Zoetis Business Consulting has announced the launch of Profitsolver, a software tool designed to boost practice profits.
The software has already been rolled out in the US, where Zoetis says that it has delivered an average of £103,000 extra profit to veterinary practices within a year.
Profitsolver uses the practice's actual data - not benchmarks or accepted norms - to enable the practice to manage costs, set prices and gain return on investments. By using an activity-based costing model and using a variety of data such as practice costs, which staff perform which part of the procedure, how long the procedure takes and what equipment and materials are used, Profitsolver calculates the correct pricing to both cover costs and deliver a predetermined profit margin.
Zoetis says that Profitsolver helps practices to understand how the overall practice profit is being generated. For instance, for price sensitive procedures such as vaccination, the practice can match their prices with the competition, but maintain their profit margin by increasing the price for other clinical services.
Nick Steele, national consulting manager at Zoetis said: "Veterinary practices have no standard method for pricing their services and they are often unable to determine which services make money and which don't. This hampers the practice's ability to accurately value the business and, as a result, profit levels tend to be low for many practices. Profitsolver can turn this situation around and already has a very successful track record in the US."
Zoetis piloted the UK version of Profitsolver with John Goulding at St Georges Veterinary Group. He said: "By and large the veterinary profession still relies on the mark-up of medicines where profits are concerned. Even practices that have made a concerted effort to move away from this type of pricing structure are still making their money from the sale of medicines rather than from vets' fees. For years I have wanted to know exactly how to price our services and this new Profitsolver software does just that.
"Most costs have an element of staff time, an element of fixed assets or equipment and an element of disposable items. Profitsolver takes all of these into account, adds the predetermined profit margin and produces an accurate pricing structure for each procedure undertaken within the practice.
"It's important to take the time at the start to put accurate data in from the practice's latest set of accounts and the Zoetis business consultant will guide practices through this to make the initial set up as easy as possible. For instance, for major pieces of equipment such as X-ray machines, you have to work out how many times a year you are likely to use them.
"By using Profitsolver, we worked out that if we do exactly the same amount of work as last year we can increase our bottom line by at least £200,000 for our 18 vet practice. Since last November, when we installed Profitsolver, we have completely changed our pricing structure moving away from focusing on medicines and the size of the animal to rethink how we charge our clinical care.
"An unexpected benefit is that Profitsolver has made me much more confident about the prices we charge to clients as it is all broken down, so we can see exactly how the invoice is made up. I would be at a loss without it now."
For more information about Profitsolver, contact your Zoetis account manager.
The WSAVA is calling on veterinary surgeons around the world and anyone with an interest in veterinary – and human – medicine to sign the petition to ensure access to ketamine in the face of lobbying by some countries, principally China, to have it put under international scheduling.
According to the WSAVA, proposals for international control stem from the misconception that ketamine is merely a 'recreational drug.' The WSAVA says this is inaccurate and devalues its huge contribution to human and animal medicine.
Dr Walt Ingwersen, WSAVA President Elect and Member of the WSAVA’s Global Pain Council, said: "In 2015, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) stated that the abuse of ketamine does not cause a global public health threat and that control would limit access for those using it as an anaesthetic. This view was confirmed at a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March 2016, helped by strong support view from the global medical and veterinary communities. However, China has repeated its view that ketamine should fall under international scheduling and we have no doubt that it will raise the issue again. This mean the risk to ketamine remains."
He added: "Ketamine is a safe anaesthetic which can be used without oxygen, ventilators, electricity and the support systems required for other products, making it the only anaesthetic suitable for both medical and veterinary use in lower and middle income countries. If developing countries were denied access to it, which would be the effect of international scheduling, the effects on veterinary medicine, human health and animal welfare would be devastating."
Dr Ganga de Silva, President of the Society of Companion Animal Practitioners of Sri Lanka, said: "Sri Lanka is a poor country with an underdeveloped veterinary profession. If ketamine was not available, in my opinion, all surgeries would have to cease as almost all of the veterinarians in the country rely on it for anaesthesia. The result would be suffering for animals and it would also seriously impact our ability to control rabies as we would not be able to carry out spay and neuter programs on stray dogs."
