Telehealth in Large Animal Internal Medicine

Presentation Description / Session Abstract: Telehealth will likely replace part of the medical care we currently provide and expand the spectrum of veterinary work. The goal of a telehealth program from the specialists’ perspective may not be to substitute referrals, but to expand the spectrum of what they can offer. We have performed pilot work exploring real time telehealth. Telehealth was feasible, well received by horse owners, private practitioners, specialty trainees and remote experts. The perceived benefits of the telehealth program were the addition of clinically useful information, reassurance to practitioners and horse owners, and education for practitioners. We believe controlled trials to help design best practice guidelines and establish that the health and welfare of patients is not compromised by this medical modality should follow. We believe that telehealth can increase the quality of equine internal medicine by improving access to expert advice. The implementation of telehealth is likely to be fast, and may disregard adequate testing of its shortcomings, due to the potential for large economic gains of this modality. The veterinary profession needs to determine how to implement changes while maintaining animal health and evidence-based principles as priorities. If implemented wisely, telehealth could improve animal health, client satisfaction, the quality of veterinary care and the veterinary profession, and provide new opportunities for learning and collaboration worldwide. The goal of this session is to discuss the opportunities, approaches and challenges that telehealth with bring to large animal internists and the ACVIM.