How to talk to pet owners about preventive care

Disease prevention is integral to practicing high-quality veterinary medicine. We aim to maintain pet health, yet we are often faced with sick animals whose owners were unaware of the importance of ongoing preventive and wellness care. We need to focus on educating clients about the importance of disease prevention at every wellness appointment, but especially with new clients and at new pet appointments. 

Improving Health and Quality of Life

Keeping pets happy and healthy is the ultimate goal of the veterinarian and pet owner’s partnership. Talk to the owner about how preventive care improves their pet’s longevity and quality of life. Consistently remind owners that preventive wellness checks are essential to meeting this goal. Communicate that unremarkable wellness exams are a sign of success, not wasted time or money. 

Emphasize to clients that proactive disease screening is an important part of preventive care. Early diagnosis can simplify the treatment of many types of diseases, reducing costs and the long-term morbidity of many diseases. Overall, early intervention improves prognosis and the patient’s quality of life. 

Preventive Care Benefits

Another important point of discussion is that disease prevention saves money. Even simple health issues can quickly become expensive if treatment has been delayed or postponed. Meanwhile, more serious health issues and emergencies are often a major financial burden to many clients. With wellness care, we can avoid some of these emergencies.

Reducing Zoonotic Risks

Furthermore, good preventive care that includes parasite control and vaccinations such as rabies and leptospirosis can reduce the incidence of zoonosis, avoiding the associated health impacts and healthcare costs. 

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Using Examples To Support the Benefits

Choosing an example to contrast the consequences of the disease with the simplicity of prevention or early intervention is a powerful way to educate the client on the benefits of preventive care. Some good examples include parvovirus, heartworm disease, leptospirosis, chronic kidney disease, or tumors.  Picking ones that are most relevant to the individual patient create the most impact in the discussion.

If we can emphatically communicate the importance of disease prevention, we can see many more patients for regular wellness visits. This will provide us with better business, happy clients, and improved pet health.