Dr Nancy Shaffran CVT, VTS(ECC), President of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, said: “In addition to its use as an anaesthetic agent, ketamine is a critical medication used in the pain management in animals. The mechanism of action of ketamine (NMDA receptor antagonism) delivered as a Constant Rate Infusion has been well established to be effective in the prevention and correction of severe neuropathic pain and spinal cord wind-up. The loss of ketamine in veterinary practice would result in the needless suffering of many patients and we strongly oppose this action. We are very grateful for WSAVA’s efforts to keep ketamine available for our patients."
Dr Walt Ingwersen added: "Ketamine is also used in human medicine as it has a particular value for use 'in the field' - for instance, in treating trauma patients, those with traffic and sporting injuries or affected by natural disasters and conflict. Taking these factors together, it is clear that ketamine is an essential medicine and we are determined to ensure that it remains freely available. We are continuing to harness our global veterinary community to highlight the importance of ketamine because this is a battle our patients can’t afford us to lose. We ask all those agreeing with to sign our petition and help our collective voice grow."
The petition is here: http://chn.ge/1RFSou6.
The WSAVA’s Global Pain Council has produced a range of tools and resources, including an infographic, to support its ketamine campaign. They can be accessed here: http://www.wsava.org/educational/global-pain-council
For the study, titled “RHDV2 epidemic in UK pet rabbits. Part 1: clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings”1, veterinary surgeons were encouraged to submit case histories and the results of post mortem examinations of pet rabbits that died suddenly. Samples taken during the post mortem were sent for histopathological examination.
Frances Harcourt-Brown, corresponding author for the paper, said: "Case histories, macroscopic findings and histopathology results were available from 300 rabbits that died suddenly.
"Of these, 185 (62%) died from RHD and showed characteristic histopathological features of RHD including apoptosis and variable lytic and coagulative hepatocellular necrosis, with varying distribution.
"Interestingly, macroscopic evidence of disease was not present in all cases – for example, gross liver abnormalities were only reported in 30% of cases, despite all cases showing hepatocellular necrosis on microscopic examination.
"Rapid death and death of other rabbits in the household were common features of RHD.
"Histopathology was also useful in yielding valuable information about other causes of death in the rabbits that did not die from RHD.”
Nicola Di Girolamo, editor of JSAP said: “This is a terrible disease that is currently spreading in areas of the world that were free from it until recently. Having more evidence on the type of clinical presentations and lesions that should be expected with this disease in rabbit patients is going to be of tremendous value for clinicians. Given that there is not always macroscopic evidence of RHD, histopathology is key for the diagnosis of RHD in pet rabbits.”
The full article can be found in the July issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice which is free for BSAVA members.
It can also be read online here: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13141
Reference
Photo: BSAVA
The new pass offers both physical and virtual tickets so that the practice rota doesn't have to stop any member of the team from attending.
BEVA says the new tickets also offer a saving of up to £113 per vet.
David Mountford, Chief Executive of BEVA said: “We know that not every vet at a practice can attend congress every year because someone is always going to have to stay behind and work.
"So, by offering a mix of physical and virtual tickets in the pass it means those staying at home to look after the practice can still benefit from the live stream as well as the six-month access to all the lectures afterwards.
"Congress always contains plenty of relevant and dedicated content for nurses, so the pass obviously includes nurse tickets too.”
Practice Passes are available for BEVA members in three packages: small (£599), medium (£1,333) and large (£2,666).
Individual early bird BEVA member prices are £499 for vets and £187 for vet nurses for all three days (with concessions available for those in their first three years’ post-graduation or on a lower salary).
Practice Passes and early bird tickets are available to purchase until Monday 1 August 2022.
Day tickets are also available.
Virtual tickets are £199 for vets and £40 for nurses.
For more information, or to book tickets, visit http://www.bevacongress.org
The British Veterinary Association has appointed David Calpin as its new Chief Executive. David joins the BVA from Defra, where he was a Deputy Director and has held a number of senior management roles. David's policy responsibilities have included climate change, GM crops, sustainable land management, and, most recently, bovine TB. For a period last year David was Acting Director for Animal Health and Welfare in Defra.
