There's An App For That: Pet Care In Your Pocket

Smartphones, when smartly employed, are a powerful but often overlooked way to enhance patient care and client perceptions. Following are 5 ways to improve patient care by leveraging clients’ smartphones.

There's an app for that!

Following are some of the many apps clients can use that will help them and their veterinary team provide better care for their pets.

The App	The Application
Evernote Google Keep	Clients can keep digital journals of the pet’s activities
BPM Tap VetCalc+	Clients can use to check their pet’s heart or respiratory rate
RVC Pet Epilepsy Tracker RVC Pet Diabetes	Both help clients keep disease logs and remind them about specific disease care (eg, injection sites and times for diabetic pets)
Medisafe Meds & Pill Reminder	Clients can track multiple medications
Vet2Pet PetDesk	Clients can use for scheduling appointments, ordering medications and pet food, and more
Pet Poison Helpline ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center	Both provide clients with information on pet toxicity and connect pet owners with a poison control center
SloPro	Allows clients to video and document pet injuries (eg, lameness) in slow motion

 

Monitoring Diseases

At-home management of certain diseases can overwhelm clients. Smartphones offer a lot of ways of easing the overload that comes with rigorously detailed treatments.

Basic applications like Evernote and Google Keep enable clients to keep digital journals of their pet’s activities that can be easily shared with their vet and remain in sync across devices.

Apps like BPM Tap or VetCalc+ have built-in tempo counters that allow clients to simply tap the screen corresponding to the heart or respiratory rate they are trying to count. These apps automatically output the rate based on the taps, and some will even store logs.

Some organizations are leading the way in disease-specific apps. The Royal Veterinary College has 2 apps worth checking out: RVC Pet Epilepsy Tracker6 and RVC Pet Diabetes.7 Both can help clients keep disease logs, access trusted reference information, and store the practice’s contact information. The diabetes app helps remind clients to rotate injection sites, provides graphical displays of glucose measurements, and even incorporates a validated tool to help track quality of life. Simply search the app store for “Royal Veterinary College.”

Helping with Medications

Clients dealing with pets on multiple medications may benefit from one of the many apps available that help organize and remind pet owners. One stand-out app, Medisafe Meds & Pill Reminder, has a visual interface that imitates a pill box that is easy to use and is particularly helpful because clients can track their own medications, other family member medications, and pet medications all in one place.

Accessing Trusted Information

Google, although the fastest way to get an answer, is not always the safe or right answer. Always look to trusted reference resources, like Pet Poison Helpline and ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. Each has their own apps, which provide information on pet toxicity.

Built-In Go-Tos

Last but not least, look no further than the built-in functionality of most modern smartphones. Lights, cameras, microphones, speakers, GPS, and accelerometers extend superpowers to those who hold these tiny pocket computers.

The camera app is a useful tool that allows clients who are describing findings. Pro-tip: Record with video rather than still photography. Even when documenting skin lesions, live video can assist the veterinary team by giving clearer context. Apps like SloPro are available to help clients document video in slow motion (eg, lameness documentation at home).

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The Dangers of Online Pet Pharmacies

Pet pharmacies are on the rise as pet parents are on the hunt for lower prices on medications. The advantage of this market is that the consumer receives a reduced price and there is the convenience of home delivery, instead of visiting their local veterinarian to fill or refill prescriptions. Their disadvantages, however, include the risk of being counterfeit, expired, or nearing expiration date and being improperly stored, which is damaging to the drug, thus reducing effectiveness and safety.

Counterfeiting in online pharma

Counterfeiting can range from brand name to generic products. These counterfeit drugs may be contaminated or worthless, thus may not help the condition or disease the medicine is intended for. They also run a great risk of being poisonous and cause dangerous side effects. They may even contain the wrong active ingredient or no active ingredient at all. Packaged in phony packaging that looks legitimate, why question it? These are the proverbial inexpensive phony Prada bags sold on street corners (of the internet).

Quality control is key

Reputable manufacturers will not and legally can not currently sell their products to online pharmacies. One of the main reasons why the veterinary pharmaceutical companies want their drugs distributed by a veterinarian and not a third party is to ensure that a proper veterinary-patient relationship is intact so that their products are not misused and/or prescribed inappropriately. In addition, quality control is maintained as the veterinarian is much more likely to store the medications properly and turn over their inventory on a regular basis to avoid buying in bulk and prescribing expired or soon to be expired medications.

Maintaining distribution of an effective, quality product is not only important for your pet, it is important for the reputation of the company for its products to be seen as safe and effective when utilized in a proper manner. It is not about maintaining higher prices for their products

How to spot the fakes

Recently, CEO of Action Packing and Design, Paul S. Rodriguez Jr, plead guilty to intentionally trafficking in counterfeit labels and packaging for anti-parasite products and veterinary medicines between July 2015 and December 2016. His operation produced counterfeit artwork for flea control products Frontline and Frontline Plus, sold by Merial. He also trafficked in counterfeit trademarked Rimadyl labels (a veterinary painkiller marketed by Zoetis).

