{"id":75638,"date":"2024-02-01T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T05:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=75638"},"modified":"2024-02-20T13:02:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T18:02:57","slug":"telehealth-innovation-station-0224","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/telehealth-innovation-station-0224\/","title":{"rendered":"In Telehealth I Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first message I received was in Ukrainian. I swallowed, nervous. I asked a colleague to translate the text message. Meanwhile, I cycled through worst-case scenarios: Gunshot wound? A crush injury after a missile strike? A traumatic brain injury after a bomb explosion? I received the translation: \u201cMy cat, \u041c\u0443\u0440\u0447\u0438\u043a, is peeing outside the box. What can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that\u2019s not so scary,\u201d I thought. I asked whether anything had changed in the cat\u2019s home or neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we have daily air raids here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019ll do it.<\/p>\n

That was the day Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine became real for me. The humanitarian organization Animal Help Ukraine had put Ukrainian pet owners in touch with U.S. veterinary professionals. I was one of the volunteers giving advice.<\/p>\n

The cat owner I communicated with was asking about a familiar concern for a surreal reason. But even being a world away, I could help. If you took away the air raids, shootings and crumbled buildings, we were just a pet owner and a veterinarian discussing a cat\u2019s potty behavior. I took a history to investigate for signs that something else might be causing the inappropriate urination. When I found nothing suspicious, I told the owner what to try at home to help the cat feel less stressed.<\/p>\n

The plight of \u041c\u0443\u0440\u0447\u0438\u043a (pronounced Moore-cheek) wasn\u2019t unique. A year into the project, our team of volunteers had used telehealth to assist an additional 10,000 Ukrainian pets. I was proud that, in a time of war, we could offer peace of mind to our Ukrainian friends that their furry companions were not sick or suffering.<\/p>\n

The Veterinary Definition of Care<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The success of the Animal Help Ukraine project was eye-opening. A randomized sample of the engagements revealed that 71% were resolved remotely, leading me to question the conventional boundaries of care defined by the American Veterinary Medical Association and many veterinary professionals.<\/p>\n

In the October\/November 2023 issue of Today\u2019s Veterinary Business<\/em>, AVMA President Dr. Rena Carlson stated<\/a>: \u201cLet\u2019s be realistic. Often, when people talk about access to care, their thoughts go to basic care. The basic care most animals need is preventive care tailored to an animal\u2019s specific circumstances. That requires an in-person visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I used to think the same thing until I started working full time in the world of telehealth. (I have performed tens of thousands of consults since then.) I quickly realized that, based on their presentation and history, pets can receive valuable services that don\u2019t require a physical exam. From triage to post-treatment support, telehealth has revealed its crucial role in the continuum of care.<\/p>\n

Those who push back hardest against telehealth often have a narrower definition of care, further bolstering barriers to veterinary access. Limiting the definition to the education, diagnostics and treatments that occur only during and after a physical exam discounts the countless health care decisions that well-intentioned yet medically untrained pet owners make throughout an animal\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

This narrow definition prevents veterinarians from exercising their skills, knowledge and experience to fill in the gaps of what most traditional clinics don\u2019t have the time or bandwidth for. That is, helping pet owners make medically appropriate decisions between in-person appointments.<\/p>\n

Irrespective of whether we get the support we need from our representative body, pet owners will continue to demand easier access to veterinary care. People use telehealth for their human children, so isn\u2019t it reasonable to expect a similar service for their fur children?<\/p>\n

Pursuing Alternative Care<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One thing I learned in my years of telehealth work is that when pet owners have questions, we can achieve the best patient outcomes by meeting people where they are. That might mean:<\/p>\n