David has been in the senior civil service since 2005, and has substantial experience of both staff and financial management. He spent two years working in Brussels representing the UK Government in EU negotiations, and has lived and worked in France, South Africa and Brazil. Prior to joining the civil service, David worked for Barclays Bank.
BVA Chairman Derek Williams said: "David's appointment comes at a very exciting time for the BVA as we respond to the challenges set out by our members in our membership research 'Your BVA, Your Say'. David has a proven track record as a senior manager, extensive experience of managing stakeholder relationships, and an excellent understanding of the political climate in the UK and Europe; all of which will ensure BVA continues to thrive and to represent members effectively."
David Calpin said: "I'm delighted to be joining the BVA. I've worked closely with the BVA in my previous roles and have been hugely impressed. I also know that no organisation can afford to stand still, and that the BVA needs to keep pace with changes in the veterinary profession.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of leading the BVA through a period of change to become an even more effective voice for the profession and providing services that members value. I have a lot to learn and I'm keen to get out and about to meet as many people as possible and to hear first-hand what the profession wants from the BVA."
The aim of the study was to assess the adverse effect profile of each individual AED by analysing all available data that has been published for each specific AED and then evaluating how reliable the data was. The study was published in BMC Veterinary Research (DOI: 10.1186/s12917-016-0703-y).
To do this the researchers gathered, screened and assessed all the information published in peer-reviewed journals and publications. The individual studies were then evaluated based on the quality of evidence, study design, study group sizes, subject enrolment quality and overall risk of bias. The results, say researchers, now provide a new and more objective insight into the tolerability and safety of the AEDs.
Co-author of the study, Marios Charalambous, said: "We recruited systematic and statistical methods to combine, compare and summarize the results of independent studies and, therefore, create more objective and reliable conclusions based on the current evidence. It was a time-consuming, demanding and challenging process, but we are sure that we provide the clinicians now with essential information which they can use for daily practice."
By reviewing, assessing and untangling the vast amounts of data, the researchers found that much of the evidence for the medical treatment of canine epilepsy was based on subpar reporting of adverse effect and in studies that were below the expected standard. They say that only in recent years can the quality of studies carried out be considered adequate.
Professor Holger Volk, Clinical Director of the RVC Small Animal Referral Hospital and Professor of Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery (pictured right), said: "Not only does this study offer a new perspective on the management of canine epilepsy, but also highlights the importance of the need for trials which provide high quality evidence in order to have more reliable and objective results about the safety and tolerability of the AEDs in veterinary medicine."
Dr. Dave Brodbelt, Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Epidemiology, added: “This is a valuable addition to the body of literature on canine epilepsy, highlighting safety issues and adverse events related to its management and adding further depth to the evidence base relevant to practicing vets."
The course, which is led by Mental Health First Aid England, comprises of two day-long sessions, the first of which will take place on Tuesday 9th January 2024 from 9am – 5pm and the second on Thursday 11th January.
The course costs £40 per person, and is open to all those working in the veterinary professions.
Advancement of the Professions and Mind Matters Director, Angharad Belcher, said: “This day long training session will help people to gain an understanding of what mental health is and how to challenge stigma, to gain the knowledge and confidence to advocate or mental health awareness, provide them with the ability to spot the signs of mental ill health and the skills to support positive wellbeing, as well as give people the confidence to support someone who is in distress or may be experiencing a mental health issue.
“While these sessions are open to all working in the veterinary professions, we are particularly encouraging vets working in rural areas or in ambulatory work to get involved.
"All veterinary work has its challenges, but we know from MMI funded research conducted by Scotland’s Rural College that rural and ambulatory veterinary work comes with its own set of challenges which is often compounded by working alone or having relatively limited contact with colleagues.
"Those working in rural areas often play integral roles within their local communities and it is therefore important to provide people with the skills to not only look after their own mental health, but with the opportunities to learn how to best support their friends and colleagues too.”
https://vetmindmatters.org/training
VetCell, the veterinary stem cell technology provider, has appointed a new member of staff to accommodate the growing demand for its range of services and products, which includes equine stem cell treatment and the AcelereTM fPRP system.
