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Veterinary News Network Media Insider
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Greetings!
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I received an email and a reminder from our member, Dr. David Beauchamp in North Carolina, about a topic that should be important to each and every one of you.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission announced a workshop on the dispensing of pet medications. From now until the middle of September, the FTC is soliciting comments from "interested parties" and that, of course, includes veterinarians. Your comments can be submitted directly by clicking this link.
Remember, we also did some messaging on the Fairness to Pet Owners Act and many of those points can be applied to this discussion.
Also, Labor Day is coming up...might be a good time to reach out to your local media and discuss barbecue and picnic pet safety!
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Animals, Veterinarians and VNN Members in the News
 One of the most talked about stories in the last couple of days is the release of FDA reports from their recent trip to China. The FDA was supposed to help track down the possible causes of the issues with jerky treats for dogs, but it appears that the Chinese are not being as helpful as anticipated! With more than 2,000 reports of illnesses and some deaths, pet owners, legislators and veterinarians are anxious to find out what the contaminant or problem is. Thanks to Dr. Deb Eldredge, CVJ in New York for sending us the initial MSNBC report.
Also, probably won't be a big concern to most of you, but a certain brand of pet heating pads are being recalled due to risk of fire and electric shock. Most of the recalled pads were sold through Amazon.com. I can't help but note that these pads were made in China...
Also, Dr. Eldredge reminded me that this time of year is potentially hazardous for dogs because of mushrooms. She sent a link to a forum that is being very proactive about educating its members about the Death's Cap mushroom. We also have Message Points on Mushroom Toxicity that are available for you to edit and customize for your area.
 The West Nile Virus is also making a lot of national headlines. The CDC has reported that WNV numbers are the highest they have ever been since the disease was first reported in 1999. Horses are also being affected, with more than 77 cases reported so far this year. VNN has messaging on West Nile Virus..just search for "West Nile" after logging into MyVNN.com and you will find three sets of message points.
Any easy way to keep up with important animal health or veterinary news is to "Like" our Veterinary News Network Facebook page. Daily posts will help keep you up to date and recommendations for using VNN resources will occur routinely as well! If you are more interested in a private setting to discuss media stories affecting the veterinary profession, join our VNN Linked In Group.
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 Don't Let Your Good Nature Cost You!
 Jim Humphries, BS, DVM, CVJPresident, Veterinary News Network
Founder, American Society of Veterinary Journalists
Adjunct Professor, Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinarians are caring and very busy people. Our time is best invested in our patients and clients. Because of our medical focus and our volume of workload, accounting is not a strong suit for many. This fact could mean banks and merchant services may take advantage when it comes to our credit card processing.
Veterinary practices receive about 90% of all payments with credit or debit cards. Usually the fees associated with this are simply regarded as the "cost of doing business". However, rates and other fees can vary tremendously and there are completely different pricing plans available.
These are typically called 'Tiered' and 'Interchange Plus'. Visa and MasterCard set their mandatory industry rates called "Interchange rates". Discover adheres to the same Interchange rates as set by Visa and MasterCard. But American Express sets their own mandatory rates. Unlike Visa and MasterCard, no bank or merchant processor has the ability to alter, add to, or decrease from the rates set by American Express.
Here is a Tiered example:
An average service is performed at your hospital for $250. The client pays with a card that gets charged 3.25% (an arbitrary card rate set by the card-issuing bank) as well as a $0.10 transaction fee (changes depending on the tier). Total cost is $8.13 + $0.10 = $8.23.
Here is an Interchange plus example: "Interchange plus 75 Basis Points"
Here the same card is charged $250. You will be charged the interchange rate of 1.6% plus a set margin rate of 0.75% and a set transaction fee of $0.05, which never changes regardless of tier/card type. The total cost is $4 (interchange plus rate fee) + $0.05 = $4.05!
The Interchange plus savings would be $4.18 for this same transaction! Quite a savings. Over a year this can really add up.
Previously, Interchange Plus was only available to major corporations. However, it is now available but kept quiet as many merchant processors are not focused on saving you money.
Josh Finer & Joel Hellman are entrepreneurs who have begun Veterinary Payments and are both payments experts, and both are pet lovers. It is their desire to help veterinarians save on credit and debit card transactions. Tom and I have interviewed them and found them to be reputable and we now use them in our own practice. We thought you might like to check them out. VeterinaryPayments.com.
If you decide to switch over to Veterinary Payments of America, they will cover all costs associated with switching you to their cost savings service.
Contact:
Josh: 215.499.4613, josh@finerpayments.com
Joel: 323.449.6364, joel@finerpayments.com
Until next time...
Dr. Jim
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New at MyVNN.com
WOW...when September 1st arrives, you all will be VERY pleased to see our upcoming VNN video story release. " High Tech Vision Peers Into Your Pet's Mouth" is a great look at the continued growth of digital dental radiographs as a standard for veterinary dentistry. We all know how important good oral health is to our pets and it's our hope that this story will encourage more pet owners to ask about needed dental services. In the meantime, don't forget to stop by MyVNN.com and review our current story, " Lost Pets, High Tech Returns". This story is an actual accounting of what happened to a neighbor of ours here in Colorado and some of the steps she took to get her little dachshund back home. Remember, customize a story like this in order to showcase the "local angle". THAT'S what will gain you the attention of local media gatekeepers! WELCOME to our newest VNN members: Dr. Don Woodman of Camelot Veterinary Enterprises in Florida and Dr. Heidi Booth of Country Oaks Veterinary Hospital in California! We are very happy to have all of you as part of VNN!! |
 American Society of Veterinary Journalists
Our organization designed with a goal of bringing professionalism back to journalism involving veterinary medicine and animal care is continuing to grow!! Are you someone who should be credentialed as a Certified Veterinary Journalist or do you know someone who should be??
If you would like to know more about becoming a Certified Veterinary Journalist, visit http://asvj.org. We highly encourage all VNN members to get their certification!
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At VNN, we are here, 24/, to help you with your media needs. Please don't hesitate to contact us whenever you need help!
Sincerely,
Thomas Dock
Managing Editor
719-445-7065
tomdock@MyVNN.com
Dr. Jim Humphries
President and Founder
719-495-2100
dr.jim@MyVNN.com
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