JULY 17, 2023
EVOLVE THE VCPR TO ENHANCE TELEHEALTH COVERAGE
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An overriding issue in 2023 and soon to be 2024 is access to care. For example, there is often a several-week wait to be seen for routine care in general practice or a several-hour wait or many mile drive required to be seen at an available veterinary emergency facility. The current VCPR was established in a time of paper records and push-button phones. Technology has advanced dramatically in the past 50 years. And, it is time to embrace those advances by redefining the VCPR to benefit our clients and the profession. There are many times when a visual evaluation of an animal combined with a good history can provide a reasonable direction for initial treatment. And, it needs to be remembered that the exam room visit with hands on a pet does not offer a guarantee of proper approach and treatment. The use of telemedicine as an option to diagnose and treat a pet or other non-companion animal should be at the veterinarian's discretion. We can take a lesson from our human health care partners in that establishing a doctor-patient relationship does not require an in-person visit. Broadening the VCPR will eliminate some of the present bottlenecks to care delivery by eliminating the need for many routine and urgent care visits that can, in many cases, be addressed via access to telemedicine. This approach will also open up access to incremental care for those individuals in urban environments that are not close to veterinary services and/or are unable to access transportation options to a veterinarian. Additionally, establishing a VCPR through a telemedicine approach will enable mixed animal and equine veterinarians to extend their reach and leverage their ability to serve their communities. The advances in wearable technologies and other at-home diagnostic capabilities is only going to enhance the potential already evident in the telemedicine realm. It is time for veterinary medicine to move to a 21st-century definition of the VCPR.