VetSurgeon.org member Cathy Gurney, of CGA Sales Solutions Ltd, joins the company as Sales Consultant. Previously Cathy was the national sales manager UK and ROI at Hill's Pet Nutrition and brings considerable specialist sales and marketing expertise to the table.
"Cathy has been appointed to develop and extend our existing strong relationships with our quality veterinary clients across the UK and Ireland," said David Mountford, VetCell's chief operating officer. "She will act as a consistent conduit for the needs of and feedback from the equine veterinary industry and will be able to present our growing range of veterinary products and services within the context of our basis of sound science."
National charity Canine Partners, which provide specially trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities, will benefit from an Eastbourne vet's efforts to run the Brighton Marathon on Sunday 10th April in less than 3.5 hours.
Simon DeVile is undertaking a gruelling training scheme, covering up to 50 miles a week, to ensure peak performance when he takes to the streets to raise money for Canine Partners - a charity close to his heart.Simon, 44, is one of the partners at St. Anne's Veterinary Group in Eastbourne. He started running to keep fit in 2006 and has since run the London Marathon twice and the Beachy Head Marathon three times. Simon regularly comes into contact with canine partner puppies because a local fundraiser and puppy parent is one of his clients. His own dog is also part of a locally bred litter, five of which went on to train as canine partners.Simon said: "I wanted to enjoy a new marathon experience this Spring and Brighton proved very popular last year. My aim is to enjoy the race but hopefully get below 3hrs 30 mins and raise money for Canine Partners. I am very aware what an important role these dogs play in the lives of a person with disabilities. I am also continually impressed with the way Canine Partners look after the dogs in their care so well."
If you would like to support Simon's efforts, visit: http://www.justgiving.com/Simon-DeVileCanine Partners still has charity places available for The Brighton Marathon. If you would like to take up the challenge, please contact Jill Green on 01730 716014.
Petplan has revealed the top 10 most claimed for health conditions in cats and dogs for 2011.
They were:
The event will again be held at Loseley Park in Surrey, on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th June 2017.
New for 2017, VET Festival will be introducing an Internal Medicine stream which will cover the themes of Emergency & Critical Care, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Reproduction, Respiratory and Small Furries.
There will also be a new stream dedicated to Rehabilitation, which will join Orthopaedics, Neurology, Oncology and Soft Tissue, Nursing and Management and Motivation. Delegates are free to join any lecture at any stream and attendance to VET Festival will contribute towards their CPD.
Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, who conceived VET Festival, said "The aim of the VET Festival is very simple – to provide the best veterinary education in the world so as to ensure the best standard of care for our animal friends, delivered in the most exciting environment on Planet Earth where all of the finances return to helping the animals.
"I believe that people who love companion animals will be aware of our need to receive the very highest level CPD and that both delegates and exhibitors deserve real value for money. I’m determined that the festival is firmly focussed on the greater good of the welfare of animals entrusted to our care – and on maintaining the fire in our bellies that we first had when we signed up for this vocation.
"My dream is to create a Glastonbury for Veterinary Medicine in my lifetime and that VET Festival will be the most interesting, innovative, exciting, dynamic, informative, career-enhancing and personally fulfilling veterinary CPD in the world.
"I have absolutely zero doubt that within five years VET Festival will be a key event in the veterinary education calendar for one simple reason, and that is we reinject the happiness into the reason why we started this journey in the first place. We want delegates to feel love for their profession and respect for everything that they do.
"Most importantly I want people to feel fulfilled because every single day that they go to work as a veterinary professional, they don’t really do it just for monetary gain. They do it because they want to make a difference. When the delegates leave VET Festival, I want them to know that they have made that difference."
Brian Topper, Managing Director of Centaur Services, one of the official partners of VET Festival 2016, said: "I think VET Festival is awesome. It’s different than anything we have done in the UK and US veterinary industry. It’s very timely as people are getting tired of the traditional route to education. This is a great opportunity and we are very happy to participate. I have been in the industry for 20 years and I have seen nothing like VET Festival. Wherever VET Festival goes, we will be here!"
Bayer Animal Health has announced that following the success of its educational TV advertising campaign, which ran earlier this year and promoted the need to worm cats, a second advertising campaign will now run in September.
