Commit to compliance

Tampa, Fla.-According to Dr. Robin Downing, of the Windsor Veterinary Clinic, Windsor, Colo., compliance is a quality of care and a quality of life issue. When viewed in this context, being an advocate for a pet that cannot advocate for itself is a "no brainer."

"Pet owners want our guidance, direction and reinforcement," says Downing. "They are reminding us of what we should already know-that our role and moral imperative is to advocate on behalf of a being who cannot advocate for itself. It's what the pet needs and deserves."

Downing brought her message to attendees at the 71st American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Conference here.

"Quality of Life/Quality of Care-A View from the Trenches" was sponsored by Hill's. The company, with AAHA, sponsored a comprehensive compliance study that showed millions of cats and dogs are not in compliance with what is currently accepted as the best wellness care and treatment of medical problems.

Downing outlined eight steps to help practitioners commit to compliance.

• Step 1. Begin at the Beginning

Nothing leads to failure faster than the lack of a plan, according to Downing. Establish a set of action steps that move toward your goal of greater compliance one victory at a time, she says. Remember, 80 percent of owners think of their pets as children.

• Step 2. Make a Decision and Act on It!

Compliance will not happen unless or until you as the leader decide that increasing compliance is important. In order to achieve this end, you must first believe that improving performance in this area is important. Without a commitment to good medicine, you cannot deliver recommendations with conviction.

Downing counsels to make a decision to practice "real" medicine, to advocate on behalf of the pet. "Remember, you can practice quality medicine or you can practice low cost medicine, but you can't have it both ways."

• Step 3. Train, Train, Train

Downing says every member of the veterinary healthcare team must be able to answer the question, "How do we do things here?"

The only way that can happen is if every member of the team is taught to respond to the everyday events in practice in a consistent manner. Clear protocols and procedures greatly facilitate the consistent delivery of a "wow" experience for the client. An efficient and effective recheck, recall and reminder system ensures necessary treatments, medications and other medical management doesn't fall through the cracks. (For help, log onto vna.hillsvet.com)

• Step 4. Train Some More

Internal communication is nearly as important as communicating to the client, says Downing.

Additionally, communication with clients must be effective with messages delivered with conviction. What are the key messages communicated to clients in your practice?

Take the time to develop specific protocols for handling client communications and then invest in your team with training in the specifics of communication.

"You cannot over-train in communication," says Downing.

• Step 5. Get Over Your Reluctance to Ask People for Money.

Fewer than 10 percent of clients refuse recommended health care for their pets based on cost. That means 90 percent want the best health care for their pets.

• Step 6. Track Compliance

Downing suggests using your computer to track compliance. "What gets measured gets done," she says. "What gets measured gets noticed and it stays 'front of mind.' "

Make tracking compliance as easy as you can, or it will be tempting to fall back into old habits.

• Step 7. Make Compliance Fun and Get Everyone Involved.

One example of a simple compliance enhancer is the "first of the month courtesy Heartgard call" that happens in Downing's practice.

"Those clients who say 'yes' to a call hear from one of my team members within a day or two of the first of every month to remind them to give their Heartgard. Already we are seeing positive results-fewer situations where the client has several doses left when they should be refilling the prescription. You can do the same thing with ongoing, chronic use medications. Have your computer generate a list of those people whose prescriptions should run out during a given week. This is an easy, non-invasive way to help clients remember to give medication that improves the quality of life of that pet."

• Step 8. Commit to Advocacy

Downing says the veterinarian and his/her team have more influence than they realize over the compliance levels your practice can achieve. All efforts a team puts forth to improve compliance will be time and energy well spent, according to Downing.