CAPC-Bayer study reveals veterinary practice opportunities via parasite education and testing

At the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) Conference in Orlando, Fla., this week, the Companion Animal Parasite Council(CAPC), in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare Animal Health, released its findings on its Connecting with Today’s Clients (CTC): The Importance of Local, Timely Parasite Information Study.

"The CTC Study’s primary objective was to gather definitive data from pet owners, veterinary technicians and veterinarians that demonstrated practices can win by focusing on parasite prevention and education," said Christopher Carpenter, DVM, MBA, executive director of CAPC.

The overall finding of the study is that local, timely parasite testing and education will, in fact, boost veterinary clinic visits which, in turn, generate revenue and offer opportunities to develop stronger relationships with clients.

The study, which occurred via an online nationally-representative survey of 2,000 pet owners, 400 veterinarians, practice owners and decision makers, and 300 veterinary technicians, found that 92% of veterinarians agree their clients would more likely seek out their services if they were aware of parasite risks in their area. Additionally, 78% of pet owners consider their veterinarians to be their primary source of parasite information, and 66% want that information immediately including 55% who want to be notified by phone.

Ninety percent of pet owners surveyed also said they want their veterinarians to provide them with local parasite prevalence data. When armed with this information, 89% of pet owners are likely to make an appointment with their veterinarian.

"The CTC Study provides veterinarians with a clear call-to-action, which is to provide their clients with local parasite prevalence data," said Cristiano von Simson, DVM, MBA, director, Veterinary Technical Services Bayer HealthCare LLC Animal Health. "Pet owners will see the value in that information and, in turn, take their pets to their local clinics—increasing revenue for the veterinary profession and helping their pets stay healthy. So it’s a win-win!"

The next step for veterinary practices is to put these findings into practice. To that end, CAPC has created easy-to-use tools that will help ensure their practices become more proactive in communicating with clients about the threat of parasitic activity in their area.

Resources that will be made available at no charge to veterinarians include monthly-updated Parasite Prevalence maps, educational webinars, and the CTC Study key findings video. According to Dr. Carpenter, CAPC believes veterinary practices will find these resources valuable because, while the study found 68% of veterinarians do not currently track positive parasite cases in their area, a nearly equal number—67%—indicated they were interested in doing so.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The Three Is Key risk assessment and recommendations page provides further information on parasite prevention and detection.

Infographic provided by CAPC.

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