Surgery Training Manual 2017
Contents Part 1 Plan content and benefits: PHC team and Key Contacts 3 What is the Pet Health Club? 4 Plan Contents Core Elements 5 PHC Recommended Flea and Worming Products 6 Rabbit recommended treatment protocol 7 Plan Content Extra Benefits 8 20% discount PHC Lifetime medications list 11 Weight Bands and Monthly Costs 12 Why offer a Pet Health Club for pets? 13 Benefits to the Pet 14 Benefits to the Owner 15 Benefits to the Surgery 17 Client Charter 18 The Competition 19 Part 2- Bringing the plan to life in your surgery: So how do you do that? 21 When to talk to clients about the PHC 22 Promoting the PHC in your surgery 24 Marketing Materials 25 Part 3- Plan set up process and the Animal Health Care portal: Application process 32 Animal Health Care 33 Plan Codes 35 Handy Hints for making PHC a success in your surgery 34 2
PHC Team and Key Contacts Amy Gutteridge RVN- Pet Health Club Manager Amy joined the business in February. She is an ex vet nurse and has more recently worked in the field of pet health plans and operations within a national group of veterinary practices. Amy manages the Pet Health Club and is responsible for the co-ordination of plan launches, support and plan development. Amy can be contacted via email- agutteridge@independentvetcare.co.uk or Telephone- 07701 289139 Tula Penfold- Pet Health Club Trainer Tula joined the team in March, coming from Bath Veterinary Group where she worked as a senior receptionist. Previously Tula was a design and technology teacher in secondary schools. Tula will be assisting Amy with PHC launches, training and helping surgeries to add & maintain pets on the PHC. Tula can be contacted via email- tpenfold@independentvetcare.co.uk or Telephone-07739 363913 Also the website www.thepethealthclub.co.uk. It provides a contact for client enquiries via the PHC website. Contact can be via email- info@thepethealthclub.co.uk or Telephone- 01225 489821 Hazel Willmott- Marketing Executive For help getting PHC on to your Facebook page please contact Hazelhwillmott@independentvectare.co.uk or 01225 481520 and select the marketing extension Neil Wang-Marketing Executive For help with content and guidance on your website hwang@independentvetcare.co.uk 01225 481520 and select the marketing extension For direct debit or AHC Portal enquires please contact - info@animal-healthcare.co.uk or call 0800 587 0068 3
What is the Pet Health Club? The Pet Health Club is a health plan for pets that includes all of their preventative health requirement each year This offers the pet the Gold Standard of preventative health care It offers this at discounted rates to clients and allows them to spread the cost throughout the year, allowing them to budget for their pets preventative health It is available for Dogs, Cats and Rabbits The plan was launched as a monthly direct debit plan but due to demand we now have the option for annual payment The plan IS NOT an insurance policy and should not be considered as an alternative or replacement for pet insurance, though it does work well alongside insurance as it covers the pets health with preventative health care which insurance does not (N.B-. This must be highlighted to clients when they are signing up to the plan) 4
Plan Content - Core Elements Cats & Dogs The Core elements of preventative treatment included in the PHC are: Annual Booster Vaccination or Primary vaccination course (as appropriate) Annual Kennel Cough Vaccination for dogs 12 months worming treatment per plan year (as per the Clinical Board recommended protocol-see overleaf) 12 months flea treatment per plan year (as per the Clinical Board recommended protocol-see overleaf) 6 Month Health check with a vet This is usually carried out 6 months after booster/primary vaccination but it can be utilised at any point to meet the needs of the pet. E.g. If the pet joins the plan when not due a booster but requires a health check so that flea/worm treatments can be dispensed. Annual urine sample This is an in-house dipstick and specific gravity test. The sample must be a free flow sample for dogs or Katkor collected sample for cats, Cystocentisis or catheterisation ARE NOT included. The sample can be tested at any point during the plan year however, we would suggest it is used as part of the 6 month health check 5
PHC Recommended Flea and Worming Products PHC Dog Products Option 1: (monthly) + (every 6 months) + Seresto* Option 2: (Quarterly) + Non-chewy (Monthly)** PHC Cat Products or Monthly + Every 6 months Quarterly + Quarterly Alternative for Advocate surgeries * Seresto is optional for tick cover and not included in the PHC (practices may choose to offer this at 20% discount) ** Monthly Milbemycin for dogs is recommended for the prevention of lungworm. 6
