Vets don’t communicate the importance of preventive care.

From the data it is clear that veterinarians have not been communicating to pet owners the importance of regular office visits as a way to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease early.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) published results of their findings in 2011 regarding veterinary preventive care and, for the first time, issued recommended preventive care guidelines for canines and felines.  Since the study was published, veterinarians are starting to focus more on preventive care as a way to improve pet health and outcomes.

The AVMA-AAHA study found that while the number of pet owners increased 36% between 1996-2006, from 2000-2009, the average number of patients seen each week by veterinarians fell by 13%. Pet owners are not understanding the importance of preventive care and instead view veterinary visits as a way to vaccinate their pets and treat overt disease, not prevent or diagnose disease early.

Veterinarians must inform pet owners that early diagnosis and treatment can slow the progression of disease. In an effort to emphasize the importance of prevention in veterinary medicine, the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium recently recommended a new focus on prevention in its training curriculum.

Geriatric screening using radiography and ultrasound plays an important role in early diagnosis in canines and felines, such as detecting and diagnosing cancer affecting abdominal and other soft tissue organs, heart, liver, and kidney disease, and urinary bladder disease.

VICSD and Vetology’s advanced technology and expert radiologists ensure the best care for patients. As more veterinarians communicate the importance of prevention to pet owners, VICSD is pleased to be a partner in prevention.