Bayer (makers of Profender Spot-on solution) says its first campaign, which ran in May, had the principal aim of driving pet owners to their vet to ask about spot-on worming for their cats.
As part of the same campaign, research was conducted on cat behaviour by interviewing cat owners and attaching 'cat cams' and 'cat navs' to nine cats around the country. The results were analysed by cat behaviour expert Roger Tabor and can be found on the website www.spotonwormer4cats.com/, both as a short video documentary and a 24-page report, entitled 'The Secret Lives of Cats'.
A consumer PR campaign was also run in parallel with the TV advertising, which Bayer says was very successful in attracting entrants to a competition to find the cat with the biggest personality. Winners of the Cats with Cat-titude competition have now been announced and profiled on www.spotonwormer4cats.com.
Dan White, Profender product manager, said: "Post campaign market research revealed there was a 5% increase in the awareness of spot-on cat worming.
"The second phase of TV advertising - using the same advert but without the online competition - will start on 4th September and will build on the success of the previous advertising. And over the following three weeks, it will be broadcast on ITV1, ITV2, Channels 4 and 5, and Sky One, and is expected to reach 7 million of our core target audience."
Veterinary practices can obtain a subtitled version of 'The Secret Lives of Cats' documentary to play in their waiting rooms, and a wide selection of support materials, by contacting their Bayer Territory Manager.
The veterinary buying groups VetShare and London Vet Forum (LVF) have announced that they have merged to become the VetShare Buying Group.
VetShare Buying Group says that merger will ensure it has the resources and capabilities to compete in an industry that is increasingly made up of larger merged animal health suppliers.
The venture was prompted by a decision by London Vet Forum to offer itself up for a merger or sale with the aim of attracting better discounts for its members. It then interviewed a shortlist of candidates and says VetShare come out on top principally for its clarity and competitive discounts negotiated with the manufacturers.
In addition, VetShare and LVF shared some ways of working - members handle their own wholesaler invoice with the wholesaler-practice relationship remaining intact, allowing discounts to be rebated as a separate transaction. This means that members can continue to do business as before, while also benefiting from being part of the new, larger buying group.
Vet Ruth Gray, VetShare Director, said: "We are very pleased to have been chosen by the LVF directors to take their members into the future. We are the only major buying group without reps on the road and yet are now perhaps the largest buying group in the UK. We started VetShare initially to help our own practice achieve better discounts with the assumption that if we set up the perfect model for us then it would probably also be perfect for others. In hindsight, I think our assumption was right and this merger will mean even better discounts with new and exciting opportunities for existing members of both groups".
For more information on membership and the merged group, visit www.vetshare.co.uk or call Ruth on 0800 7566636.
The company says it believes it is the first major veterinary business in the UK to make this promise.
As a result of the pledge, salaries for about a third of the pet emergency firm's 1280 employees, including receptionists and animal care assistants, are set to increase to at least £9.50 an hour from April.
Vets Now says it has made the pledge on the recommendation of the Living Wage Foundation, which offers independent advice to employers and says £9.30 is now the real cost of living, not the Government-set national living wage of £8.72 for people aged 25 and over.
Vets Now’s chief executive Mark Ross said: "Our people are our biggest asset and at the heart of everything we do. We want to properly recognise the vital role each and every one of them plays in the business.
"This move demonstrates our commitment to that. We are confident that by paying all of our staff a competitive hourly rate of at least 20p more than the real living wage we will achieve higher morale and lower turnover."
Animal care assistant, Jody Reynolds, who works in Vets Now out-of-hours clinic in Kirkcaldy, said: “It’s amazing that Vets Now has been able to increase salaries to not only meet but exceed the real living wage. The extra will really help towards the cost of everyday living and even allow a few luxuries."
The day-long CPD course will everything from routine neutering and vaccination, to common presentations like gastrointestinal stasis, renal disease and osteoarthritis, through to more advanced surgical challenges, such as the management of auricular and dental abscesses, liver lobe torsion and small intestinal obstructions.
The day will be divided into lectures given by Marie and Richard, starting with the more common clinical scenarios before extending into the more challenging cases.
Delegates are also invited to prepare any tricky cases to discuss in an open session at the end of the day.
