December 29, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Receives Full Accreditation

via Montana Department of Livestock

Montana Department of Livestock DOLThe Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Bozeman is fully accredited for the first time since 2003.

Lab director Dr. Bill Layton received the good news late last month from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) accreditation committee.

“This is a significant accomplishment for the laboratory and its customers,” Layton said. “In short, the committee is equating us with other, larger accredited laboratories, many of which are associated with veterinary colleges and have the support of a university system.”

The lab, which handles a vast majority of the diagnostic samples generated by Montana veterinarians, has been on provisional accreditation due to a series of issues related to funding, the facility and the need for an improved quality management system (QMS). While some of those issues are a work in progress, Layton said the lab was able to directly address the QMS issue.

Quality management systems, Layton said, look at all processes that could affect test results, including sample collection, choice of test kits, competency of the diagnostic technicians, delivery of results, and a thousand other details.

The lab didn’t have a full-time quality manager, Layton explained, until 2011 when the position was fully funded by a grant from the USDA-National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Now, after three years of hard work, the system is “exponentially better.”

“Prior to visiting, the accreditation site visit team was skeptical regarding the laboratory being able to develop and put into practice a system in a relatively short time. After the review, the site team was impressed with the laboratory’s progress and the quality in place,” Layton said. He credits his staff for “dedicating enormous amounts of time and effort into the building and implementation of the system while still completing their daily responsibilities.”

Accreditation is important, Layton said, because it represents an independent review of the laboratory to verify that the test procedures performed meet national and global standards required for animal disease surveillance that allows for animal and animal product movement.

MVDL Satisfaction Survey
A survey of Montana veterinarians conducted this past summer shows high usage and overwhelming satisfaction.

83% of the respondents use the lab, and 78% of those use it on a weekly-plus basis.

76% of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the lab overall, while just 8% were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied.

85% of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the lab’s responsiveness to technical questions and concerns.

93% of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the professionalism and courteousness of lab staff.

See the complete survey at http://tinyurl.com/pnymhfj

August 8, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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DOL Survey: High Use of Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, Satisfaction with Services

Montana Department of Livestock DOL(The following is a press release from the Montana Department of Livestock)

A recent survey of Montana veterinarians shows that they use the Montana Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratory in Bozeman, use it frequently and are overwhelmingly satisfied with the services it provides.

The survey, conducted in June and July, was designed to gauge veterinarians’ satisfaction with the lab and identify potential areas for improvement.

“We wanted to know how practicing veterinarians feel about the lab,” said Christian Mackay, executive officer for the Montana Board of Livestock. “We’ve always known that the lab receives a vast majority of the state’s diagnostic samples and has solid support, but we wanted some specifics.”

And according to the survey…

  • 83 percent of the respondents use the lab, and 78 percent of those use it on a weekly-plus basis.
  • 76 percent of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the lab overall, while just 8 percent were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied.
  • 85 percent of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the lab’s responsiveness to technical questions and concerns.
  • 93 percent of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the professionalism and courteousness of lab staff.

“The numbers show high usage and a high rate of satisfaction,” Mackay said.

Other survey questions focused on satisfaction with turnaround time (84 percent satisfied/very satisfied), online instructions (57 percent satisfied/very satisfied), ordering of test materials (72 percent satisfied/very satisfied), and clarity of reports received from the lab (78 percent satisfied/very satisfied).

The two most common reasons for using the lab were convenience and cost, which were listed by 81 and 66 percent, respectively, of the survey’s respondents.

In addition to the survey questions, Mackay said respondents also provided useful information in the form of comments.

The survey, which was conducted on surveymonkey.com, was open to practicing Montana veterinarians – there are about 500 – and drew 136 respondents.

In a separate survey conducted by the Montana Veterinary Medical Association at its midsummer meeting, 93 and 90 percent of the respondents, respectively, said their practice and the state of Montana would be significantly impacted if the lab were closed. Ninety percent of the respondents in the same survey said they believe the lab plays a needed public health role.

“It’s pretty clear that the state’s veterinarians feel that the lab is an asset,” Mackay said.

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