Veterinary Voices

Layoffs at PetIQ after it closes 149 veterinary practices

Pet medication distributor PetIQ has closed 149 veterinary practices located inside stores of partners that include Walmart, Meijer and Tractor Supply Co., citing a tight labor market for veterinarians even as demand for pet care appears to ease from a pandemic peak. 

Layoffs at PetIQ after it closes 149 veterinary practices published on March 27, 2024. 

 

UK intensifies probe of veterinary competition, pricing

Authorities in the United Kingdom have raised the possibility of imposing a cap on veterinary prescription fees and forcing large companies to sell veterinary practices, in a sobering assessment of competition levels that sent one corporate consolidator's share price tumbling.

UK intensifies probe of veterinary competition, pricing published on March 13, 2024. 

 

Veterinary consolidator CVS expands further in Australia

Corporate consolidator CVS Group is rapidly growing its presence in Australia in a further sign that ownership concentration in that country's veterinary profession is moving toward the higher levels already seen in the United Kingdom and United States.

Veterinary consolidator CVS expands further in Australia published on March 20, 2024. 

 

Doubt cast over EPA clearance of Seresto flea collars

A years-long controversy over Seresto flea and tick collars for pets is flaring anew, kindled by a government watchdog report that criticizes how the collars have been regulated.

Doubt cast over EPA clearance of Seresto flea collars published on March 18, 2024. 

 

How FDA effort to limit veterinary compounding is unfolding

So far, the agency is rejecting most requests for compounded office stock medications made from "bulk substances."  

How FDA effort to limit veterinary compounding is unfolding published on March 12, 2024. 

Puerto Rico's debut veterinary school elicits tepid reception

Ana G. Méndez University's recent approval by U.S. accreditors to establish Puerto Rico's first veterinary school is drawing a mixed response within the profession. Set to open in August, the program is intended to meet the need for more veterinarians both on the island and worldwide, according to Dr. Shaiana M. Negrón Pagán, dean of the program.

Puerto Rico's debut veterinary school elicits tepid reception published on March 7, 2024.

Visits to veterinarians decline as pet boom fades

Dr. Trae Cutchin has just done something he would not have anticipated doing a few years back when the so-called pandemic pet boom was stretching veterinary teams to the limit.

Visits to veterinarians decline as pet boom fades published on March 5, 2024. 

 

 

Push for midlevel role in veterinary medicine expands

Colorado and Florida have emerged as battlefronts in the drive to create a veterinary midlevel practitioner role, a position comparable to that of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant in human medicine.

Push for midlevel role in veterinary medicine expands published on Feb. 28, 2024.

Are pets ‘probiotics' for humans?

Most people know that pets hold a special place in many a human heart, providing a source of comfort and bolstering emotional well-being. Fewer might be aware that pets also can improve the composition of our gut flora, potentially bringing a host of unique health benefits to owners — and perhaps even to veterinary professionals.

Are pets ‘probiotics' for humans? published on Feb. 15, 2024.

Surge of mysterious respiratory illnesses in dogs abates

As a wave of severe respiratory infections among pet dogs in the United States captured widespread media attention in late November, many worried the worst was ahead. Traveling, boarding and congregating associated with the December holidays would, the thinking went, drive an even greater spike in cases.

Surge of mysterious respiratory illnesses in dogs abates published on Feb. 20, 2024.