{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T03:00:21Z","timestamp":1777950021332,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777852800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The cost of veterinary care is a significant concern for many pet owners. Despite the growing use of the internet for service-related information, there is limited research regarding the accessibility of veterinary pricing information on veterinary clinic websites.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To address this gap, the present study investigated the transparency of online veterinary service pricing on websites for small animal clinics within the United States through a cross-sectional study design. The country was divided into four divisions based on the U.S. Census, with two randomly selected states selected from each division (Wyoming, California, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, New York, Florida, and Kentucky). Systematic random sampling within state was used to select five distinct zip codes, comprising of two urban, two rural, and one suburban area per Census definitions. The first five clinics within a specific zip code on Google Maps search results were included for analysis. Prices for routine dog and cat services were extracted from clinic websites. These included core vaccinations, sterilization procedures (spay and neuter surgeries), nail trims, dental procedures, and \u201cWellness Plans.\u201d<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although a maximum of five clinics per zip code were targeted, resulting in an estimated sample size of 200 clinics, some of the selected zip codes had fewer than five clinics, resulting in a final size of 177 clinics. Among these, 157 clinics (88.70%, 157\/177) had websites available for review, demonstrating a high level of online presence. However, information on specific service pricing was sparse. Three clinics (1.91%, 3\/157) provided pricing information for services on their websites. Similarly, only seven clinics (4.46%, 7\/157) offered a Wellness Plan option for patients, 2\/157 (1.27%) clinics mentioned insurance options, 13\/157 (8.28%) clinics listed payment options such as CareCredit, Scratch pay, check, cash, and 14\/157 (8.92%) clinics offered discounts such as free or reduced cost first visit fees.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings highlight a substantial gap in online price transparency, underscoring the need for increased transparency to promote informed decision-making and trust between clients and veterinarians.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2026.1788878","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T05:34:16Z","timestamp":1777872856000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lack of online price transparency of small animal veterinary clinics in the United States"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Alexis","family":"Adams","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University","place":["Harrogate, TN, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Gilley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University","place":["Harrogate, TN, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Victoria","family":"Morris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University","place":["Harrogate, TN, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lauren","family":"Wisnieski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University","place":["Harrogate, TN, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1069","DOI":"10.1001\/amajethics.2022.1069","article-title":"Necessity for and limitations of price transparency in American health care","volume":"24","author":"Pollack","year":"2022","journal-title":"AMA J Ethics"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2249588","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2022.49588","article-title":"Price transparency in hospitals\u2014current research and future directions","volume":"6","author":"Jiang","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1007\/s10916-020-01553-2","article-title":"Price transparency: empowering patient choice and promoting provider competition","volume":"44","author":"Miller","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Med Syst"},{"key":"ref4","first-page":"1","article-title":"Barriers to price and quality transparency in health care markets","volume":"9","author":"Rao","year":"2022","journal-title":"RAND Health Q"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1403483","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2024.1403483","article-title":"Prices for veterinary care of dogs, cats and horses in selected countries in Europe","volume":"11","author":"Egenvall","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Vet Sci"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0325075","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0325075","article-title":"Pet acquisition trends and veterinary care access in the United States","volume":"20","author":"Bir","year":"2025","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1689704","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2025.1689704","article-title":"Anticipating the downturn: business cycle forecasting for veterinary practice strategy in the United States","volume":"12","author":"Neill","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Vet Sci"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvsm.2006.09.007","article-title":"Talking with veterinary clients about money","volume":"37","author":"Klingborg","year":"2007","journal-title":"Vet Clin Small Anim"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1002\/inpr.570","article-title":"Pricing. 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Part 2: charging for veterinary expertise and handling grey areas \u2013 building trust through transparency","volume":"47","author":"Robinson","year":"2025","journal-title":"Pract Manag"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4148\/ojrrp.v5i7.269","article-title":"Shortage of rural veterinarians: real or perceived?","volume":"5","author":"Villarroel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Online J Rural Res Policy"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Veterinary Science"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fvets.2026.1788878\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T05:34:17Z","timestamp":1777872857000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fvets.2026.1788878\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"references-count":20,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fvets.2026.1788878"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fvets.2026.1788878","relation":{},"ISSN":["2297-1769"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2297-1769","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"article-number":"1788878"}}