The veterinarian will see you now \u2014 any time of the day or night. But the two of you may not be in the same exam room or even in the same city or state.<\/p>\n
Welcome to the fast-growing brand of veterinary medicine \u2014 telehealth. Think of it as the House Call Version 2.0. But instead of the veterinarian stepping into your home \u2014 or you traveling to the veterinary clinic, your dog is diagnosed and a care plan is quickly created by a veterinarian during a live video call with you.<\/p>\n Fast. Convenient. And definitely on the rise. What is fueling the popularity of telehealth medicine for pets?<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt that this pandemic with pet ownership now at record numbers has jumpstarted telemedicine and video conferencing,\u201d says Courtney Campbell, a board-certified veterinary surgeon and chief creative officer of Vet Candy. \u201cLook for more and more pet parents getting information directly from veterinarians on the Internet, video calls and certain portals versus actually going to the veterinary clinics to talk with their veterinarians in person.\u201d<\/p>\n Beke Lubeach, general manager of DOGTV, recently relocated from Arizona to San Diego with her dogs, Walter and Payton. \u201cA couple of times during COVID lockdown, there were some small concerns I had with my dogs and I was able to rectify via telehealth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Others, like Isabel Alvarez Arata, have relied on veterinary telemedicine for their dogs because they live in areas that do not have holistic veterinary providers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of veterinary telemedicine because it gives us access to veterinarians outside our area and also keeps pets home where they are most comfortable unless there is a need for an in-person visit,\u201d says Isabel, a former professional pet sitting company owner who now hosts the Covered in Pet Hair podcast on Pet Life Radio.<\/p>\n As many pet parents can attest, health issues with dogs do not always occur during workday hours. When after-hour \u201cuh-ohs\u201d occur \u2014 such as your dog throwing up at 1 a.m. \u2014 you may feel that your only safe option is to drive your sick dog to a veterinary emergency care hospital. But the bill is often pricey and your pet\u2019s primary veterinarian was not involved in the diagnosis or treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cIn reality, we have found that about 80% of the visits to the ER hospital are not really emergencies,\u201d says Jeff Werber, DVM, who founded Airvet<\/a> with his son, Brandon Werber in 2018. \u201cAirvet has been a game changer in veterinary medicine. Clients have access to affordable care 24-7 and we work with their veterinarians. Clients love having access to talk to veterinarians one-on-one any time of the day or night.\u201d<\/p>\n Other major players in the veterinary telehealth trend include Dutch<\/a> and Fuzzy<\/a>. Dutch was co-founded by Joe Spector and Brian Evans, DVM, and focuses on pets with chronic conditions, such as anxiety and allergies. As of press time, membership is available in 16 states (and growing) and includes free shipping on medications.<\/p>\n \u201cWe chose to launch Dutch with a focus on behavior and dermatology issues to start,\u201d says Dr. Evans, because the two issues are very amenable to telemedicine. \u201cDutch is reaching its goal of providing a modern solution to vet care by allowing pet parents to have a more immediate means of finding comfort for their pets from issues such as anxiety and allergies \u2014 issues often left under treated or untreated.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuzzy co-founders Eric Palm and Zubin Bhettay were motivated to create this telemedicine company in 2016 after Zubin rushed his dog, Mo, to an emergency vet hospital. After what he called \u201cseven stressful hours,\u201d he was billed $2,500 and later learned that his dog\u2019s luxated patella could have been treated at home.<\/p>\n \u201cFuzzy is designed to put pet parenting on autopilot and remove the stress, uncertainty and worry by connecting pet parents with veterinary profes-sionals fast \u2014 rather than relying on expensive, in-person emergency visits or diagnosis via Dr. Google,\u201d says Harley Butler, chief marketing officer. \u201cFuzzy\u2019s 24\/7 Live Vet Chat and video consults give pet parents immediate access day or night for any pet health questions they may have or guidance they may need.\u201d<\/p>\n Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many veterinary practices saw the value of adding telemedicine to their service options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do tons of telehealth appointments,\u201d says Dr. Lisa Radosta, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and owner of Florida Veterinary Behavior Ser-vice in West Palm Beach. \u201cScared dogs don\u2019t have to ride in the car as often. We can observe them in their home environment, and it is convenient for pet parents so they don\u2019t miss their rechecks. That means that their dogs get better care.\u201d<\/p>\n Telemedicine does not come without risks, as in any type of medicine practiced. There can be adverse drug interactions or missed diagnoses due to poor imaging transmissions.<\/p>\n Still, many, including Amy Shever, founder of 2nd Chance 4 Pets, embrace veterinary telemedicine.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many reasons telemedicine makes sense for pet owners who don\u2019t have access to local vet care or specialists and to offer phone consults to determine if a pet needs to be seen by a veterinarian or a specialist and for pet owners who have mobility issues and need virtual pet care support,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Depending on your state laws, telemedicine providers can evaluate, diagnose, consult and provide treatment for pets. But they must establish what is known as VCPR. That stands for veterinarian-client-patient-relationship. Some states allow veterinarians to form these VCPR relationships remotely and some do not.<\/p>\n To find out what the legal status for telemedicine is in your state, visit the Veterinary Virtual Care Association website, which features a veterinary telemedicine regulatory map of current VCPR laws in every state: vvca.org\/the-basics-about-telemedicine-and-the-vcpr<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post The Emergence of Veterninary Telehealth<\/a> by Arden Moore<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post The Emergence of Veterninary Telehealth<\/a> by Arden Moore<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n The veterinarian will see you now \u2014 any time of the day or night. But the two of you may not be in the same exam room or even in the same city or state.<\/p>\n Welcome to the fast-growing brand of veterinary medicine \u2014 telehealth. Think of it as the House Call Version 2.0. But instead of the veterinarian stepping into your home \u2014 or you traveling to the veterinary clinic, your dog is diagnosed and a care plan is quickly created by a veterinarian during a live video call with you.