1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,360
Speaker 1: Let's say good morning now to doctor Dana Varbol, the

2
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:08,119
Speaker 1: Director of Veterinary Medicine and the Chief veterinary Officer at

3
00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:13,000
Speaker 1: the North American Veterinary Community. Good morning, doctor Varble.

4
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,360
Speaker 2: Good morning Amy. How are you doing out there?

5
00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 1: Doing great? So, Doctor Barbl, we wanted to talk to

6
00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,320
Speaker 1: you today because you just came off a big conference

7
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,239
Speaker 1: in Orlando. We want to talk about that, and also

8
00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,400
Speaker 1: because it's of particular interest to me right now and

9
00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,160
Speaker 1: hopefully to wake up call listeners, because I've been having

10
00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:32,800
Speaker 1: some pretty significant issues with one of my cats. She's

11
00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,080
Speaker 1: like thirteen, and I've spent thousands of dollars on her

12
00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,440
Speaker 1: so far, and we might finally have an idea of

13
00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,080
Speaker 1: one of the things that's wrong with her. Then I

14
00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,640
Speaker 1: have another cat who's eleven years old and like a

15
00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,680
Speaker 1: lot of other cats and dogs that people have, hasn't

16
00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,200
Speaker 1: been to a vet since she since he was a kitten,

17
00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:53,480
Speaker 1: because he's been healthy. So tell us about the conference

18
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,840
Speaker 1: that you guys just held and what was the focus

19
00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,680
Speaker 1: of it this year when as it relates to our pets.

20
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, so, we are just finishing up VIAMAX here in Orlando,

21
00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,800
Speaker 2: the world's largest and most Comprehensive Veterinary Conference where this

22
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:12,080
Speaker 2: year one of the big focuses is on the value

23
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,240
Speaker 2: and the need to promote the value of preventative medicines.

24
00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,319
Speaker 2: You just like your pets. We're seeing a lot of

25
00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:24,400
Speaker 2: pet families decide to forego the VET, and unfortunately that

26
00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,920
Speaker 2: really puts us behind the eight ball when it comes

27
00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,559
Speaker 2: to health conditions and maintaining that really long, happy health

28
00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,080
Speaker 2: spans for our pets.

29
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: Okay, so, and then what are some of the you

30
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,880
Speaker 1: talked about advancements too that have been made in veterinary

31
00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,000
Speaker 1: medicine that are helping our pets live longer and healthier.

32
00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's been some great news this year regarding things

33
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,520
Speaker 2: like new diagnostic tools and just a lot of new

34
00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,960
Speaker 2: tech coming into the veterinary space that is really helping

35
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,360
Speaker 2: us as veterinarians become a little more efficient, from writing

36
00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:07,440
Speaker 2: medical records faster to these new bedside tools or in

37
00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:12,040
Speaker 2: our case, cage side tools to check diagnostics. So we're

38
00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,920
Speaker 2: being able to get results to you as a PAD

39
00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,040
Speaker 2: owner oftentimes the same day, whereas before we maybe had

40
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,600
Speaker 2: to wait two or three days. It was really we

41
00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,560
Speaker 2: didn't feel very sure. And now we're able to talk

42
00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,160
Speaker 2: about there was results sometimes the same day, and make

43
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,480
Speaker 2: different decisions, get on top of things, be really just

44
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,760
Speaker 2: again a little more proactive in our approaches to our pets.

45
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 1: Okay, now, doctor varbel I, as I mentioned, I've had

46
00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,960
Speaker 1: some issues with my cat, and I one thing that

47
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:43,919
Speaker 1: I've noticed and I would love for you to kind

48
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,200
Speaker 1: of talk about, because you're talking about diagnostic tools and

49
00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: that stuff, which is wonderful because we can't say, hey, cat,

50
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,600
Speaker 1: where does it hurt? You know? But yes, the issue

51
00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,880
Speaker 1: that I've run into, and that a lot of people

52
00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,520
Speaker 1: that I've gotten responses from, is that now it seems

53
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,600
Speaker 1: like the vets just want to test for everything, which

54
00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:03,920
Speaker 1: is great to try to narrow down what it is,

55
00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,720
Speaker 1: but it's costing thousands and thousands of dollars. Like I've

56
00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:09,639
Speaker 1: spent four thousand dollars on my cat and we still

57
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,919
Speaker 1: don't really know what's wrong with her, and they want

58
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:12,720
Speaker 1: to do more testing.

59
00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,720
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, you know, it's really interesting because veteranor medicine

60
00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,960
Speaker 2: always has to be a conversation, right, unlike human medicine.

61
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,600
Speaker 2: We know that we're relying on pet owners, you know,

62
00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,240
Speaker 2: and their ability to pay, so sometimes we just have

63
00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,679
Speaker 2: to have really honest conversations about money, what we want

64
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,359
Speaker 2: to do, what we need to do. But you're right,

65
00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,840
Speaker 2: the ability to test for things has really expanded, and

66
00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 2: that's both really really good because it gives us so

67
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,800
Speaker 2: many more options, but it creates this interesting challenge right

68
00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,880
Speaker 2: where it's like, well, we have to run all the tests,

69
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 2: what are the priorities? You know, what is each test

70
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,800
Speaker 2: telling me? So a lot of times the discussion to

71
00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:56,120
Speaker 2: have with both veterinarian and owners is about value. Okay,

72
00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,160
Speaker 2: this test is going to give us these three, you know,

73
00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,360
Speaker 2: these three pieces of information, whereas maybe this other test

74
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,440
Speaker 2: is giving us these ten pieces of information. And then again,

75
00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,720
Speaker 2: the interesting thing about veteranar medicine is we always have

76
00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,920
Speaker 2: to talk about costs, and not just the financial cost too.