Rabbit Recommended Treatment Protocol For rabbits we would suggest E.Cunniculi treatment/prevention in place of worming treatment. You can decide your preferred protocol at a surgery level. The most commonly used protocols are: A 1 month treatment with Lapizole or Panacur at the beginning of the rabbits ownership then Bi-annual treating with a 7 day course thereafter. Some clinicians feel a month long treatment initially removes any E.Cunniculi parasites Bi-annual 7 day course (as some clinicians feel that this keeps the E.Cunniculli at a reasonable level as you can never truly eradicate it) Or In place of flea treatment Rearguard should be used for fly strike protection. 1 per plan year is included We would advise that the rabbit attend the surgery as a day patient for a spa day where the rabbit receives a full examination (6-month health check) and has nails clipped etc as required. This is so that the rabbit can be properly restrained for the application and can dry fully before being returned to his/her owner. Rabbits can use the 25% (cost price) discount on complete rabbit diets such as Burgess Excel or Supreme science and also timothy hay to promote better nutrition for dental and digestive health. Or + 7
Plan Contents- Extra Benefits 50% off first bag of non-prescription food (1 per plan) Available on Hills, Royal Canin or My Family vet lifestage diets Only available on bags up to a 4 kg bag size Cost price (25% discount) non-prescription food Available on Hills, Royal Canin and My Family Vets lifestage diets Applies to any size bag or wet food Clients can receive this discount but also receive stamps on their Royal Canin and Hills loyalty cards (buy so many bags get one free) My Family Vets range is an IVC own brand food that is similar to that of James Wellbeloved and Arden Grange. In the market it sits just below Royal Canin and Hills but above Supermarket brands The My Family Vets range of food is only available from My Family Vets accredited surgeries, so it may help to bond clients to your surgery Rabbit food Burgess Excel, Supreme Selective, Timothy Hay, Oxbow or selective critical care sachets 25% discount on prescription diet food Can be any size bags or wet foods. Can run in conjunction with Royal Canin and Hills loyalty cards. A great discount to mention to any client who's pet is on Satiety, Renal, Urinary etc 8
Plan Content-Extra Benefits continued 20% off neutering (1 per plan) This discount can be applied to all forms of neutering including laparoscopic speys. 10% off dentistry This is off any dental treatment- dental descale & polish, extractions. This discount can be given as many times as required during the lifetime of the plan. This can be great for rabbits that have to have regular dental (The 10% should be off the whole treatment so where a GA is required the full treatment should be discounted). 10% off pet passports This discount is off the administration fees and passport paperwork costs. 10% discount on pet shop sales This can be applied to all items that are sold to clients that are not POM-V, Gastro Pro, toys, treats, collars, any foods that aren t Royal Canin, Hills or My Family Vet (or those listed for Rabbits). 10% discount on geriatric screening This applies to in-house and Idexx blood, urine screening and blood pressure monitoring. Free nail clips & Anal gland expression with a nurse These can be as often as the client would like with a nurse (within reason). If no nurse appointments are available then the bare minimum the client should receive is two nail clips with the vet at time of booster, and 6 month health check. 9
Plan Content-Extra Benefits continued 20% off Selected lifetime medications Applies to a prescribed list of medications. The list is on the next page, but it is also available to download from Moonfruit website (contact Marketing to get a log on for this) Clients must receive this discount every time they receive these medications as a long term medication For un-insured clients this could save them a lot of money 100% off insurance administration fee Some surgeries charge clients for processing insurance claims, if the client is on the PHC we waive this fee Free microchip implant or a 10 voucher (1 per plan) If the pet is already microchipped then you can issue them a 10 voucher Guidance of how to complete the voucher: Voucher number animal account number Staff signature your signature Vouchers only redeemable at the name of your surgery or group Client surname self explanatory! Voucher expiry date one year from date of issue 10
20% discount PHC Lifetime Medication List The above list was correct as of May 2017 for the most up to date list visit http://ivcwebresource.moonfruit.com/ 11