The course costs £300 per delegate, including tea, coffee and buffet lunch plus electronic course notes.
https://evolutionexoticsreferrals.co.uk/cpd-booking-form
Happy Snack is described as a light, delicious creamy snack which contains alpha-casozepine, a natural milk protein with claimed appeasing properties.
In a study conducted by the company, the new treat was taken by 86% of cats.
Happy Snack is suitable for cats and kittens from 12 weeks of age and can be used directly from the sachet, on food or from a finger.
Feline behaviourist, Lucy Hoile, said: “I am very excited about Happy Snack, as I think there is a real gap in the market!
"Something delicious that a person can give easily to a cat, is a great tool to help with general distraction and bond building.”
Happy Snack by Feliway is available in packs of six sachets.
www.feliway.com/uk.
From 31 October 2008, veterinary surgeons will again be allowed to charge animal owners for writing prescriptions, when a three-year ban on such fees comes to an end.
The Supply of Relevant Veterinary Medicinal Products Order 2005 was introduced by the former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to implement recommendations from a 2003 Competition Commission inquiry into the supply of prescription-only veterinary medicines, which, among other things, found that prescription charges were against the public interest. It was hoped by the DTI that the move would benefit consumers by providing for pharmacies and other suppliers to have an opportunity to establish themselves as competitors to veterinary surgeons in supplying prescription-only veterinary medicines.
Although veterinary practices will be able to make a charge for writing a prescription from 31 October 2008, one thing does not change: practices must not charge different fees for other services or veterinary medicines to those who take a prescription and those who do not.
Jill Nute, RCVS President said: "The OFT (Office of Fair Trading) will monitor the reintroduction of prescription charges and has indicated that the level of monitoring will be proportionate to the perceived need - how well the market is working.
In addition, the RCVS will monitor complaints that relate to prescription charges and meet with the OFT to review the situation in six months time. Care must be taken to ensure that prescription fees are calculated sensibly, or the zero-fee ruling may be reintroduced."
The OFT has advised that veterinary practices must not agree between themselves what constitutes a suitable fee: it is prohibited by competition law.
General guidance for members of the profession is available on RCVSonline (Advice Note 15): www.rcvs.org.uk/advicenotes. Guidance for members of the public is also available online at:
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/before_you_buy/thinking_about/560042/
Other Competition Commission recommendations, such as displaying a price-list of the ten relevant veterinary medicinal products most commonly prescribed during a recent period, have been enforced since 2005 via the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct and will remain in place.
Ceva Animal Health has launched a new national TV advertising campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of its veterinary behaviour product Feliway amongst cat owners.
Featuring the strapline 'Transforming behaviour begins with Feliway', Ceva says the advertisement will educate cat owners on the action they should take to keep their cats happy and maintain a happy home, particularly in multi-cat households where inter-cat tension may be a problem. It focuses on the real life testimonial of a pet owner and the challenges of introducing a new cat to a household.
The 30 second advertisement, which is aimed at ABC1 women, will air from Christmas Day until Sunday 11 January. It will be featured on ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5, digital channels including E4, Film4, ITV2, ITV3 and ITVBe and London Live.
For further information on Feliway visit feliway.co.uk.
The peer-reviewed manual, available for download from the VMG website, has been designed to be relevant for any veterinary business and has been developed following a review of the contemporary academic and business literature, with input from the VMG Board of Directors.
The Business Re-emergence Manual guides readers through three main areas that need to be considered as they emerge from lockdown:
VMG President Richard (Rich) Casey said: “Depending on the circumstances in which businesses entered the pandemic, it’s likely that they will be affected by a range of people, planet and profit-related issues as lockdown restrictions start to ease.
"Our Business Re-emergence Manual encourages veterinary leaders to take a step back and reflect on how their business was performing before the pandemic as a first step before starting to make plans for their future operations. Investing in this ‘thinking time’ now will enable them to ramp up more quickly and more effectively when the time is right. It is an evidence-based and highly practical tool which all veterinary businesses can work through and we hope they will find it useful as they start to plan for a successful future.”
To support veterinary practices and staff affected by the COVID-19 emergency, the Veterinary Management Group (VMG) is pausing subscription renewals for all of its existing members for three months, in effect, giving them three months’ free membership, including access to resources such as the Business Re-emergence Manual. It is also offering everyone in the sector the opportunity to join the association for three months, also free of charge.
