Get started with laser therapy in two steps

At a recent CVC, Jennifer Wardlaw, DVM, MS, DACVS, shared two tips for getting started with the use of therapy laser in your veterinary practice. The first, she says, is to get the entire staff on board and get them used to the equipment. A great way to do this?

Bonus marketing tip

Looking for a way to showcase your laser therapy service to pet owners? Consider this idea from Jennifer Wardlaw, DVM, DACVS, who says the results of a laser on swollen tissue can be dramatic-”You can almost see the edema going away while you watch,” she says. If you find yourself with similar results, see if you can capture it on video, then post the video on your clinic's Facebook page. “This would be a great way to market the service to clients,” Wardlaw says.

“Give the staff free sessions. As veterinarians and veterinary technicians, our own animals usually have the diseases that need work,” Wardlaw says. “We adopt the strays and the unwanted pets, and they certainly have orthopedic problems. So get the staff on board with education and let them try it on their animals, because the proof is in the pudding.”

The second tip Wardlaw gives for getting started is to be targeted in your marketing focus. “You'll see the list from the laser sales company, that the laser can cure 30 things,” she says. “But I suggest targeting three or four areas and focus your marketing on those areas.” If you try to do it all at once you'll miss the boat she says.

What does Wardlaw focus in on? Wounds, arthritis, ligament-tendon injuries and edema. “I love to see the healing improve with the laser therapy in those different case scenarios,” she says.