his class,

 and he is trying to raise awareness about the lack of diversity in veterinary medicine. 

Small animal veterinarian Dr. Kate Boatright offers five tips for practice teams to 

Events

Check out this week's top veterinary headlines.

News wrap-up: This week's veterinary news, plus the exciting launch of our first Fetch dvm360 virtual conference 

When Tierra Price, DVM, a 2020 graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, first started veterinary school, she remembers feeling "alone and distant" from other black veterinary students, as she was one of only five black students in a class of 127.

"I decided to create an Instagram page to bring [black veterinary students] together," Dr. Price told dvm360 in a recent interview.

 At first, she admits, she was a little hesitant to use the name "BlackDVM Network," largely out of fear that it could come off as offensive to some. In fact, she changed the name several times but ultimately changed it back to BlackDVM Network.

"I wasn't trying to diversify veterinary medicine; I was looking for black veterinary students. So BlackDVM Network really spoke to me because it identified the community I was trying to reach," she says.

She then began to reach out to black students from veterinary schools across the country and started to feature them on the Instagram page. Soon, black veterinarians, technicians and assistants, as well as pre-veterinary students, also started to follow the page .

As she began to gain more followers, Dr. Price started receiving messages asking about her veterinary school experience and about finding black veterinarians to shadow or work for in their area because of discrimination faced in veterinary school or in the workplace.

"That's when I realized that there was a large gap in resources for veterinary students, veterinarians, really just anyone black in the profession."

To help make those connections, Dr. Price created a 

 to house a directory of black veterinary students and professionals.

Two years and several thousand Instagram followers later, Dr. Price's platform has gained serious traction from veterinary professionals and students around the world.

Now the organization regularly features Instagram Live video interviews about topics like how to get into veterinary school, overcoming your obstacles, finding your passion and more.

"I see us having memberships and resources and just really providing opportunities to pre-veterinary students, veterinary students and even to veterinarians that they otherwise wouldn't have had," she says.

In the video below, Dr. Price shares some of her story and her hopes for the BlackDVM Network.

Videos

The organization's founder and new veterinarian Dr. Tierra Price shares why and how she started BlackDVM Network and her mission to help provide vast resources to black veterinary students and professionals.

BlackDVM Network offers opportunities for connection, mentorship and more

The cost of pet health care has long been an issue for many owners, and the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has exacerbated those concerns. In addition, many pet owners now expect easy electronic communication with their veterinary practice, much like they have with their own health care providers. Now, through an exclusive partnership with CareCredit, the PetDesk app is both improving communication between pet owners and veterinary practices and offering easier access to pet care financing.

CareCredit and PetDesk hope that this app will provide clients with more peace of mind when it comes to their pets, their care and the associated costs.

“We know that the primary barrier to all types of care is financial and this will be especially true now,” said Boo Larsen, general manager and vice president of CareCredit Veterinary, in a 

 announcing the partnership. “By making financing readily available to pet parents within the PetDesk app, clients can be prepared with an easier payment solution at this time. And, over the lifetime of their pet.”

The app offers multiple avenues for client communication and virtual pet care, including health care reminders, appointment scheduling, video chat and two-way messaging. And when confronted with service estimates outside their budget, pet owners can apply for the CareCredit credit card directly through the app and receive a credit decision right away.

“Pet parents … also expect veterinary teams to continue delivering easy-to-use technology like health apps, telemedicine and touchless payment, which they rapidly adopted during COVID-19,” said PetDesk CEO Taylor Cavanah. “According to Pet Desk data, the number of veterinary practices adopting two-way messaging has tripled since mid-March, with the total number of messages facilitated by the PetDesk platform increasing by more than 650% during that time.

“Our partnership with CareCredit will help meet these demands to deliver a frictionless client experience on every level,” Cavanah said.

For more information, visit the PetDesk 

Articles

CareCredit and PetDesk hope to offer pet owners more peace of mind through enhanced communication with veterinary practices and easier access to pet care financing. 

Pet health app now offers integrated financing options for veterinary care

Amid the many conference cancellations and postponements related to the COVID-19 pandemic, dvm360 is proud to announce the launch of our first 

. This exciting event, which will be held August 26-31, 2020 on a screen near you, will combine three

of our six annual live events—Hospital Design 360, Fetch Kansas City and Fetch Baltimore—in a single virtual conference. 

This unique virtual event will feature a robust mix of prerecorded, live and interactive sessions featuring a wide array of clinical, business and practice management topics that veterinary teams have come to rely on for relevant, practical continuing education. Participants will also have access to a virtual live exhibit hall.

Conference attendees have the opportunity to earn nearly 250 CE credits, with sessions  available on demand for two weeks after the conference. Hospital Design 360 content will be aired on August 26 and 27, followed by four days of Fetch dvm360 conference content.