77
00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,640
Speaker 2: But you know, some pets don't like having bloodron, they

78
00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,360
Speaker 2: don't like going to the vet. It can be very stressful.

79
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,440
Speaker 2: So we have to kind of factor all of these

80
00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,560
Speaker 2: things into a treatment care plan. And to be honest,

81
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,240
Speaker 2: sometimes what we do is a test is actually try

82
00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,719
Speaker 2: different medications, try treat it, and see what the results are.

83
00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,120
Speaker 2: In and of itself is kind of a type of testing.

84
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,840
Speaker 2: So a lot of times It is all about that balance,

85
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 2: and it is about having that larger conversation around finances

86
00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:39,920
Speaker 2: and costs as well.

87
00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,279
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would imagine too. And again this is off

88
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,359
Speaker 1: of my recent experience where I have met with a

89
00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,719
Speaker 1: couple of vets and I've found a new vet who

90
00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:54,400
Speaker 1: I really feel like she gets cats. The other one

91
00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,200
Speaker 1: was super nice but didn't seem to really have any answers,

92
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,320
Speaker 1: like just said, well, let's just test for this, and

93
00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,880
Speaker 1: I'm like, can we rule out, like can we try

94
00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:04,960
Speaker 1: to figure out what it is as opposed to testing

95
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,240
Speaker 1: for everything that it might not be? And the new

96
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,799
Speaker 1: vet really like was she was kind of laser focused

97
00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,680
Speaker 1: and spent a lot of time and seem to know more.

98
00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,719
Speaker 1: So how how do you find a great vet?

99
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,960
Speaker 2: That's a great question. So, you know, I think all

100
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,800
Speaker 2: of us have different communication styles, you know, both we

101
00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,800
Speaker 2: as pet parents because I own pets too, and I

102
00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,239
Speaker 2: have to go to other veterinarians for tests and treatment

103
00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 2: from time to time. None of us is an expert

104
00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,800
Speaker 2: and everything, So a lot of times I think it's

105
00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:40,000
Speaker 2: about finding someone that you communicate really well with that

106
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,919
Speaker 2: really gets it's kind of on the same page with

107
00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,520
Speaker 2: you your pets. Maybe you share the same values or

108
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,680
Speaker 2: you feel the same way about testing and you just

109
00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,480
Speaker 2: really connect with them. So I always say, you know,

110
00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:54,840
Speaker 2: if you if you go to someone who just don't

111
00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,520
Speaker 2: quite have that connection, it's okay to maybe try someone different,

112
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,720
Speaker 2: or even talk to your friends and family that kind

113
00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,720
Speaker 2: of have the same values and put the same importance

114
00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,000
Speaker 2: on the PET that you do. And if they have

115
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,039
Speaker 2: a great bet, they may be a great bet for

116
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,400
Speaker 2: you as well. Okay.

117
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,440
Speaker 1: And then and importantly, like you said that, one of

118
00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 1: the focuses of this conference was to maybe get ahead

119
00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,080
Speaker 1: of the game and get your PET checked out like

120
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: once a year, make sure that they're doing okay, so

121
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:21,800
Speaker 1: you're not.

122
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,800
Speaker 2: At least annually Okay, Yeah, I really love the idea

123
00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,240
Speaker 2: of annual exams. If you can. If you have a

124
00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,320
Speaker 2: great bet again that you get along fantastic with, they

125
00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:33,120
Speaker 2: may say, hey, you know what, this year, it's time

126
00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,600
Speaker 2: to come in in six months just to double check

127
00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,039
Speaker 2: some things, stay on top of things. We have so

128
00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,760
Speaker 2: many more options when we catch something ahead of time

129
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,800
Speaker 2: rather than when it's in the middle of the process.

130
00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,919
Speaker 2: Mid disease is not as much fun as before it

131
00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:47,960
Speaker 2: ever happens.

132
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,520
Speaker 1: I agree with you, because that's what I'm dealing with

133
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,680
Speaker 1: right now. Doctor Dana Farble, Director of Veterinary Medicine and

134
00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:00,159
Speaker 1: Chief Veterinary Office at Officer at NAVC, which stands for

135
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,760
Speaker 1: North American Veterinary Community. Thanks so much for your information today.

136
00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be very, very valuable for

137
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:07,400
Speaker 1: our wake up call listeners.

138
00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,280
Speaker 2: Well, best swishes with your cat. I hope everything starts

139
00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,040
Speaker 2: to turn around and goes really well for you in

140
00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 2: the future. Me too.

141
00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,360
Speaker 1: All right, thanks again, Doctor Barbo. Good all right, nice lady.

142
00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,040
Speaker 1: I could have her for a VET. Yeah, I love

143
00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:22,680
Speaker 1: a good vat