Volume 2 Issue 4

Focus On:

Feature Interview: Shirley Lockhart, Business Manager for the Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware

In a recent issue, we reported on data collected by the National Commission of Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) showing that veterinarians are more efficient and earn significantly more money when they hire practice managers. Shirley Lockhart, business manager the Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware, a referral-only practice in Wilmington, has the personal experience to back the stats: “By allowing the doctors to be doctors you allow them to have more revenue-generating time,” she says. “It's my job to make sure they have properly trained technicians to support them and to assure that payroll is in the bank. That allows them to focus on medicine.”

Shirley, who holds an M.B.A. degree, started with the practice in 1999 and has guided the practice to behave like the business it is. With 15 full- and part-time veterinarians practicing eight medical specialties and 35 technicians and other staff, that's not a luxury. “When we implemented our first five-year strategic plan, it was agonizing for the doctors. There had never been a formal plan previously. Vets don't make good managers because they are very sensitive people,” she remarks, “or they wouldn't be in this profession. I'm not in sensitive but I am trained to do this.”

Today, every aspect of the practice's growth, from adding new veterinary specialties through purchasing equipment to building a soon-needed addition, is on a timeline, in the plan. Under Shirley's guidance, the practice also has a comprehensive marketing plan and program that includes graphic branding, a Web site, brochures for referring veterinarians and their clients, magazine advertising and publicity.”

Shirley continues, “We have two primary customers: the referring vet and their clients. We're very focused on customer satisfaction. We say that the front desk is the heart of our practice and the back is our pulse. If our referring veterinarian's clients aren't handled properly up front they never make it to the back and therefore the revenue doesn't come through the door.” To ensure the kind of service that delights, Shirley has two supervisors on her staff, one focused on the front of the house, and one on the back.

What role does a compounding pharmacy play in a practice like this one: “We use compounding a lot. I suppose we could find a way to live without it but we certainly wouldn't want to. We'd have to find another way to get the same results,” she offers. “You want a pleasant person on the phone, someone who understands what you're asking for and can deliver the goods in an efficient way. That's why we use Wedgewood most of the time. When we need something urgently, while a client is in our office, we use a little drug store up the street that does some compounding.”

We asked Shirley if she has advice for her peers: “Yes,” she says without hesitation, “the doctors in veterinary medicine need to rely on their managers and give them the opportunity to manage. It would make everyone's lives so much easier.”

Offer for Free Shipping for Online Orders Extended!

My Wedgewood Pharmacy is your new tool to control costs and to improve the efficiency of your practice. Now you can order office-delivered custom medications, search for preparations and prices and review your practice's order history — 24 hours a day. We want you to see just how useful this new tool can be so there's no shipping charge for orders you place online through midnight Eastern Time on May 31, 2007.

As always, Wedgewood is committed to the highest standards of quality and ethics so access to this site is restricted to prescribers whose licenses have been verified and who have received a secure user ID and password from Wedgewood. Call 888.910.2211 toll free to obtain your access credentials.

In the News

Ninth State Includes Pets and Service Animals in Disaster Plans

In June, Illinois becomes the ninth U.S. state to have a law mandating emergency operations plans prepared by any political subdivision in the state to include “plans that take into account the needs of those individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. According to dvm magazine, this type of legislation represents states “adjusting to prevent what happened during Hurricane Katrina: thousands of pets and owners [were] separated because many federal and state laws did not include arrangements for owners and their animals.” The other states to have passed similar laws include California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New jersey, New York and Vermont. Six other states have related resolutions on record or pending legislation.

Veterinary Practice Manager Certification Program is Accredited

The Veterinary Hospital Managers Association's Certified Veterinary Practice Manager certification program has been accredited through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, the accreditation commission of the National Organization for Competency Assurance. To earn accreditation, the CVPM program underwent intensive review demonstrating compliance with the strict standards set by NCCA for verifying professional competency. This evaluation included every aspect of the CVPM certification program, including: administrative procedures, job analysis, test development, test security, standard setting, eligibility criteria, board responsibilities, ongoing review of all policies and procedures, and verification of reliability and validity of the credential.

Fat: Fry It or Fly It?

It really does take a rocket scientist to coax jet fuel out of animal fat. Not to mention a chemical and biomolecular engineer as well as a biological and agricultural engineer.

New biofuels technology developed by this diverse set of North Carolina State University engineers has the potential to turn virtually any fat source – vegetable oils, oils from animal fat and even oils from algae – into fuel to power jet airplanes. The technology – called Centia™ also can be used to make additives for cold-weather biodiesel fuels and holds the potential to fuel automobiles that currently run on gasoline. Read the article >>

News and Notes

The Facts About Your Access to Compounded Medications

In the news and professional journals, you're about as likely to read urban myths as you are the truth about your right to use compounded preparations. Most articles that purport to be giving “expert” advice will steer you wrong because they rely on “guidance” from the FDA that does not have the force of law. And, as recently as August 2006, a Federal Court struck down the key provisions of this "guidance!”

In this court decision, Medical Center vs Gonzales, the judge ruled that compounding custom prescriptions from bulk ingredients based on a prescription is legal and not under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (The FDA had argued that compounded medications are "new unapproved drugs" and that the agency should therefore have jurisdiction over compounding pharmacies.)

In his opinion, the judge wrote that "compound drugs are implicitly exempt from the new drug definitions contained in" FDA regulations and that the FDA had overstepped its authority by attempting to inspect the records of pharmacists who operate legally according to their state regulations. Of the FDA argument that it should regulate compounding pharmacists, Junell wrote “If compounded drugs were required to undergo the new drug approval process, the result would be that patients needing individually tailored prescriptions would not be able to receive the necessary medication due to the cost and time associated with obtaining approval. It is in the best interest of public health to recognize an exemption for compounded drugs that are created based on a prescription written for an individual patient by a licensed practitioner.”

For accurate information about compounding, visit www.compoundingfacts.org, a Web site dedicated to correcting misinformation like this about the practice of pharmacy compounding.

What's your Story?

Do you have an interesting story about the use of compounded medications in your practice? If you do, let us know! If we publish your story in an upcoming edition of this newsletter, we'll donate $100 in your name to any equine-related non-profit program you designate. If you'd like to submit or discuss a story, please send an E-mail to hflitcraft@WedgewoodPharmacy.com.

This newsletter is published every month by Wedgewood Pharmacy, one of the nation's largest veterinary compounding pharmacies.

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Upcoming Events

Petfood Forum 2007, April 16 – 18, Hyatt Regency O'Hare

CVC East, April 27 – 30, Baltimore Convention Center

The American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Annual Symposium, April 27 – 29, Hilton Long Beach

American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine annual forum, May 6 – 9, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson , AZ

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Featured Drug Monograph

Pimobendan for Veterinary Use

Pimobendan is a relatively new and unique inodilator (inotropic, mixed vasodilator). Its positive inotropic actions are caused by both inhibition of phosphodiesterase III and increased sensitization of myocardial contractile proteins to calcium. Digoxin and other inotropic drugs increase cardiac contractility by actually increasing the amount of intracellular calcium. Pimobendan improves systolic efficiency without the negative pathway of increasing intracellular calcium. Read the entire monograph. >>

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