Weight Bands & Monthly Costs For an adult dog this is their current weight. For puppies it is their estimated adult weight (E.g. A Labrador puppies adult weight is likely to be around 30kg so would be a large dog) (N.B. If the animals weight changes or we have added them into the wrong category a message can be sent to Animal Healthcare via the portal to get this corrected and the client sent a letter informing them of the change). Households with multiple pets get 1 off any additional pets that are signed up to the plan. E.g. 3 cats- 1 st pays 12.50 per month the other 2 pay 11.50 a month. Monthly Payments Rabbit 7.80 Cat 12.50 Small Dog (under 10kg) 12.50 Medium Dog (10-25kg) 13.50 Large Dog (25-40kg) 15.50 Giant Dog (over 40kg) 20.00 12
Why offer a Pet Health Club for pets? We offer a Pet Health Club because we feel it is the right thing to do as it carries benefits for pets, owners and surgeries alike. 13
Benefits to the pet: Improved compliance with preventative care meaning healthier pets As is human nature, clients that have paid for treatment are more likely to collect or bring the pet in for them leading to better compliance Vaccinations against potentially fatal diseases The more animals that are vaccinated the less preventable disease we see Regular flea treatment As we know flea treatments treat so much more these days leading to a healthier happier pet. Regular worming treatment Not only keeping the pet healthy but preventing illness in their humans Extra health checks included Patients make more visits to the surgery aiding early diagnosis and treatment of illnesses should they arise 14
Benefits to the owner Peace of mind that their pet will receive all of the preventative healthcare to keep him/her happy and healthy The majority of pet owners class their animal as one of the family and therefore want them to have the very best preventative healthcare. The Pet Health Club is a great vehicle for this. Monthly direct debits spread the cost, offering an affordable solution This helps clients budget for their pets preventative health care across the year Unique discounts Core elements of the plan are highly discounted and in addition the client can add to this by utilising extra benefits i.e.: 25% off food 20% off life time meds 10% off pet shop items Regular treatment reminders offer the convenience of not having to remember/record when their pets next treatment is due Text messages sent to remind client to apply/collect treatments and also to remind them of their next appointment (This is only available if the surgery is on Jupiter and using of I-Recall) 15
Benefits to the owner- continued Using their extra benefits means the client can customise the plan to the needs of their pet Senior pets urine sample, discount off life time medications, geriatric screening, 50% off first bag of food, discounted food life stage and prescription types, discount off dentals, 100% off direct claim insurance administration fee Puppies & Kittens discounted neutering, 50% off first bag of food, discounted food, discounted pet passports, 100% off direct claim insurance administration fee, general discount on shop items When discussing PHC with clients, try to mention what would be most relevant for their pet to aid them in personalising the plan. 16
Benefits to the surgery Better client relationships as the pet and owner visits the surgery more often meaning the clients become bonded to your surgery The PHC will help build relationships and bond clients as clients on the plan make more trips to the surgery. Opportunity to re-focus pet healthcare spend Clients on the PHC are receiving the most relevant flea and worm treatments so are unlikely to purchase less effective treatments (e.g. Bob Martins) Stable and regular income stream PHC generates a regular amount of income to the surgery. Increased revenue We tend to see an increase of revenue from PHC clients as they make more trips into the surgery and if we are helping them to utilise their benefits correctly they may well buy their pet food etc from us instead of pet shops. Health plans raise the awareness of the importance of preventative healthcare Its always good to talk to our clients about preventative healthcare and wellbeing. Keeping pets healthy and happy is what we aim for. 17
This is a poster board that your surgery will have received when you joined IVC. In becoming part of IVC this is the Client Charter that you should strive to achieve. The points listed here were established by talking to clients about what they would like when choosing and visiting a vets. You probably do a number of the points listed already, however we must aim to always achieve every point with every client, so that they all leave happy and satisfied with their visit to your surgery/group. Regarding the final comment about feedback, every client that visits your surgery for a routine appointment e.g.. first consultation, vaccination, booster or 6m PHC health check will receive a text with the IVC client survey link asking for their feedback on their routine appointment.
