As restrictions begin to ease the veterinary industry is looking ahead to a future beyond lockdown as we know it. Veterinary professionals are considering what the “new normal” will look like and what innovations or ways of working will (must) be retained for this new future.
Over the past months, veterinary telehealth and telemedicine solutions have been accelerated and barriers to these essential services have been removed swiftly to keep both pets and the people who love and care for them safe. What is also true is that this acceleration will continue to change the adoption of new technology and the way veterinary services are delivered into a future beyond COVID-19.
In the short term, it is likely that a large portion of teams will continue to work remotely and that many clients will be unable to leave their homes for some time yet. Therefore, this article will discuss the value of telemedicine solutions such as virtual visits beyond our immediate climate.
1. Increase accessibility
Virtual visit capabilities can be used to continue to offer more accessibility for hard to reach or vulnerable customers. Increasing accessibility beyond a pandemic situation can benefit those who are sick, at-risk, unable to travel due to caring responsibilities or those with no access to transportation. Virtual visits are particularly useful in remote areas where specialist care is not available and where pets cannot tolerate a visit to the vet. Maintaining this accessibility and speed of access can have many benefits for clients, vets and practice and ensure that pets get the treatment required.
2. Stay flexible
Telemedicine solutions have allowed practices to work in a more flexible way and veterinary teams the ability to adapt and deliver care based on the individual patient/client need. For example, virtual visits can be offered to lessen stress for animals, reduce unnecessary vet visits as well as offering advantages of seeing the animal in a home environment. For many pet owners, bringing their pet into the clinic is a challenge, it may be that their pet is elderly, anxious or does not mix well in the waiting room. This flexibility also allows for post-op monitoring of animals recovering from a procedure to be carried out at home where possible. Staying flexible in this way allows the practice to continue to offer convenient care.
3. Keep connected
Virtual visit functionality has also facilitated easy access to specialist advice, enabling a second opinion and more accurate triage of emergency cases. Enabling connections in this way has aided both veterinary teams and clients alike. Virtual visits have also been valuable in the provision of general advice for clients in relation to minor conditions and preventative medicine. Maintaining this level of connection can also benefit clients struggling with handling or administering medication.
4. Rethink the client experience
The new, forced ways of working have provided opportunities to inspire innovation and rethink the client experience. Virtual visit capabilities have offered new ways to innovate and update workflows while providing more reassurance to pet owners. Being able to see a vet ‘face-to-face’, if not in person, has been reassuring for a lot of pet owners, where the veterinarian can assess whether they need to be seen, take action or provide peace of mind.
During lockdown, virtual visits have been widely used to assist with “carpark care” where veterinarians and their staff of practitioners have the ability to see pets in a physical consultation with the owner remaining socially distant. For example, a virtual visit can allow the client to see what is going on whilst outside of the practice or in their car while joining using their mobile device.
Post-lockdown, virtual visits can also be useful to allow clients to see what is going on in an exam room in the case they must remain outside or in the waiting room. Finally, virtual visits can also be helpful within the home environment and can be particularly useful in cases where symptoms have or can appear “normal” during the in-person visit to the practice.
5. Recover revenue
The aim of telemedicine solutions are to maintain the access of veterinary care to clients and can, of course, bring much-needed cash flow into their practices. Offering virtual visit capabilities beyond lockdown can continue to help clients access the essential services they need, establish new revenue streams and in turn, keep the practice running.
Using online payment solutions alongside virtual visit capabilities can also help your practice eliminate payment barriers and continue to drive revenue. Lockdown aside, there has been an increasing need for practices to offer alternative, online payment methods to support transactions. Offering this flexibility can keep transactions flowing whether teams are working remotely, conducting virtual appointments or simply don’t have a point of sale device to hand.
Register for virtual visits
As telemedicine solutions evolve and develop, they also present new benefits to practices, animals and clients. The current climate has provided an opportunity to make technology work for us and the adaptations made to deal with COVID-19 are likely to remain in place as client expectations shift. Making the most of virtual visit capabilities beyond lockdown can help your practice stay ahead and remain in a better position to adapt to a “new normal.”
Learn more about RxWorks Virtual Visits.
Learn more about RoboVet Virtual Visits.