According to an article posted on Equine Guelph's Horse Portal, having an animal visit the clinic or a veterinarian visit the farm or household will be necessary in many situations. However, telemedicine should be approached as the default method to deal with a horse owner's concern about a sick horse during the pandemic and when a visit by a veterinarian is difficult.
Older horse resting in pasture
Telemedicine allows veterinarians to discuss cases and guide horse owners on how to manage a situation that doesn't require a visit,and then monitor cases from a distance.
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A triage approach should be used, whereby telemedicine options are considered first, and in-person visits are used when telemedicine is not appropriate.
Here is what a handful of veterinarians have to say about telemedicine:
“I think large animal vets are already accustomed to fielding phone calls and reviewing client videos to determine if a visit to the farm is in order,” Dr. Laura Frost – Halton Equine Services. “Telemedicine is a really good tool if a client is in a remote location.”
Halton Equine has used telemedicine a handful of times since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In cases where a visit to the farm was deemed necessary, Frost says their practice has waived the initial telemedicine fee and applied it to the cost of the visit.
Rivendell Equine Veterinary Services operates with the same kind of arrangement for their telemedicine service. “If we end up attending the farm or they ship in, the fee is deducted from the clinical exam,” says Dr. Bri Henderson. “We also have a ‘suitability for sport’ consult fee that is used when I review videos and xrays for potential pre-purchase candidates.”
“Telemedicine allows us to discuss cases and potentially guide our clients on how to manage a situation that doesn’t really require a visit, “ says Henderson. “We can monitor cases from a distance and then if parameters change, make arrangements for the horse to be seen.”
Rivendell has been using telemedicine for a while. There was a slight increase during the initial shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “It is a fairly regular part of our practice,” says Henderson. “I want clients to know they can always reach out with questions and that we won’t needlessly spend their money. It helps with the client-vet trust. In circumstances where more expensive diagnostics or treatment are advised, they know I’m doing it for the good of their horse.”
From our interviews it would appear large animal vets are already aware of the benefits of using telemedicine and have embraced the concept as common practice. The ‘new normal’ of integrating telemedicine may be on the rise more in small animal clinics since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
If you have not done so, contact your equine vet clinic to learn more about their practice guidelines for telemedicine so that you are aware of the process should you need a veterinarian.
Read the entire article from Equine Guelph here
Press release by Equine Guelph