Fear Free veterinary practice certification to launch in April 2018

Fear Free practice certification will be offered to qualifying veterinary hospitals starting in April 2018, according to a release from the Fear Free organization. Veterinarians employed by Ceva Animal Health, maker of Feliway and Adaptil pheremone product lines, will be conducting onsite visits to determine if practices meet certification requirements.

“Fear Free is excited to leverage Ceva's existing talent of highly qualified, educated and passionate veterinarians for practice certification,” says Marty Becker, DVM, founder of the Fear Free program. “This collaboration will allow Fear Free to offer a larger number of certification visits with a highly trained team at affordable rates to hospitals.”

More than 20,000 veterinary professionals have enrolled so far in the Fear Free training and certification program for individuals-designed to help veterinarians and team members reduce fear, anxiety and stress in veterinary patients-since it launched in 2016, organizers say, and interest in a practice-level certification has been high.

Fear Free leaders say practices that become certified will have successfully implemented Fear Free into all aspects of their business, from culture and leadership to client education, staff training, and facility and patient experience, which will be evaluated during an onsite visit.

Practice certification will be conducted by Ceva veterinarians, who in their capacity as Fear Free consultants “are committed to visiting the practices as representatives of Fear Free and to conduct thorough and impartial certifications,” the Fear Free release states. “Products will not to be mentioned unless they are part of an established Fear Free Practice standard.”

“The Ceva veterinarians are committed to becoming fully immersed in Fear Free, and will receive extensive training prior to practice certification launching,” Dr. Becker says. “All certifying veterinarians will be Level 1 and Level 2 certified and will have taken all of Fear Free's available CE.”

“Ceva is proud to be an inaugural sponsor of Fear Free and believes strongly in the program and its mission,” says CEO Craig Wallace. “Our veterinary services team and territory managers know firsthand how adoption of Fear Free protocols improves the experience of the pet, the pet owner, and even hospital staff, leading to more frequent and more in-depth appointments. We look forward to helping veterinary hospitals become certified by embracing the Fear Free approach, which benefits all involved.”

The Fear Free certification program is based on the input of a 160-member advisory panel consisting of board-certified veterinary behaviorists, veterinary practice management experts and other leaders in the field, the release states. Veterinary professionals can learn more about Fear Free certification by visiting dvm360.com/fearfreecert.