Merial provides the following to help consumers to check whether their Frontline products are genuine:

1. Check the lot number/expiration date on the retail carton matches the lot number on the applicator package and/or the individual applicators.

2. Determine whether the instruction leaflet is included. It provides the following information: first aid statements, including emergency US or related merial branch telephone numbers; precautionary statements for humans and pets; directions for use; Frontline Plus from Merial usually has an adhesive calendar sticker with instructions for use and phone number. Treatment frequency is printed on the front panel. Visual aids and instructions are also included.

3. The pesticide is contained in an applicator package, which is child resistant.

4. Text on the package is in English only. There should be no stickers on the package. Related country’s approval numbers and phone numbers are printed on the box.

5. Once you open the applicator package, each individual applicator has a label that includes the registrant’s name “Merial;” the product name; “CAUTION”, “Keep out of reach of children”, “For animal treatment only”; Composition of active ingredient(s) (fipronil for Frontline Top Spot products; and fipronil and (S)-methoprene for Frontline Plus products). Text is in English. Note that for Merial Frontline Plus*: Applicator itself has the lot number and expiration date printed in the front.

The safest place to obtain pharmaceuticals is from your veterinarian. They are the only healthcare provider trained in the proper application and administration of animal products and is knowledgeable in the side effects and their interactions with other drugs.

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Service Dogs 101: Information on Service Dogs

What is a service dog?

Service dogs, assistance dogs, and alert dogs can help make life easier for people with disabilities.

Some of the disabilities in which dogs are trained to aid in are:

• Mobility issues (including Paralysis)

• Sensory issues (Blindness, hearing loss, etc)

• Diabetes (Diabetic Service Dogs)

• Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders (Seizure Alert Dogs)

• Autism (Autism Service Dogs)

• Stability (Wheelchair Assistance Dogs)

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD Service Dogs)

• Psychiatric Disorders (Psychiatric Service Dogs) - Trained to service those who are diagnosed with major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, social phobia, Alzheimer’s Dementia, and Schizophrenia.

What do service dogs help with?

A service dog aids individuals with limitations in their day-to-day routine in life. Some of the basic tasks they can provide are:

• Retrieve medication and other items

• Open doors and cabinets

• Pick up a phone

• Alert authorities

• Turn on and off lights

• Alert owner to seizures

• Alert owner to changes in blood sugar

• Find keys

• Take off shoe and socks

• Carry groceries or laundry

• Assist with walking

• Alert owner to sounds (doorbell, phone, etc)

• Pick up mail

• Provide companionship

Although trained to perform this basic tasks, each dog is trained specifically to fit their owner’s personal needs.

Service dogs are protected under US federal law

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an individual with a disability is entitled to a service dog to help them live their lives normally. The ADA protects disabled individuals by allowing them to bring their service dog with them to most places that the public is permitted, including restaurants, hotels, housing complexes, and even in air travel. Any dog can be a service dog and service dogs do not have to be professionally trained. The important thing is that the dog is trained to be a working animal and not a pet.

DID YOU KNOW: There are approximately 20,000 service dogs in the U.S., which includes 10,000 guide dogs.

(American Humane Association, U.S. Pet and Population Fact Sheet: source)

Identifying service dogs for the public and public knowledge

Often a service dog will be identifiable by a service dog tag or vest. This is to let the public know it is a service dog and not a pet. Airlines and other means of transport may require identification, such as ID cards/tags.

Living with your service dog

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives individuals the right to live with their service dog, regardless of any building or residences with a no pet policy. This is because a service dog is not considered a pet and is required for daily life functions/activities. Building managers or landlords may not refuse your service dog nor may they require you to submit any pet deposits or fees for your service dog. Hotels fall under the same policy.

Flying with your service dog

Same as living with your service dog, under the ADA law, airlines may not charge additional fees for having a service dog at their side, nor may they deny access.

Common service dog breeds

• Labrador Retrievers

• Golden Retrievers

• Lab/Golden Retriever crossbred dogs

• German Shepherds

Local Florida service dog training

Southeastern Guide Dogs is the standout organization as far as service dogs go:

Southeastern Guide Dogs has the distinction of being dually accredited by the two premier, global accreditation bodies: the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) and Assistance Dogs International (ADI). Founded in 1982 in Palmetto, Florida, we employ the latest in canine development and behavior research to create and nurture partnerships between visually impaired individuals and extraordinary guide dogs. Southeastern Guide Dogs serves more than 450 graduates across the U.S. and continues to place more than 100 dogs each year into careers benefiting people with visual impairments and veterans. While receiving no government funding, we provide all of our dogs and services at no cost to recipients.

Visit their website at www.guidedogs.org

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