• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Case study: staff training program increases heartworm preventive compliance

April 1, 2006

You know how important heartworm preventive is and likely prefer clients buy 12 months worth of preventive at once, so they don't delay when they need more and risk the pet's health. After sending a practice manager to an AAHA pilot program on compliance in 2003, Suburban Animal Clinic in Columbus, Ohio, implemented a few changes to increase 12-month heartworm preventive compliance.

You know how important heartworm preventive is and likely prefer clients buy 12 months worth of preventive at once, so they don't delay when they need more and risk the pet's health. After sending a practice manager to an AAHA pilot program on compliance in 2003, Suburban Animal Clinic in Columbus, Ohio, implemented a few changes to increase 12-month heartworm preventive compliance.

More extensive training got the whole team at Suburban Animal Clinic on the same page. The goal was for clients to hear the same message three to five times before leaving the clinic, and they found that word choice alone made a difference. For instance, because "need" conveys how important this care is, they use it instead of "recommend." So now when a client comes in, a team member might say, "Oh, Buffy needs a heartworm test today, and she needs more heartworm medication."

Advertisement

Training to increase compliance occurred during regular monthly staff meetings. The practice also asked its pharmaceutical sales representative to hold an in-house seminar about heartworm disease and treatment.

Today staff members track patients' scheduled heartworm tests, brand of preventive, and when heartworm medication will run out so they can send computer-generated reminder cards. Some clients buy a six-month supply, so they send a card five months later saying they need more. And a new computer code helps them track which clients buy medication on-site and how many prescriptions the practice writes for clients to buy elsewhere.

Of course, dollars-and-cents savings is an easy way to explain the benefit; $60 for a year's supply of preventive is better than spending $500 to treat a preventable disease. As an incentive to buy a year's supply, the practice offers a 15 percent discount. Sales of 12-month preventive from July 2004 to July 2005 were up 7 percent compared to the July 2003 to July 2004 figure, while six-month preventive sales stayed the same. Fifty-one percent of clients buy in 12-month supplies.

Related Content:

ParasitologyClient Relations & Marketing
Traditional and holistic treatments for giardia
Traditional and holistic treatments for giardia
Guide offers help for navigating flea and tick season
Guide offers help for navigating flea and tick season
Expert shares pet care tips for springtime
Expert shares pet care tips for springtime

Advertisement

Latest News

Veterinary training to expand in Ontario with government investment

Pet Advocacy Network honors outstanding contributions to the pet care community

Traditional and holistic treatments for giardia

ASU trustees approve the creation of a new veterinary school

View More Latest News
Advertisement