Description
Biosecurity can be defined as Biological Risk Management or the control, prevention and possible eradication of infectious or contagious diseases. Whilst few would disagree that biosecurity is a necessity to minimise disease incursions and/or loss of production, in terms of implementation and compliance there is still much room for improvement. It is frequently neglected and often at its highest after a disease event occurs which is somewhat pointless. Veterinarians should encourage biosecurity practices to ensure they are in place prior to a disease outbreak so as to minimise disease spread and losses. But how do you encourage a recalcitrant client to implement biosecurity? How do you ensure the client sticks with the game plan?
This webinar is an overview of the considerations necessary to demonstrate the need for biosecurity and how to ensure ongoing compliance. It is divide roughly into three sections with the first looking at the requirements necessary to develop a biosecurity plan that complies with national and international legislation and regulations.
Next we will look at some simple tools including a spreadsheet with which to demonstrate to any farmer or livestock owner why biosecurity is necessary, why mathematical equations can appear daunting and why it might be best to provide this evidence in a graphical form wherever possible. It is well recognised that conveying information visually is up to six times more effective.
In the final half we will look at how to achieve compliance by demonstrating the economic benefit, training to ensure staff know and understand a procedure, education so staff understand disease processes, causes and consequences, and responsibility – the greater the stake, the better compliance is. If this information is tailored to local conditions and provided by a trusted source (i.e. the clients veterinarian) then compliance is better assured. This section covers how to maximise information whilst minimising disease testing, some basic economic principles such as opportunity costs, rational choices and discounting and how to present the information using partial budgeting, decision trees and Cash Benefit Analysis.
At the end of the hour you should have some new tools you can use in practice to assist you in decision making both for your clients, yourself and the practice, enthusiasm to explore the subject matter further as well as resources to help you develop your skills further.