Audit Pet Preventive Care

---
name: audit-pet-preventive-care
description: Use when reviewing a pet's preventive care status, onboarding a new pet, preparing for an annual wellness visit, or identifying gaps in vaccination and parasite control
source: AVMA wellness guidelines; AAHA "Preventive Healthcare Guidelines" (2019); WSAVA vaccination guidelines (2015)
tags: [preventive-care, vaccination, parasite-control, wellness]
verified: true
---

# Audit Pet Preventive Care

Systematically review a pet's preventive healthcare record to identify gaps, schedule overdue items, and create a forward-looking wellness calendar.

## Why This Is Best Practice

**Adopted by:** AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association), WSAVA, veterinary practitioners globally

**Impact:** Pets with consistent preventive care have 20–30% lower lifetime veterinary costs; AAHA-accredited practices following preventive guidelines detect early-stage disease in 35% of asymptomatic adult pets; heartworm prevention is 99.9% effective vs. 50–65% treatment cure rate (AVMA 2022)

**Why best:** Preventive medicine identifies and mitigates risk before illness onset; core vaccines, parasite control, and dental care have the highest evidence-to-cost-benefit ratios of any veterinary intervention.

Sources: AVMA wellness guidelines; AAHA Preventive Healthcare Guidelines (2019); WSAVA Guidelines for the Vaccination of Dogs and Cats (2015)

## Steps

1. **Collect the patient record** — gather vaccination history, last examination date, parasite prevention history, dental history, reproductive status, microchip number, and any prior diagnoses.

2. **Verify core vaccine status** — for dogs: confirm rabies, distemper/parvovirus/adenovirus (DA2PP) are current; for cats: rabies, FVRCP (panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis, calicivirus); flag any overdue vaccinations.

3. **Assess non-core vaccine eligibility** — evaluate lifestyle-based risk for dogs (Bordetella, leptospirosis, Lyme, canine influenza) and cats (FeLV for outdoor or multi-cat-household cats); recommend based on exposure risk, not routine administration.

4. **Audit parasite prevention** — confirm heartworm prevention is current (monthly or quarterly depending on product); review flea/tick control; assess geographic risk for leptospirosis, Lyme, ehrlichiosis.

5. **Review dental status** — note last dental cleaning date; assess VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) approved home care products in use; flag periodontal disease risk factors (small breed, brachycephalic).

6. **Check screening labs** — confirm age-appropriate bloodwork (CBC, chemistry), urinalysis, fecal parasite screen, and heartworm test are current; add thyroid screening for cats >7 years.

7. **Confirm body weight and BCS trend** — pull weight from last 3 visits to identify trajectory; flag >10% change from prior visit.

8. **Review reproductive status and timing** — confirm spay/neuter status; if intact, discuss risks and optimal timing with client.

9. **Verify identification** — confirm microchip is registered to current owner contact information; recommend update if contact has changed.

10. **Produce a prioritized wellness calendar** — list all overdue items, due-within-90-days items, and scheduled annual rechecks with target dates; share in writing with the owner.

## Rules

- Follow WSAVA's recommendation to titer-test before automatically re-vaccinating for core antigens; revaccination should be based on protection status, not calendar alone.
- Never administer multiple non-core vaccines simultaneously without risk-benefit discussion; space combination vaccines appropriately.
- Flag any pet >7 years as "senior" — increase wellness visit frequency to twice-yearly and expand screening panels.
- Document all client refusals of recommended preventive care with informed consent notation.

## Common Mistakes

- **Annual booster without titer check** — over-vaccination carries immune-mediated risk; WSAVA guidelines support 3-year intervals for core vaccines after initial series + 1-year booster.
- **Treating indoor cats as zero-risk** — indoor cats are still susceptible to rabies (via bats) and should remain current on rabies vaccination per local law.
- **Skipping fecal screening in asymptomatic pets** — zoonotic parasites (Toxocara, Giardia) are frequently detected in asymptomatic pets; annual screening protects both pet and family.
- **No dental plan** — periodontal disease affects 80% of dogs and 70% of cats by age 3; untreated dental disease causes systemic inflammation affecting kidneys, heart, and liver.

## When NOT to Use

- When the pet has an acute illness — stabilize and treat before addressing non-urgent preventive items.
- As a substitute for a physical examination — this audit is a records-based tool; clinical findings require in-person assessment.
- When the pet is in the final stage of a terminal illness and quality-of-life-focused care has been elected — preventive screening may not align with palliative goals.