Check the collar ID: What to know about local vets using telemedicine
No one enjoys dental work.
Least of all Nellie, a 14-year-old retired racing greyhound.
Owner Britt Freitag of Cleveland knew Nellie needed a dental cleaning and tooth extractions, and entrusted the staff at Oak Tree Veterinary Hospital in Cleveland Heights with the procedure.
Normally after this type of surgery, the veterinarians perform dental rechecks to ensure everything is healing correctly. So far, Nellie has had two such appointments, but hasn't walked into the vet hospital's facility for either one.
If fact, they were done on Freitag's couch, with an Oak Tree vet examining Nellie's mouth via her owner's laptop. This is one of the many ways that Oak Tree uses telemedicine, which involves providing medical care through electronic means such as a mobile app or virtual platform, to help pets and their owners.
Since greyhounds have thinner skin, they are susceptible to cuts — and Freitag's pups were no exception. Freitag recalls her time in New Jersey, before moving to downtown Cleveland, when Nellie and her late brother, Dobby, were younger and more rambunctious. She said having access to telemedicine for her pets at that time would've been helpful.
"It would be one of those things like, 'Oh, does this need stitches? Or is am I fine just to clean it?' " Freitag said. "It's nice to have that line where you can save yourself a trip if you need to, but then know you're still taking proper care. So I guess it alleviates [the] guilty dog mom of like, 'I don't want to make a whole production of bringing them in, but I just want to make sure they don't need anything.' "
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Common uses for pet telemedicine
Nellie is one of the four to eight telemedicine patients Oak Tree Veterinary Hospital services in the average month.
Oak Tree Veterinary Hospital has been a veterinary clinic for over three decades, with Dr. Tracey Hitchcock and Dr. Scott Smith owning it for the last 10 years.
The clinic, like many practices across the country, began conducting certain appointments over video during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, it was to limit patient contact while still providing medical care. Now it’s used primarily for consultations that are more about educating the client than physically seeing the pet.
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Concerns about a pet’s behavior in a clinical setting are one of the most common reasons Hitchcock and her colleagues are booked for telemedicine consultations. In these cases, the pet cannot come into the facility due to extreme anxiety, aggression or other behavioral concerns they may exhibit. Second opinions on surgeries from pet owners with a lengthy commute to their office are also popular reasons for online appointments.
Other situations for telemedicine are less common, but still occur. In the past, Hitchcock has had clients use the video appointments for pets with mobility issues, are in hospice care or are simply unsure of whether their pet’s ailment qualifies as an emergency.
What can’t vets do with telemedicine?
There are limits to what Oak Tree’s vets are able and willing to do over a video call. Some obvious pitfalls are their inability to do a physical exam or run diagnostics. There are also certain actions, such as prescribing medications, that Hitchcock won’t do without seeing the pet in person.
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“I personally wouldn't make any diagnosis unless I really had to without doing a physical exam or having a medical record in front of me from another veterinarian who just did a physical exam,” Hitchcock said. “But I think it has great benefits for those other circumstances.”
The only exception would be pets who need anxiety medication in order to come in and complete a physical exam, she clarified.
Telemedicine vs. traditional visit
In-person appointments for nonurgent care patients are $63 at Oak Tree, while telemedicine consultations are priced at $88. Owners must also pay beforehand for telemedicine visits.
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In the veterinarian industry, telemedicine appointments are considered the same as wellness appointments in terms of insurance coverage, according to Hitchcock. In fact, some insurance companies such as Nationwide offer their own 24-hour pet telemedicine services for free to policy holders.
The time allotted for telemedicine appointments depends on vets’ schedules, but people can normally schedule video calls for the same day or within 24 hours.
Online-only veterinary clinics
There are also companies not associated with brick-and-mortar veterinarian clinics or insurance companies that offer telemedicine for pets.
One of the more popular options seems to be Vetster, which describes itself as an online marketplace that allows licensed veterinarians to provide veterinary telemedicine consultations and prescriptions to owners of pets, service animals and farm and ranch animals.
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It is worth noting, however, what section five of the American Veterinary Practice Act’s Model Veterinary Practice Act — a set of guiding principles for the creation of state veterinary practice acts — mentions about telehealth and telemedicine in the veterinary field.
“No person may practice veterinary medicine in the State except within the context of a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR),” the document states. “A VCPR cannot be established solely by telephonic or other electronic means. Without a VCPR, any advice provided through electronic means shall be general and not specific to a patient, diagnosis or treatment. Veterinary telemedicine shall only be conducted within an existing VCPR, with the exception for advice given in an emergency until that patient can be seen by a licensed veterinarian.”
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Telemedicine is making its way into the pet industry: What to know