The Competition Local Independent Vets There is lots of competition in the market place and the PHC is a vehicle for us to use to build a bonded client base for our surgeries 20% discount on lifetime medications makes our surgeries more likely to be able to compete with online pharmacies Clients that are actively engaged in the Pet Heath Club are far less likely to have their heads turned by one off low cost vaccination offers etc. 19
PHC Training Part 2 Bringing PHC to life in your surgery
Bringing PHC to life in your surgery So how do you do that? Team Knowledge- Make sure the whole team knows what is included in the PHC and why you offer it Every team member should have had PHC training Use this document to help, support and guide staff of how to make the most of PHC in your surgery Communications- Make conversations about PHC a normal part of your day. The more you discuss Health Plans the easier it becomes For example: Make it second nature to mention it to clients who are arriving for a booster, oh have you heard about our PHC? The boosters are all included offer the client a leaflet to read whilst they wait or if you have time talk them through it a little more. Then when the client goes through to the vet, they mention oh I see you re not on our PHC, it includes all the flea and worming products too to which the Client says oh yes your colleague on reception mentioned that too. By now the seed has been sown in the clients mind and when they get back to reception they say So please tell me more or so how do I sign up to the PHC? 21
So how do you do that? continued When to talk to clients about the PHC Price enquiries on the phone (.well the cheapest price would be to join the PHC. ) When clients call to book appointments When clients visit with a new pet (life time savings by having the PHC) When a client is in for pre op neutering checks or neutering admit appointments (20% discount off neutering) When a client brings in their pet for boosters (included in the PHC) When a client is picking up flea and wormers (included in the PHC) When a client regularly visits for nail clips/ expressing anal glands (included in the PHC) When clients visit with their pets for 6 monthly prescription checks (use the 6m Health check instead) When clients are collecting life time medications (20% off listed life time medications) Savings- Tell clients how much they have saved by being on the plan, remember its not selling anything its promoting an amazing offer to them Every time that a PHC client receives any PHC treatment or medication, or discount, say out loud to the client By being on the PHC you saved yourself or these items are free and all included in your PHC. Its amazing how by saying this other clients waiting in reception hear this and start to ask questions. 22
So how do you do that? continued Marketing- Make sure POS is clearly displayed and how about putting something on your Facebook page? On the next few pages are a number of items that are available to purchase from Think Marketing. Your surgery will have been provided with a lot of these items as a launch pack. On Facebook there is a marketing group and a PHC Champions group where you can post questions and share good practice and also share posts and ideas. Ensure that you have leaflets in all waiting areas, reception desks, posters on display in reception and consult rooms IVC Marketing Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/ivcmarketing/ PHC Champions https://www.facebook.com/groups/phcchampions/ The marketing team at IVC can also help you with any marketing questions, so please contact us on 01225 481520 ext 4 Use the Poster (it is information heavy, but works well in a consult room for the vets to use it for reference). Saving guide posters great for a reception display. You need to fill in the amounts for the items and then work out how much the clients will save. There are posters for each size animal, you don t have to use all of them you could just choose cat and medium dog or whatever is more appropriate to your surgery. You can of course make your own displays to promote the PHC in surgery. Please take pictures of all displays and let us have a look, it s always great to see lovely examples to share as good practice with other practices. Please share these on Facebook groups PHC Champions page and IVC Marketing Group. The marketing items are available to purchase from Think Marketing (see the list for product names on page 30)
