article · Open Veterinary Journal
Veterinary telehealth has developed rapidly following the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by evolving client expectations and advances in information technology. Telemedicine operates alongside traditional veterinary practices to provide quality care, fulfil client demands, and enhance animal welfare. The approach supports various clinical specialities, including radiology, cardiology, dermatology, dentistry, and palliative care, as well as veterinary education. It provides distinct practical advantages, such as lower delivery costs, continuous availability, online payment integration, and strong efficacy in follow-up scenarios like surgical site checks or mobility assessments. However, the wider adoption of veterinary telemedicine requires formal oversight and regulatory support from veterinary governing bodies globally. Further research is also required to systematically evaluate how remote veterinary services can improve healthcare delivery, especially within underserved regions.
Telemedicine is reshaping how veterinary services are delivered, making care more convenient and cost-effective for animal owners. By enabling remote evaluations such as surgical check-ups and specialist consultations, it can enhance animal welfare and potentially bridge critical gaps in veterinary coverage for remote or underserved communities.
Veterinary telemedicine represents an applied, market-ready service model for veterinary clinics, animal health platforms, and training providers. It enables clinical service diversification into areas like remote consultations, tele-education, and digital triage. The abstract indicates these technologies are already in active use, though wider market scaling depends on supportive professional regulations and targeted expansion into underserved areas.
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Telehealth is a rapidly developing field of veterinary medicine, particularly during and after the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The world and animal owners' expectations are changing to the point where veterinary practice will need to adapt due to information technology advancements. This narrative review describes the status, benefits, technology basics, applications, limitations, and legal aspects of veterinary telemedicine over the globe. Veterinary telemedicine is a service alongside other veterinary services that meets client needs, delivers quality medicine, and improves animal welfare. The most frequently utilized veterinary telemedicine applications include teleradiology, telesonography, teledentistry, telecardiology, telerehabilitation, anesthesia teleconsultation, telehospice and telepalliative care, telecytology, tele-endoscpy, teledermatology, tele-ophthalmology, tele-behavior therapy, and veterinary education and training. Veterinary telemedicine has a bright near future and will impact veterinary medicine and animal welfare due to its numerous advantages. These advantages include its low cost, availability, involvement in veterinary health care, online payment, and effectiveness in many clinical situations such as follow-up after an in-person examination, inspection of surgical sites, or mobility. Nevertheless, veterinary telemedicine should receive more attention from veterinary professional regulatory bodies in all countries. Moreover, it is necessary to conduct more studies to evaluate how telehealth is beginning to improve veterinary care, particularly for underserved regions.
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DOI: 10.5455/ovj.2024.v14.i4.2
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