Veterinary Preventive Care Insights: IDEXX Study Results on Diagnostics & Health Coverage

As veterinary medicine evolves, the spotlight is increasingly on preventive care—early detection, routine screenings, and diagnostics that allow pets to live healthier, longer lives. A groundbreaking IDEXX study casts a bright light on this critical shift, revealing how often routine wellness testing finds hidden health issues in otherwise healthy animals—and why pet owners and veterinary practices both stand to benefit.

Introducing IDEXX’s Preventive Care Insights

In January 2023, IDEXX Laboratories announced a major update to its preventive care offerings, including a canine cancer screening test (IDEXX Nu.Q®), expanded parasite antigen testing, and smarter diagnostic tools like IDEXX DecisionIQ™ for data-driven care. The company’s study of over 220,000 pets revealed that up to 1 in 5 dogs and 1 in 3 cats showed clinically relevant abnormalities during routine wellness testing—even without outward signs of illness IDEXX.

The Numbers: Hidden Health Risks in “Healthy” Pets

IDEXX’s larger analysis (November 2024) confirmed startling findings: even healthy-appearing pets frequently exhibit measurable issues upon closer examination:

·         Young adult pets: 1 in 7 dogs and 1 in 5 cats had significant concerns.

·         Mature adults: 1 in 5 dogs and 1 in 3 cats showed abnormalities.

·         Senior pets: 2 in 5 dogs and 3 in 5 cats had clinically relevant findings.
IDEXXthevetiverse.com

These figures align with an earlier AVMA-supported study (2018), which analyzed over 268,000 wellness profiles and found:

·         15% of adult pets,

·         21% of seniors,

·         and 42% of geriatrics
had anomalies warranting follow-up AVMA.

Why Preventive Diagnostics Matter

All life stages benefit from early detection. Insights from The Vetiverse highlight how:

·         Young pets: Uncovering anomalies early establishes healthy baselines and catches congenital issues—which, while rare, can benefit greatly from timely intervention thevetiverse.com+1.

·         Adults: Detecting early disease allows treatment before symptoms emerge or conditions progress thevetiverse.com.

·         Senior pets: Canary in the coal mine—high rates of hidden disease presentation make routine testing invaluable for planning long and comfortable golden years thevetiverse.com.

Tools for Smarter Preventive Care

IDEXX’s enhanced platform supports practices with a diagnostics-driven preventive care model:

·         Nu.Q® Canine Cancer Screen: A new canine test screen to flag potential cancer, especially in adult and senior dogs IDEXX.

·         Expanded parasite tests: Fecal Dx® now includes flea tapeworm antigen and outperforms traditional flotation testing by detecting up to five times more common parasites IDEXXPR Newswire.

·         Advanced lab tools: SDMA for kidney function, CBC with reticulocyte tracking, 4Dx Plus for tick-borne and heartworm diseases, and urinalysis—all backed by decision-support via VetConnect PLUS IDEXX.

Business & Compliance Benefits for Clinics

Preventive diagnostics aren’t just good care—they support practice growth and client trust. Data from animal clinics shows uptake improvements:

·         One Animal Care Clinic (using Vello and IDEXX tools) boosted preventive bloodwork inclusion from 12% to 43% of wellness visits and increased fecal testing compliance by 40% between 2022–2024 software.idexx.com.

Wellness plans and subscription models also drive consistent preventive care revenue. Vetiverses note that highlighting the frequency of silent abnormalities (even in young pets) helps clients buy in—preventive diagnostics become less an extra cost and more a valued part of care software.idexx.comthevetiverse.com.

 

Summary Table: Key Findings from IDEXX Insights

Pet Age Group	Findings
Young Adults	1 in 7 dogs; 1 in 5 cats had hidden abnormalities
Mature Adults	1 in 5 dogs; 1 in 3 cats showed clinically relevant findings
Seniors	2 in 5 dogs; 3 in 5 cats had measurable health concerns

 

Final Thoughts

The newly published IDEXX study truly transforms our view of preventive veterinary care: what appears healthy often hides early disease. Investing in routine diagnostics—CBCs, chemistry profiles, SDMA, urinalysis, parasite and cancer screening—gives veterinarians the power to detect, document, and treat conditions proactively.

This doesn’t just improve health outcomes—it strengthens client confidence, supports sustainable practice revenue, and reinforces medicine’s core goal: care before crisis. As pets age faster than humans, every early detection saved is a day, week, or year of quality life.