<\/p>\n Fast. Convenient. And definitely on the rise. What is fueling the popularity of telehealth medicine for pets?<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt that this pandemic with pet ownership now at record numbers has jumpstarted telemedicine and video conferencing,\u201d says Courtney Campbell, a board-certified veterinary surgeon and chief creative officer of Vet Candy. \u201cLook for more and more pet parents getting information directly from veterinarians on the Internet, video calls and certain portals versus actually going to the veterinary clinics to talk with their veterinarians in person.\u201d<\/p>\n Beke Lubeach, general manager of DOGTV, recently relocated from Arizona to San Diego with her dogs, Walter and Payton. \u201cA couple of times during COVID lockdown, there were some small concerns I had with my dogs and I was able to rectify via telehealth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Others, like Isabel Alvarez Arata, have relied on veterinary telemedicine for their dogs because they live in areas that do not have holistic veterinary providers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of veterinary telemedicine because it gives us access to veterinarians outside our area and also keeps pets home where they are most comfortable unless there is a need for an in-person visit,\u201d says Isabel, a former professional pet sitting company owner who now hosts the Covered in Pet Hair podcast on Pet Life Radio.<\/p>\n As many pet parents can attest, health issues with dogs do not always occur during workday hours. When after-hour \u201cuh-ohs\u201d occur \u2014 such as your dog throwing up at 1 a.m. \u2014 you may feel that your only safe option is to drive your sick dog to a veterinary emergency care hospital. But the bill is often pricey and your pet\u2019s primary veterinarian was not involved in the diagnosis or treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cIn reality, we have found that about 80% of the visits to the ER hospital are not really emergencies,\u201d says Jeff Werber, DVM, who founded Airvet<\/a> with his son, Brandon Werber in 2018. \u201cAirvet has been a game changer in veterinary medicine. Clients have access to affordable care 24-7 and we work with their veterinarians. Clients love having access to talk to veterinarians one-on-one any time of the day or night.\u201d<\/p>\n Other major players in the veterinary telehealth trend include Dutch<\/a> and Fuzzy<\/a>. Dutch was co-founded by Joe Spector and Brian Evans, DVM, and focuses on pets with chronic conditions, such as anxiety and allergies. As of press time, membership is available in 16 states (and growing) and includes free shipping on medications.<\/p>\n \u201cWe chose to launch Dutch with a focus on behavior and dermatology issues to start,\u201d says Dr. Evans, because the two issues are very amenable to telemedicine. \u201cDutch is reaching its goal of providing a modern solution to vet care by allowing pet parents to have a more immediate means of finding comfort for their pets from issues such as anxiety and allergies \u2014 issues often left under treated or untreated.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuzzy co-founders Eric Palm and Zubin Bhettay were motivated to create this telemedicine company in 2016 after Zubin rushed his dog, Mo, to an emergency vet hospital. After what he called \u201cseven stressful hours,\u201d he was billed $2,500 and later learned that his dog\u2019s luxated patella could have been treated at home.<\/p>\n \u201cFuzzy is designed to put pet parenting on autopilot and remove the stress, uncertainty and worry by connecting pet parents with veterinary profes-sionals fast \u2014 rather than relying on expensive, in-person emergency visits or diagnosis via Dr. Google,\u201d says Harley Butler, chief marketing officer. \u201cFuzzy\u2019s 24\/7 Live Vet Chat and video consults give pet parents immediate access day or night for any pet health questions they may have or guidance they may need.\u201d<\/p>\n Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many veterinary practices saw the value of adding telemedicine to their service options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do tons of telehealth appointments,\u201d says Dr. Lisa Radosta, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and owner of Florida Veterinary Behavior Ser-vice in West Palm Beach. \u201cScared dogs don\u2019t have to ride in the car as often. We can observe them in their home environment, and it is convenient for pet parents so they don\u2019t miss their rechecks. That means that their dogs get better care.\u201d<\/p>\n Telemedicine does not come without risks, as in any type of medicine practiced. There can be adverse drug interactions or missed diagnoses due to poor imaging transmissions.<\/p>\n Still, many, including Amy Shever, founder of 2nd Chance 4 Pets, embrace veterinary telemedicine.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many reasons telemedicine makes sense for pet owners who don\u2019t have access to local vet care or specialists and to offer phone consults to determine if a pet needs to be seen by a veterinarian or a specialist and for pet owners who have mobility issues and need virtual pet care support,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Depending on your state laws, telemedicine providers can evaluate, diagnose, consult and provide treatment for pets. But they must establish what is known as VCPR. That stands for veterinarian-client-patient-relationship. Some states allow veterinarians to form these VCPR relationships remotely and some do not.<\/p>\n To find out what the legal status for telemedicine is in your state, visit the Veterinary Virtual Care Association website, which features a veterinary telemedicine regulatory map of current VCPR laws in every state: vvca.org\/the-basics-about-telemedicine-and-the-vcpr<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post The Emergence of Veterninary Telehealth<\/a> by Arden Moore<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s36700.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tele2-600x400.png\")
Why the Rise in Popularity<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s36700.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tele4-600x400.jpg.optimal.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s36700.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tele5-600x400.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s36700.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tele3-600x400.jpg.optimal.jpg\")
Why and When it Makes Sense<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s36700.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/tele6-600x400.png\")
Veterinary Telemedicine in Your State<\/h3>\n
Why the Rise in Popularity<\/h3>\n
Why and When it Makes Sense<\/h3>\n
Veterinary Telemedicine in Your State<\/h3>\n