Letter to dvm360: Warning about veterinary wellness care misguided

The recent dvm360 article “Focus on veterinary wellness care could be ‘dangerous'” says that, according to Nationwide and Purdue, veterinarians have increased their fees for medical services by 5.6 percent but have increased their fees for well-care services only by 3.8 percent. The conclusion is that it could be dangerous for veterinarians to focus on preventive care.

I disagree. How can it be a mistake to see pets on a regular basis to help protect them from diseases and catch health problems early? Wellness care today goes far beyond simple vaccinations and often includes preventive bloodwork, dental prophylaxis, and diet and behavior advice to optimize the health and well-being of pets, not just prevent diseases.

Without wellness exams, veterinary practices would become nothing more than urgent care facilities for sick and injured pets. In fact there is nothing we can do in practice that will impact the health of more pets than wellness care.

Karyn Gavzer, CVPM

KG Marketing & Training

Dayton, Ohio