Dan (MRCVS) & Kirsty (RVN) Forster, the husband and wife team behind Isle of Wight-based The Mobile Vet are celebrating a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
The Mobile Vet offers a mobile service in custom-designed vehicles and also has a fully-equipped surgery based in Newport where further consultations, operations and diagnostics can be performed, giving clients the option to choose between a home visit or a more traditional form of veterinary care for their pets.
News of the award landed on their doormat recently, in a letter saying: "I am delighted to inform you that Her Majesty The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the Prime Minister's recommendation that your organisation should receive a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation this year."
The Queen announced the winners of the awards as part of her 90th birthday celebrations yesterday, and Kirsty & Dan have been invited to Buckingham Palace to meet her at an official reception in July.
Dan said: "We have been fortunate enough to receive excellent feedback from our clients since starting our business & enjoy an immense amount of job satisfaction with the way we work. A nod from Her Majesty is truly the crowning glory for our business. It just goes to show what can be achieved with exceptional hard work and effort, the love & support of family/friends & a formidable staff. This award is for all these people that help to make our business great!
"We are very much looking forward to meeting the Queen and can't quite get our heads round it. Kirsty has spent hours looking for a dress and I am brushing up on my royal etiquette!"
The journal provides free access to critical summaries of the best available evidence, called Knowledge Summaries, to help practitioners make informed evidence-based decisions in practice.
The new website has several new features, such as author and reviewer hubs, which contain information to guide contributors through the process of writing or reviewing papers for the journal.
A new ‘answer me’ button allows potential authors to pick a clinical query they are interested in answering and email it straight to the Editor, streamlining the process.
The new site also includes a new submission system, Editorial Manager, which streamlines the editorial process, communications with authors and reviewers, and the management of articles.
Kit Sturgess, Editor-in-Chief of Veterinary Evidence, says: “I am really excited by the new website; its look and functionality will significantly improve rapid access to information and further boost the engagement of the veterinary team with EBVM.
"After an impressive year for Veterinary Evidence, we have also moved to a new submission system, Editorial Manager, aimed at making the experience of submitting and reviewing papers easier and more efficient.
"Through the new website and publishing platform, the journal can get better metrics of how well we are supporting our readers, authors, and reviewers so we can use evidence to drive Quality Improvement.”
veterinaryevidence.org
Two companies have simultaneously announced new services to help veterinary practices put systems in place to keep in regular contact with their clients via email.
The first is the veterinary PR and copywriting consultancy MC Communications, which offers to design, copywrite and distribute emails to your clients as often as you wish to email them. Alternatively, they'll fix you up with an account at Constant Contact, and you can email clients yourself.
The second is from Guthrie Communications Ltd (aka me), publishers of vetsurgeon.org and vetnurse.co.uk. They'll design and build a bespoke website for your practice which is so easy to keep updated, the practice cat could do it. Here's one they prepared earlier: www.putlandsvets.com
Guthrie Comms websites also include a simple system for capturing your website visitors email addresses, which are passed automatically and seamlessly to the Manymail bulk emailing system. We'll also set you up with a template you can use to email clients. Alternatively, MC Communications will copywrite emails for use on this system too.
The difference between the two services? Well, the one offered by MC Communications is going to be better suited to those practices that already have a polished online presence, and are now looking to use e-mail more effectively.
Our service, on the other hand, is for those who want to start using email more effectively but don't yet have a website (or perhaps have one in dire need of a good haircut).
For more information contact Marie at MC Communications on 0191 373 7830, or me (Arlo) on 020 7183 2511.
Pfizer Animal Health has confirmed that the agreement to acquire multiple product franchises from the Schering-Plough Corporation has been completed - and approved by the European Commission. Pfizer has acquired these assets for approximately euro 116 million in cash.
The agreement covers all European Union countries and the franchises include all major animal health species including cattle, swine, equine and companion animal. Pfizer executives say the agreement leaves them with the most in-depth coverage of therapeutic areas, and the most highly recognised brands, in the industry. Precise details of the agreement are not being released although additional information on the products concerned will be the subject of further announcements in due course.
