You may have come across animal hospitals that have received certain veterinary accreditations. But what do these accreditations mean about the service you will receive?
By working to meet certain standards of care, upkeeping facility quality, enrolling in continuing education courses, and undergoing review by accrediting organizations, the veterinarians, support staff and entire animal hospital can become accredited, or recognized, by organizations for their excellence in a number of aspects.
In particular, there are three accreditations you may see at a veterinary hospital:
American Animal Hospital Association
The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is a non-profit organization for veterinary hospitals. Established in 1933, the association is the only accrediting body for small animal hospitals in both the U.S. and Canada.
In order to become accredited by the AAHA, veterinary hospitals are evaluated on standards of quality that include everything from team training and medical record-keeping to diligent pain management and patient care.
The standards that the AAHA holds its accredited hospitals to are developed by veterinary experts and are frequently updated to reflect the profession's best practices and newest treatments.
The guidelines and accreditation process are non-biased and meant to encourage the best quality of veterinary care not only to benefit patients, but to uplift the practice of veterinary medicine.
AAHA accredited hospitals are well-rounded and high quality institutions that you can trust to have the knowledge and expertise to give your pet the care they need.
American Association of Feline Practitioners
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) is an organization of veterinary professionals committed to improving the care, comfort and wellbeing of cats by encouraging high standards of practice, education, and patient care.
In support of this commitment, AAFP provides the Cat Friendly Practice accreditation to practices that meet the standards set out by the AAFP for the quality of care and the comfort of the experience for feline patients.
The standards for becoming a Cat Friendly Practice are set by experts in feline behavior and medicine and ask a veterinary hospital to approach the treatment and holistic veterinary experience of their feline patients with creativity, expertise and compassion.
This accreditation signifies that a hospital is committed to minimizing stress on their feline patients, has a feline-friendly environment and can appriopriately diagnose and treat cats of all shapes and sizes.
As expected, practices with this accreditation are excellent places to bring your feline friend.
Fear Free
Fear Free is an organization that provides online education courses to veterinary professionals in addition to certifications for individual vets and support staff as well as for entire veterinary hospitals.
Fear Free is committed to educating veterinary professionals about techniques to supplement their care with a focus on animal emotional wellbeing, enrichment and the reduction of anxiety in pets to improve their veterinary experience.
This certification requires hospitals to meet 27 standards and fulfill half of another 28 using a points-based system. Practices are assessed by a Fear-Free veterinarian and their certification needs to be renewed each year.
As you might expect, a Fear Free certified hospital will have taken steps, both in individual practices and in facility and service structures, to make both your and your pet's experiences easy and stress-free.
Fear Free certified practices can be excellent choices for pet owners with anxious, fearful or skittish pets - since they have the techniques and have created an environment to support your four-legged friend.