Promoting the PHC in your surgery: LEAFLETS SURGERY WEBSITE WAITING ROOM DISPLAYS Thepethealthclub.co.uk ON HOLD TELEPHONE MESSAGE There are many ways of promoting the PHC within your surgery, Have you got a Facebook page for your surgery? IVC marketing team produce a range of resources that you can utilise on your own surgeries Facebook page, to help promote the PHC. Twitter and Instagram are other forms of social media that can be used in a similar way to Facebook Make sure the leaflets are visible and easily accessible to clients and staff Word of mouth is a very important part of promoting the PHC a positive experience can make a massive difference. Surgery Website ensure that your surgery website has info about the PHC on it Ensure that you have waiting room displays and that they are kept neat and tidy On hold telephone message can you adjust your surgeries on hold message and mention the PHC? The website www.thepethealthclub.co.uk is a great resource to direct clients to for more information when time is tight. 24
Marketing Materials Order marketing materials from Think Marketing www.thinkvetorders.co.uk or telephone:01794 522638 LEAFLETS: Keep these leaflets on reception making them easy to hand out. You may wish to laminate a few to use for reference when talking to clients! 25
Marketing Materials; continued POSTER: This A2 poster works well in waiting rooms and consult rooms. They can also be displayed nicely in aluminium frames (purchasable from Think Marketing) 26
Marketing Materials-continued WELCOME LETTER: These are to be given to clients when they first join the PHC. Fill in the animals name and tick off what they have been given, and get the client to use to tick off all they great things they get throughout the plan year! SAVINGS POSTERS: These are two examples of the savings posters that are included in your launch pack. The amount won t be filled in so please neatly fill in your surgeries costs, and then add them up to give the overall saving. If space is tight, may be just display a cat and medium dog poster. 27
Marketing Materials-continued CARD WALLET: The wallet is a great way for the client to keep all of their PHC documents together you can put the copy of the application form, welcome letter, PHC leaflet, voucher ( 10 voucher if the pet is already microchipped) all in here. APPOINTMENT CARDS: The appointment cards have space for the next parasite treatment date, and the 6 month health check. Every client should leave with their next appointment booked so that they don t miss out on any of the great things included for their pet. They will receive a text reminder 2 weeks before the appointment. It also has a list of items included in the PHC as a reminder to clients. SHELF TALKERS: These are great to let clients know about the savings they could be making if they join the PHC. They work well on foods. They come with plastic holders that clip on top shelf fronts. They are double sided so allow for price changes. Think also made smaller stickers with the similar format, handy for smaller reception spaces. 28
Marketing Materials- continued STICKERS: The PHC pay less stickers are great for sticking on reception shop items, they stand out well on products and highlight the plan to those who may not read displays. Why not put them on your flea and wormer packets too! APPLICATION FORM: The process for clients completing this is explained on the next page. 29
Marketing Materials-continued The items listed below can be ordered from; www.thinkvetorders.co.uk 30
PHC Training Part 3 PHC set up process & Animal Healthcare portal
What is the application process for clients? 1. Client completes the application form, which is either given in surgery or downloaded from www.thepethealthclub.co.uk Ensure that; The client has entered an email address, The client has signed the form in the three locations (declaration and signature, direct debit section and on the back to the T&C s) Highlight the following to the client: This isn t insurance If they cancel they will be liable to pay for any treatments received that aren t covered by their monthly payments made Animal Health Care will be the name on their bank statements. The client has entered all the direct debit details required (name of bank, name of account holder, bank sort code, account number) The client has chosen the date they wish the payments to be taken (unless they are paying for a whole year upfront, note annual plan on the application form) 2. Add the PHC discount code/note to the animals file on your Practice Management System. 3. You then take the first months payment in surgery (unless the client is paying for a whole year upfront, when you need to take the full year amount and mark this on the application form.) and retain the application form. Make sure the client leaves with the welcome pack (vouchers, 4wks free Pet Plan insurance) and an appointment card with their next appointment and any treatments etc.. 4. The completed application form then gets registered on to the Animal HealthCare (AHC) website 5. The application form then needs to be scanned & emailed or faxed to AHC (front of the form only, AHC must have a copy of the Direct Debit mandate) 6. The application form then needs to be shredded or kept locked away in a safe for data protection as they contain personal bank details.
