Animal Health Solution - a Covetrus magazine for veterinary professionals
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1505300
17 Q3 2023 | Animal Health Solutions You see the dog's discomfort when you walk into the exam room. Sammy has reddish-brown stains on his fur from excessive licking, bald spots, and a red belly. The client pleads, "Sammy is scratching 24/7. Can you give him a shot to make it go away?" Successful treatment of skin diseases may require long-term or lifelong management and are frequently a matter of effective control rather than cure, according the Merck Veterinary Manual. 1 You may educate clients about many factors to manage skin diseases, including progress exams, recurring diagnostic tests, long-term drugs, diets, supplements, and/or shampoos. Use eight strategies to set client expectations and ensure ongoing treatments: Set expectations on the day of diagnosis When explaining skin diagnoses, tell clients the next steps in ongoing treatments. For example, Dr. Melissa Eisenschenk, DACVD, of Pet Dermatology Clinic in Maple Grove, Minn., follows a protocol for Apoquel ® monitoring in dogs that are on once daily dosing. She checks a CBC/Chem6 before staring Apoquel, in three months, and then annually. 2 Explain the need for recurring tests To avoid complaints of "No one told me," discuss future drug-monitoring tests with written and verbal communication. Share the "why" behind recurring tests when giving medication instructions. SAY THIS: "To monitor how your dog reacts to this drug throughout treatment, we need to perform a blood test today before starting the medication, in three months, and then annually. This test will identify any changes and let us adjust dosages or medications if needed. Recurring tests let us assess correct dosages over the course of treatment. I'm also giving you a client information sheet with more information. What questions can I answer about this medication?" Use confident, clear words such as "need" instead of the wiggle word of "recommend." The open- ended question of "What questions can I answer?" invites a discussion compared to the yes-or-no response to "Do you have questions?" Never say you want to "recheck" blood work because pet owners won't see value or comply. Explain that this medication requires recurring drug-monitoring tests, which communicates testing is medically necessary. Remind clients that even if pets are responding well to treatments, they need future exams and lab tests for reassessment and continued treatment.