This Week's Herman Trend Alert Access to Healthcare Information Saves Lives

The Herman Trend Alert April 2, 2003 Pet Care Moves to a New Level We've talked about pets in previous editions of the Herman Trend Alert (November 21, 2000 and July 22, 1998). Pets are important to people. They provide comfort, companionship, and an opportunity to care for another creature. However, care of pets can also be expensive. Veterinary bills, kennel costs, and pharmaceutical expenses can be at least as expensive as the routine care of a child. In our book, "Lean & Meaningful," we described how some companies encourage employees to bring their pets to work. Other employers pay up to $100 annually toward veterinary bills and some pay for kennel care when employees are sent out of town. We continue to see evidence that people have a strong relationship with their pets, and that commercial enterprises are taking advantage of this fact. Pet Assure (www.petassure.com) provides a comprehensive pet care insurance package. While individuals can purchase the coverage, the provider encourages employers to offer the package as an employee benefit. Covered owners simply present their Pet Assure identification card at thousands of participating merchants and service providers and receive discounts of up to 30 percent on purchases including pet food, supplies, boarding, grooming, sitting, training, treats, toys, kitty litter, and vitamins. Another purveyor, petcarerx.com, is an on-line store offering prescription and non-prescription medications. Even natural homeopathics are available, along with vaccines and pet supplies. This company has recently partnered with drugstore.com so you can purchase what you need for your pet at the same place you purchase pharmaceuticals for yourself. Did we get your attention with the mention of homeopathic remedies for pets? To get a sense of where this trend might be going, visit http://www.naturalholistic.com. The holistic care of animals includes homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and nutrition. What does the future hold? Watch for services available for humans to be made available for pets, internationally. At www.practical-pet-care.com you can create a memorial for your pet on-line. Thirty bereaved pet owners have already have taken advantage of this unique opportunity on a website that can be translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Can you see the global approach? © Copyright 1998-2008 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." DON'T GAMBLE WITH YOUR COMPANY'S FUTURE Many jobs have been open for months or even years, because some skilled workers have become impossible to find. Join us in Las Vegas and learn the low- and no-cost solutions to this workforce crisis. Help your company recruit and retain the talent it must have to survive. Recertification credit from HRCI. Next Employee Retention Specialist(TM) Program: September 9-10. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 or visit http://www.employeeretentionspecialist.com. LOOKING FOR A DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER TO INSPIRE YOUR PEOPLE? Joyce Gioia (joy-yah) is an inspirational futurist who freely shares her knowledge and expertise about talent engagement and retention with business executives around the globe. Her understandings and insights will inform and fascinate you. For more information, call Carol McKinney at 336-282-9370 or visit the web site at http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html for more information on Joyce's calendar and her topics. WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE®? Our effective, onsite seminars, workshops, and consulting can help you get there. We can offer 1-, 2-, 3-hour, and full-day programs to help you communicate what it takes to become an Employer of Choice® and inspire your folks to get it done. We've helped others; let us help you. Call Joyce at 336-210-3548 to schedule a no-obligation conference call. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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