BY: Samantha Bartlett
The veterinary industry has seen a drastic increase in interest for telemedicine since March. The COVID-19 pandemic has made what was once a novel idea into a mainstream necessity. With many states restricting human interaction, some veterinary hospitals have been scrambling to find a balance between traditional ways of practicing medicine and learning how to conduct telemedicine visits while still providing the best patient care and staying within the limits of the law. In light of this situation, the FDA has loosened its regulations to give veterinarians more freedom to use telehealth. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been encouraging telehealth to monitor patients and decrease hospital visits to majority emergency situations.
Dr. Lori Teller, a clinical professor of Telehealth at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, has been conducting webinars and consulting with other academic institutions to help state VMAs and veterinary colleges get up to speed on telemedicine quickly.
By implementing telemedicine, practices can limit contact between hospital staff members and clients and lower chances of spreading the COVID-19 virus. Veterinarians can use this tool to triage patients and determined if the need to be seen at the clinic. Dr. Teller cautions that for telemedicine to be successful, it has to be implemented appropriately into the workflow. Staff members need to be trained to use the correct terms and verbiage when speaking to clients about telehealth.
Critics of virtual visits cite the inability to perform a full exam and fully care for patients through a distance platform. Understanding that there are certain things that cannot be accomplished through telemedicine does not negate what can be accomplished. You can, however use a virtual visit to educate a client on patient care, triage whether a pet needs to be seen and advise clients on how to care for their pets in certain situations.
Dr. Teller advises starting small with simple dermatology or wound rechecks and management of chronically ill patients such as diabetics. Once you are comfortable with how telemedicine works, you can better decide what can be accomplished via virtual visits and what should be scheduled as an in-clinic visit.
Although the FDA has relaxed their standards on off-label drug usage and veterinary feed directives, other pet medicine is under the jurisdiction of the state veterinary medical associations. Currently, many states have not changed their wording on the ability of veterinarians to establish VCPR through telemedicine; however, if a VCPR is already established, patient care can be provided through telehealth. Just a the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly changing, so is the face of veterinary telemedicine. It is important to keep up-to-date on your state VMA’s guidance regarding telehealth and COVID-19 precautions.