"Although, we won't be able to physically be together, we 

 have the opportunity to interact in virtual lounges and in a chat room," says dvm360 Chief Veterinary Officer Adam Christman, DVM, MBA.

"This will be an immersive experience for everyone in the veterinary field, from veterinarians and students, to veterinary technicians and assistants, to hospital managers and more. This year, we are proud to be hosting sessions on canine, feline, bovine, equine, small ruminant and pocket pet care."

For additional details and to register with early bird pricing, click 

And stay tuned on our social media channels for conference updates, announcements and surprises!

Registration is now open for the first virtual Fetch dvm360 conference, which combines three of our exclusive annual live events: Fetch Baltimore, Hospital Design 360 and Fetch Kansas City. 

Fetch dvm360 announces combined virtual veterinary conference

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, veterinary practices have been forced to change how we serve our clients. While at first these changes may have seemed like a great hindrance to practicing veterinary medicine, the reality is that many of the innovative protocols we devised will continue to benefit our practices, clients and patients long after the pandemic is over.

Many clients have really appreciated the convenience of curbside service. In my practice, we had discussed offering curbside service for a couple years, but just never ripped off the Band-Aid because we were comfortable with the status quo. With no other choice during COVID-19, we realized how successful curbside care could be and will continue to offer this option to our clients for several services:

Medical appointment admits and discharges

Technician appointments (nail trims, anal gland expression, vaccine booster, etc.)

We knew during our first week of curbside service that we had to come up with ways to improve efficiency. The demand for appointments far outweighed (and still does) anything we had ever experienced. But our appointments were consistently exceeding their allotted time slots, causing us to fall behind most days. When we analyzed our system, we saw that what was taking up so much time was history taking, especially when the person bringing the pet to the appointment was not the owner.

We quickly realized that obtaining the patient history before the appointment would speed things up immensely. Many types of patient history forms can be sent to clients to fill out electronically well before the appointment, or even while the client is waiting to be seen:

Health questionnaires (senior pets, annual exams, etc.)

Once clients start coming back to your practice, obtaining as much information as possible prior the appointment will continue to be beneficial. Collecting patient histories in advance can shorten 30-minute appointments to as little as 15 to 20 minutes, and the doctors can review the information before the appointment. With their thoughts already on the case, they pair that with the physical exam and are able to convey treatment options more efficiently.

The “witching hour”—typically the stretch from 4 to 6 p.m. when everyone comes to pick up their pets, prescriptions or food after work—can cause stress even for the most well-run practices. Combine that mayhem with your scheduled appointments, and your client service representatives quickly need a floatie to get through those rough seas.

When we implemented curbside service, we had no choice but to switch gears when it came to processing payments. About a week in, we had two clients dispute a credit card phone authorization and had to jump through hoops to prove we performed the services in question. After a quick chat with our merchant service provider, we started emailing invoices with a link for payment. Sending invoices to clients ahead of time allows them to pay via the link in their email, so when they come to the practice all we have to do is deliver the pet, prescription or food right to the car. Clients love not having to wait, and I cannot express how much it speeds up the checkout process and makes the “witching hour” less chaotic. We should have started this years ago and will continue to do so after the pandemic is over.

Over the past few years, telemedicine has incited panic in some practices and excitement in others. No matter what your opinions of telemedicine were prior to COVID-19, there is no doubt that this service has been beneficial for clients and practices alike during the pandemic. With some clients unable or unwilling to visit the practice and some practices short-staffed due to quarantined team members, telemedicine became a game changer. What’s more, telemedicine consults can be completed in almost half the time of a regular appointment. After the pandemic, we will continue to use telemedicine in our practice for several types of appointments:

Manning the eight phones lines in our practice has been a monumental challenge during the pandemic. Fortuitously for us, we onboarded with practice management software provider 

 just before the pandemic hit. We encouraged our clients to download the app and use it to reach us with almost instantaneous results:

Because our phone traffic has lessened dramatically, we can now serve our clients more proficiently.

As I reflect on our practice experiences over the past couple months, I am amazed by our ability to adapt to change. Practices that make pandemic changes part of their 

 protocols will be the ones that will thrive once it is over.

Emily Shiver is practice manager at Cleveland Heights Animal Hospital in Lakeland, Florida.

A practice manager reflects on the many protocol changes implemented during COVID-19 that will benefit veterinary hospitals, clients and patients well into the future. 

Pivot during the pandemic for success on the other side

The Australian bushfires during the 2019-2020 Southern Hemisphere summer were among the most devastating natural disasters on record. Fueled by dry, hot conditions and prolonged drought, the bushfires took a catastrophic toll on communities, livelihoods, livestock and Australia’s unique wildlife.