Animal Health Care Portal Animal Health Care Initial Setup Information: You will receive an email containing a username (one per site) you will then receive a second with a link to the password, follow the link then use the information to log into the Animal Healthcare portal. The website address iswww.animalhealthcare.co.uk, set this up as a short cut for easy use in the future. The password link will expire after 2 hours of receiving it. If you miss this window, please reply back to AHC (who sent you the email) and request a new password) Please note down the username and password as you aren t able to change either of these so you will need them on a regular basis. Animal Health Care are the Direct Debit providers for The Pet Health Club. this is the name that will show on clients bank statements You can run surgery specific PHC reports from the system using the reports button Plans can be cancelled through the portal using the cancel plan *NEW* button Contact Us Tab use this to ask AHC questions about plans See the next page for more specific details about the AHC website registering a client process 33
Animal Health Care website continued: Adding a plan to the portal: Once you have logged into the portal select Add Customer tab If a client chooses to pay for a year upfront tick the annual option at the top of the page (this will mean the bank details box will disappear) Input the client and patients details Plan Codes - when registering forms you must ensure that you enter the three digit code (see page 33) Preferred collection date the client can choose the date of the collections Input the Patient ID & Client ID are the client and patient numbers taken from the clients account on your computer system Number of months please select 12 months or 9 months if you have taken 3 months payment up front Once you have completed all requested fields in the form select the submit button and the plan will be added This is the add a customer screen of the portal 34
Plan Codes The plan codes must be added to the application forms and then on to AHC portal. Please note that there are different codes of different size animals and subsequent pets. It is worth keeping these codes laminated and easily to hand when completing the application forms. Plan Cost Health Plan Code PHC National Plan Cat 12.50 700 PHC National Plan Cat Subsequent Pet 11.50 701 PHC National Plan Small Dog <10kg 12.50 702 PHC National Plan Small Dog <10kg Subsequent Pet 11.50 703 PHC National Plan Medium Dog 10-25kg 13.50 704 PHC Natioal Plan Medium Dog 10-25kg Subsequent Pet 12.50 705 PHC National Plan Large Dog 25-40kg 15.50 706 PHC National Plan Large Dog 25-40kg Subsequent Pet 14.50 707 PHC National Plan Giant Dog >40kg 20.00 708 PHC National Plan Giant Dog >40kg Subsequent Pet 19.00 733 PHC National Plan Rabbit 7.80 698 PHC National Plan Rabbit Subsequent Pet 6.80 699 35
Handy tips for making PHC a success in your surgery Ensure that when a client initially signs up that they are only issued 1 months worth (or as small amount as possible) of flea and worming product and that an appointment is booked for when the next treatment is due before the client leaves the surgery. Ideally the client would also have the 6m health check booked at this point. By doing this the client will not miss out on all that is included in their fabulous new plan. Remind the clients how much they are saving when you hand them the flea and worming products, buying food, collection repeat medications. Keep the displays in reception, consult rooms, nurses rooms new and fresh so that clients don t get bored looking at the same old thing! Remember that the whole team should support with the promoting the plans receptionists, nurse, kennel assistants, vets, everyone interacting with clients. Another handy hint is to stick the this is cheaper on the PHC sticker on the flea and worming products, food etc.. A great easy conversation opener with clients. Have leaflets in reception, vet and nurse consult rooms Remember every time a client signs up to the plan, they should be giving the welcome pack folder which should have the welcome letter, PHC leaflet, a copy of their application form. A next appointment card with their 6 month health check appointment booked and the 10 voucher if the pet is already microchipped 36
Handy tips for making PHC a success in your surgery Ongoing maintenance of the Pet Health Club Plan Ensure that pets are receiving all of the items included in the plan (try to check this regularly) 0 As a guide line aim for 40% penetration rate of your active clients. This is a good indicator of a healthy health plan Call clients that cancel to see why they are cancelling, it may be that they need to be reminded of the savings and benefits of the plan Decide who is going to be your surgery PHC Champion Each surgery should have a PHC champion who will monitor and assist colleagues about the PHC from within the surgery, once it has been established who this person is, please notify Tula on tpenfold@independentvetcare.co.uk Please join the PHC Champions Facebook group- it s a great way to speak to other PHC Champions across the whole of IVC group https://www.facebook.com/groups/phcchampions/ You can see great examples of displays and resources on the Independent Vetcare Marketing Group on Facebook, so please join the group. 37