Clinics can now sign up for a new program from the Partnership for Preventive Pet Healthcare.

The Partnership officially launched its pilot program dubbed "The Opportunity" the week of March 19.

What exactly is The Opportunity?

The Opportunity is a chance to close the gap of understanding between pet owner and veterinary professionals by working to improve pet owner understanding of preventive healthcare. It is a free program designed to improve the health of pets by emphasizing the importance of preventive pet care.

The program consists of staff and client surveys that identify gaps of understanding between client and veterinary professional.

By exploring the differences in understanding, the Partnership says it hopes that practices can work to better communicate to pet owners the benefits of preventive healthcare, thereby bringing more pets back into practices.

The Partnership will enroll 100 practices in a pilot program for The Opportunity, beginning in March.

"We don’t want to challenge veterinarians – we want to give them the opportunity to improve what they are already doing," said Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA and chairman for the Partnership.

Early results showed a disconnect between veterinary services performed and their understood value by the client.

To participate, clinics must do the following:

Participation in the program is free and voluntary.

As of the March AAHA Yearly Conference in Denver, Colo., DeHaven said 60 practices had already signed up for pilot program.

Pilot program surveys will close in mid-May, and individual practice results will become available at the end of May. The Partnership will ask for feedback on clinic experiences in early June.