A total of 33 people lost their lives in the bushfires, nine of whom were firefighters, including three Americans killed when their water-bombing aircraft crashed. Data released by Australia’s National Council for Fire and Emergency Services in mid-March (toward the end of the bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia) confirmed that more than 17 million hectares had burned. In New South Wales alone, the large-scale loss of bushland and farmland devastated two World Heritage Sites, including more than 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains Area and 54% of the New South Wales components of the Gondwana Rainforests.

Known for its rich biodiversity, Australia is home to more than 350 native mammal species. Chris Dickman, PhD, professor of terrestrial ecology at the University of Sydney, estimates that the bushfires killed more than one billion mammals (excluding bats), birds and reptiles, according to an article on the 

. This figure does not include the potential impact on frogs, insects or other invertebrate species.

Researchers from Australia’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub, led by University of Queensland ecologist Elisa Bayraktarov, PhD, developed the Threatened Species Index in late 2018 to help people understand changing population trends across Australia’s threatened species. Dr. Bayraktarov explained that the index includes data on 17 threatened bird and mammal species at about 150 sites that may have been impacted by the recent bushfires.

“We are currently talking to the groups on the ground that are monitoring these sites to see how much they have been impacted,” Dr. Bayraktarov said in a 

, noting that the data added to the index from bushfire-affected sites will provide a better understanding of the fires’ overall impact on threatened populations and a tool to measure their recoveries.

In Victoria, the bushfires threatened the habitat of the endangered ground-dwelling and semi-flightless Eastern bristlebird. There are thought to be fewer than 180 of the birds living in an area near the town of Mallacoota. Seven have been returned to the area after being transported to Melbourne Zoo during the bushfires.

Katherine Selwood, PhD, Zoos Victoria’s senior threatened species biologist, explained the significance of this work in a 

. “It is such a relief. It’s been a huge couple of months," she said.

"It’s been really valuable in terms of learning about the species. We’ve dealt with challenges not previously encountered in the species, which has significantly progressed knowledge on their captive care and conservation. This included transporting them from the furthest point in Victoria that you can get from Melbourne Zoo, a long journey for a semi-flightless bird!”

Kangaroo Island (located off the coast of South Australia) was also hit particularly hard by the bushfires. Local veterinarians, together with interstate and overseas colleagues, worked long hours conducting field operations, searching for injured and burned wildlife, and providing appropriate treatment and rehabilitation for affected animals. Recovery efforts have since been somewhat overshadowed by COVID-19, with the introduction of regional travel restrictions and social distancing requirements.

Felicity Stoeckeler, BVSc (Hons), a practitioner at Kangaroo Island Veterinary Clinic who was on the front lines of the wildlife response, shared this update with dvm360: “The transition from bushfire response to coronavirus restrictions was almost seamless. The week we started social distancing was the same week the last adult animals we’d been caring for were released. This was fortunate timing, because the coronavirus risk meant our volunteer teams from around the country returned home at this time too,” she said.

Several koala and kangaroo joeys are still receiving veterinary care and will be released as they become strong enough, Dr. Stoeckeler said, adding that “one particular kangaroo joey has had a lengthy recovery process with burns to his feet, but he has continued to grow and thrive, and will be graduating to bare feet this month.”

Also in South Australia, Rachel Westcott, BSc, BVMS (Hons), PhD, coordinator of South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management (SAVEM) who worked on the 25,000-hectare Cudlee Creek bushfire in the Adelaide Hills, said the bushfires brought both significant lows and major highs.

“The speed and intensity of the [Cudlee Creek] fire were ferocious—but then there was Kangaroo Island, a whole order of magnitude greater at 200,000 hectares burned over about 20 days. The burned landscape there looked apocalyptic. The animal losses and injuries we witnessed were horrific and really tested the SAVEM teams’ psychological resilience,” Dr. Westcott told dvm360.

But there were many highs to counter the low points, she added, such as finding an animal that had miraculously survived unscathed, hearing a frog in a burned-out creek after rain, seeing thousands of seeds burst open by the fire's heat germinating en masse and hearing birdsong return to the fireground. “Every fire is different. Every fire teaches us new lessons. Every fire presents an opportunity for improvement,” Dr. Westcott said.

So far, the Australian federal government has committed AUD $200 million (roughly $138 million USD) to helping native wildlife and their habitats recover from the devastating bushfires. The funding will target on-ground activities across bushfire-affected regions and heritage sites to prevent extinction and limit the decline of native species. It will also help communities and land managers roll out crucial recovery projects, update conservation plans for threatened species and track recovery efforts.

Dr. Phil Tucak is an Australian veterinarian, communications manager and veterinary journalist. As the 

, he works to share the conversation about conservation. 

With the loss of well over a billion mammals, birds and reptiles, the Australian government has so far committed AUD $200 million to help native wildlife and their habitats recover from this devastating natural disaster.