The cost of taking your pet to the vet.

As reported by DVM News Magazine this month, local newscasts have targeted veterinarians to do their i-reports, with hidden cameras and other tactics. The goal is to sensationalize the rising costs of veterinary care and to question the integrity of the veterinarians involved in the report. I understand how this can be intriguing, because many people do feel that the cost of veterinary care has risen dramatically in the last few years.

The cost of veterinary care has risen dramatically. This is basically due to the changing status of pets as family in our society. Pet owners now demand a much higher standard of care, and that comes with a price. This has turned veterinarians to invest in high tech equipment (ultrasound, digital xrays, and Laser ) that is as expensive as the human equipment, but only being able to charge a fraction of what the same service in human medicine would cost. In addition, the cost of retaining good quality health care team members has risen. Keeping a stable and competent staff is required to be able to offer the quality of animal care expected by pet owners. Veterinarians offering a lesser standard of care have to worry about legal liabilities that weren't a consideration in the past.

Not everybody is willing to pay for the high level of care offered by veterinarians today, but the largest percentage is. The bar has been raised in what the animal standard of care is, and we can't go back. The pet's owner cost of veterinary care has gone up as a result. An so has the cost of providing that care.

The Importance of the Yearly Heartworm Test

I get asked by my clients many times, why do we need to do the heartworm exam every year?. Some people may actually believe that this is some sort of scheme for us to make money running unnecessary tests. Well, this is no scheme and the annual heartworm test is really necessary. Here's an example. Recently one of our long term patients came to visit us for the annual preventative exam, parasite checks and indicated vaccines. This dedicated client had given heartworm preventative monthly for 10 years, and for 10 years the heartworm exam came back negative. This year though, the test came back positive. This dog has heartworm disease, a life threathening condition. Thanks to yearly testing, we caught it early and we'll begin treatment as soon as possible and hopefully everything will go well. Moral of the story: yearly heartworm exams are REALLY IMPORTANT!

Final Note: Heartworm preventatives are 99% effective in preventing heartworm disease and they are guaranteed by the manufacturer. The manufacturer would have payed for the heartworm treatment for this dog, but the owner bought the preventative in an online pharmacy, thus voiding any guarantee made by the pharmaceutical company. The costs incurred in treating heartworm disease will range from $600 to $800. I will talk about this on my next blog.

Opinion Veterinaria, English Edition

Opinionveterinaria.com has been live for over a year now. I've had a number of requests to take my blog in dual language. I hope you will enjoy my opinions, education and analysis. I don't blog often, but I make sure I touch on the important aspects of veterinary care. I do like to cover controversial issues and areas where not all veterinarians agree on. Hey, it's a good way to get traffic on the site. :) See you in the blogsphere.