Well, 2020 has been quite the year so far. While the data indicates many veterinary practices are on the road to recovery we still have a bit of uncertainty looming. Spectrum wanted to use this time to fast track some long-needed improvements to our lab tracking system that was just completed July 6th. These new improvements are the framework that will allow us to add more clinic and pet parent functionality in the future. We are very excited and sincerely appreciate our clinic’s patients during this transition.
Because of social distancing efforts by practices, clinics are seeing fewer patients per day, and are finding it more important than ever to make the most of each patient that walks through the door (based on a data snapshot from 5/18 - 6/26/2020 from Vet Success' where revenue YoY across the U.S. was up 11.11% and invoices were up 1.7% over last year).
With as many as 1 in 5 cases being dermatologically related, according to the AVMA, it's important to offer them options, with the most widely utilized one being a multi-modality approach. “Clinics are reporting higher pet parent satisfaction rates by offering comfort therapies in conjunction with our allergy testing and treatment. This approach allows veterinarians to keep the patient comfortable short-term while the hyposensitization works to build long-term tolerance”, stated Megan Spencer, Sales Director for Spectrum Veterinary. It was because we saw the value in supporting this trend that we created our Test & Treat package.
We have also been hard at work on a few key Strategic Partnerships that will make it easier, and even more affordable, to offer allergy testing and address more completely the dermatology cases they are seeing. The first partnership we are excited about is with PawDiet. PawDiet is a technology-oriented pet food data and reference website. Started by web-developer and entrepreneur Arby Abraamyan, PawDiet's mission is to improve transparency in the pet food industry. We have partnered with them so that we can integrate our food reactions into their database and provide pet parents with a current list of food and treat options. Whether they look to purchase today or a year from now, this list is dynamic and will only show foods based on their current formulations.
Another key partnership we are excited about is with Scratch pay. Scratch Pay offers simple and affordable payment plans for larger veterinary bills and allows pet parents to check interest rates without affecting your credit score. They also offer higher approval rates, fast and easy sign-ups, 0% APR options, and are a trusted provider in over 8,000 veterinary practices so far. The Scratch Pay partnership allows us to assist veterinary practices address the cost obstacle that many pet parents site when addressing allergies. “By the time they have come around to testing and hyposensitization they have already spent hundreds, if not thousands, on other therapies and topicals”, advised Spectrum’s Sales Director.
Our goals for the remainder of 2020 is to refine our processes, develop additional tools that can help practices address allergies better, and add revenue to the practices we partner with. Have an idea on additional tools, videos, etc. that we can offer? Feel free to share them with our Marketing Team at lkelver@spectrum.vet.
We will get through this and in the meantime wish you, your employees, and communities all of the very best. Stay safe!
