Veterinary Specialty Care: A Synchrony
Lifetime of Care Study Reveals 80% of Pet Parents Are Worried About
Potential Costs for Specialty and Emergency Veterinary Care
STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Synchrony's new
"Veterinary Specialty Care Study," pet parents have significant
concerns and information gaps when their pet requires veterinary
specialty care. Further, it reveals a need to bridge communication
gaps between general practice and specialty veterinary teams.
Findings revealed that:
- 72% of pet parents are very/extremely concerned about the
financial implications of the cost of their pet's specialty care as
they are the potential outcome.
- Half would be stressed by a specialty care bill of up to
$1,000, with 81% being stressed if
the bill increased towards $2,500.
- Only 25% of specialists believe pet parents have realistic
expectations about the cost of care.
- Over half (54%) of pet parents surveyed admit to having little
to no knowledge about specialty care in general.
Conducted on behalf of CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, this
latest study is an extension of the broader Synchrony Lifetime of
Care study, which looked to better understand the relationship
between pet parents, primary care veterinarians and veterinary
specialists to identify ways to enhance the overall experience from
a financial, informational and communication perspective.
"Nearly 50% of today's pet parents underestimate the cost of pet
care1, and unexpected emergency care plays a big role in
this miscalculation," said Jonathan Wainberg, Senior Vice
President and General Manager, Pet, Synchrony. "This new report
reveals the critical need for proactive communication about the
cost of specialty care, information about payment options like the
CareCredit credit card to manage those costs, and education about
specialty care itself."
Despite 63% of pet parents wanting to know about payment options
early, few specialty clinics share this information before the
client arrives. Most pet parents want to understand the cost of
care after an initial exam before additional services are
rendered.
"Both specialty and primary care veterinarians have witnessed
the stress pet parents have about the cost of care and the anxiety
of balancing their financial realities with their pet's medical
needs," said Amanda L. Donnelly,
DVM, MBA. "This stress is doubled when their pet needs
specialized care because they may not have previous knowledge of
what a specialist is and costs are likely the first concern that
jumps into their mind."
The Veterinary Specialty Care study uncovers key areas where
communication and education from both the primary care veterinarian
and specialists can better prepare pet parents in advance of an
emergency.
In general, pet parents are committed to uncovering financial
solutions that can help them pay for the care their pet needs. In
fact, Synchrony's findings revealed that half of pet parents
explore payment options before seeking specialty care, and 38%
research the costs. In addition, 63% of pet parents went directly
to the emergency vet for care without a referral which emphasizes
the need to make information about payment options easily
accessible on places such as websites.
For 30 years, pet parents have turned to CareCredit for
financing options for all types of veterinary services, treatments,
and diagnostics. Available at over 25,000 veterinary
locations nationwide, pet parents can quickly see if they
prequalify for the CareCredit health and wellness credit card in
real-time (with no impact on their credit score) and apply on any
smart device or over the phone. They will receive an instant
credit decision, and if approved, pet parents can use their account
to pay their veterinarian immediately. Pet parents can select from
short-term and long-term financing options on qualifying purchases,
including deferred interest if paid in full within 6,12,18 or 24
months and reduced APR with fixed monthly payments for 24, 36, 48,
or 60 months.
Additionally, CareCredit offers a user-friendly online
calculator that makes it easy for pet parents to quickly estimate
monthly payments based on available financing options. CareCredit
is recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association and is a
Preferred Partner for the American Veterinary Medical Association.
For more information, visit www.carecredit.com.
Methodology
The new study Veterinary Specialty Care: A
Synchrony Lifetime of Care Study is based on findings from 305 pet
parents, including 255 who visited specialty or ER veterinarian in
the past year and 50 sought primary care only, and 118
veterinarians who provide emergency or specialty care and accept
the CareCredit credit card. This is the fourth study in the
Lifetime of Care research series, which also includes the Pet
Lifetime of Care, Lifetime of Healthcare Costs and Equine Lifetime
of Care studies.
About Synchrony
Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier
consumer financial services company delivering one of the
industry's most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our
experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of
industries including digital, health and wellness, retail,
telecommunications, home, auto, outdoor, pet and more. We have an
established and diverse group of national and regional retailers,
local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry
associations and healthcare service providers, which we refer to as
our "partners." We connect our partners and consumers through our
dynamic financial ecosystem and provide them with a diverse set of
financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to address
their specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences.
We offer the right financing products to the right customers in
their channel of choice. For more information,
visit www.synchrony.com.
Contact:
Michelle Romero
michelle.romero@syf.com
(626) 250-1415
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Synchrony's Pet
Lifetime of Care Study (link)
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SOURCE Synchrony Financial