Pfizer has acquired certain rights to the following products in the European Economic Area:
Albert Bourla, President of Pfizer Animal Health in Europe, said: "This represents a significant expansion of our product portfolio and strengthens our long term commitment not just to veterinary surgeons, but also to farmers and pet owners. Pfizer spends hundreds of millions of dollars on research and development every year, and brings more new products to market than any other company, but when the opportunity arose to add well known, well respected brands to a portfolio that is already extremely strong, we had little hesitation in taking it."
Diagnostic imaging company BCF Technology is inviting veterinary surgeons to apply for a job as Clinical Manager by submitting a 2 minute video outlining why they would like to work for the company.
BCF Managing Director Gavin Mitchell said: "We are looking for somone with a real passion for imaging and desire to help improve the quality of veterinary imaging. Part of the role will involve presenting clinical learning videos, so we thought it would be a fun way to approach the recruitment process with candidates sending in their own home-made videos. So get creative and you could come and work with us and help vets learn more about 256 shades of grey."
BCF in-house vet Kimberly Palgrave said: "This role is a great opportunity for a vet wanting to help others to improve their confidence and skills in using ultrasound and X-ray, it is a hugely rewarding role. It is also a very diverse role as BCF is a worldwide company. BCF approaches everything in a fun, innovative way, including the recruitment process."
BCF Human Resources Manager, Kim McLean, said: "As we are offering a job role that is quite unique, we thought we would approach advertising the job in a bit of a non-conventional way as well. We hope that candidates will take on the challenge and that we will receive some interesting video applications for the role.
To help potential vets learn more about the role and what it is like to work for the company, BCF has created a video which gives an overview of the business, has some comments from its staff and even has a rap about the company at the end performed by Tom from the Purchasing Department.
For more information about the job, visit www.bcftechnology.com/about-us/bcf-careers
The VET Festival has announced its speaker line-up for this year's event, taking place on the 3rd & 4th June at Loseley Park in Guildford, Surrey.
The 21 hand-picked speakers include respected opinion formers from across the USA, Canada and the UK who are veterinary specialists and experts in fields including clinical & surgical orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, medical & surgical oncology, neurology & neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery & diagnostics, anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging, physiotherapy, sports medicine & rehabilitation, anaesthesia & critical care, nutrition, feline medicine & surgery and practice management & team building.
The organisers say this is a unique and unrivalled opportunity to hear, learn and network with some of the greatest minds in the veterinary world at a dynamic and engaging two-day outdoor conference designed for veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, veterinary rehab practitioners, practice support staff, managers and allied veterinary professionals working in companion animal practice.
Internationally-based speakers not available on the usual speaker circuit for primary care clinicians, include:
The 2016 conference will also welcome thought leaders currently practicing here in the UK, including:
There will be a focus on minimally invasive diagnostics and surgery lead by Phillip Mayhew from the University of Davis California and Elise Robertson will talk about minimally invasive endoscopy techniques in cats whilst Michael Kowaleski from Tufts University, Boston, and Noel Fitzpatrick will talk about arthroscopy of joints. There will also be a specific focus on diagnostic imaging with Russell Tucker from Washington State University sharing his nearly 40 years of experience with radiography, MRI and CT. Cancer is a huge area of increased interest in small animal practice currently and will be explored by a world-class team including Julius Liptak, Nick Bacon and Laurent Findji.
The growing importance of practice management and team-building prompted organisers to ask Brian Faulkner from the UK and Ernie Ward from the USA, both internationally recognised leaders in veterinary business training, to set up a mini-symposium in management and motivation. The objective is to keep the lectures practical and give delegates information that they can use every day, not just facts and figures.
Unlike conventional conferences, the VET Festival is staged outdoors in marquees alongside festival food and drinks and companies and organisations showcasing new technologies and products. Organisers say that this unique ‘fresh air’ festival environment creates a relaxed and fun atmosphere which is more conducive to learning and networking. There will be live music on both nights of the Festival with multiple bands contributing to the festival atmosphere, culminating in the ONE LIVE music concert on the final night.
For more information and to register for an early bird delegate discount visit www.vetfestival.co.uk