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  Summer 2007    

EDITORIAL

By Dr. Nancy Belknap

 The Cost of Good Health

 Like myself, most of my colleagues became veterinarians because of their strong love of and commitment to animals. This driving force shapes our lives and motivates us in numerous ways. There is nothing we would not do for an animal. Our education requires at least four years of pre-veterinary courses and four years of veterinary medical school. These are years of intense training and personal sacrifice which leave many of us deeply in debt as we graduate. In fact the average debt of a new veterinary school graduate is $68,000. Just as human medical doctors, veterinarians start their careers in a financial hole.

 The costs of providing veterinary health care are not all that different than human health care. Our patients in small animal practice are valuable members of your family and you expect quality, compassionate care for them, as well you should. The importance of diagnostic tests such as blood work-ups and X-rays is even greater in our patients because they cannot communicate their symptoms to us verbally as humans do. Yet the equipment to perform these tests and the fees laboratories charge to provide results are not discounted because they are done for a pet. An X-ray machine is an X-ray machine no matter whose picture it takes and therefore costs the same for a veterinary hospital as it does for a human hospital..

 Supplies and medications for the prevention and treatment of disease in animals are most often made by the same companies supplying the human side of medicine. There are no discounts for dog or cat drugs just because they are used on a pet. Pharmaceutical companies must put their drug through the same testing and FDA scrutiny to be approved as their human counterparts. Again, we expect the same quality of care for our dogs and cats as we do for any other family member.

 The fees that a veterinary practices charges must be sufficient to pay all the required expenses of running a full-service hospital. To attract quality employees we must pay competitive wages. Our jobs are difficult and sometimes dangerous. Very few physicians or nurses deal with fear biters, uncontrolled aggressive tendencies or cases of rabies observation. Quality employees expect financial compensation for their education and commitment. This applies to veterinarians and support staff alike. Low wages lead to substandard help which directly affects the care your pet receives. Quite simply, good people need and deserve good pay and benefits.

 The cost of building a veterinary hospital, utility payments, phone and computer services, property taxes, and other fixed expenses are the same as our human counterparts, and they are not discounted because it is a pet hospital. We all want and expect a clean, comfortable, safe environment for ourselves and our pets.

 What’s the point to all this? A complete hysterectomy in a human involves the same surgical procedure as a spay in a dog or cat. The cost for a human? It varies, of course, but $10,000 to $20,000 is in the range. The cost for a dog? $60-100…an astonishing difference. Abdominal X-rays including interpretation for a human are between $200-300 compared to $50-60 for your pet. The comparisons for medical services are very much across the board.

 When a client expresses their dismay at the cost of veterinary medicine to one of our doctors or support staff, we understand and are sympathetic. We would do it all for free if we could, but certainly we can’t do it any cheaper without compromising the quality we want and you expect for your family member. In fact we are often limited in our workups by the financial constraints of owners. This can be so frustrating, yet it is a reality of our chosen field.

 I never dreamed of being rich…I dreamed of helping animals. The financial rewards of my profession have been because my husband is a prudent saver and investor. The emotional rewards of my profession are gained from my patients-some who are strays and never pay the bill, some who belong to people who never intend to pay the bill, and some who are cherished by their owners (bless you), as I do my own pets, and would do anything for them.

 Later in this newsletter is an article on pet insurance. This is a new industry in Arkansas and we lack the experience to give you much guidance. However for now I see this as a positive step to providing quality veterinary care of many of our patients. Read about it, think about it and decide for yourself.