Jennifer Challenger, DVM, poignantly captured the dangers of Dr. Google and challenges facing veterinary practices in a recent article for The Osprey Observer. “There is a well-known case in veterinary circles, “writes Dr. Challenger, “about a pet owner who gave her pet a penny because ‘Dr. Google’ reported it would kill worms.” When the pet later presented with a blood disorder, “the veterinarian took an X-ray and found the penny.” While the pet thankfully survived the removal of the penny, Dr. Challenger adds that the cost to the pet owner was “a very expensive surgery.”
Despite such stories, research shows that roughly 70% of pet owners continue to turn to Google or social media to get answers to their pet health questions before even attempting to speak with a veterinarian. So, how do you put your veterinary practice front and center as the trusted source of veterinary care?
Research shows that, once pet owners connect with practices through telemedicine, they tend to stay connected with practices as their preferred choice of veterinary care and information, which is why:
- Many veterinarians call telemedicine the future of the veterinary profession.
- Practices are using telemedicine to expand access to care.
- Many practices are planning to keep telemedicine post-pandemic.
As an example, according to a recent survey by the VHMA:
- 48% of member practices said they planned on continuing telemedicine for existing clients.
- 9% said they planned on continuing telemedicine for new clients.
- 14% said they planned to continue teletriage.
The main challenge facing practices in getting pet owners connected to telemedicine is awareness.
For example, veterinary teams using Petriage, the complete telehealth solution, know the benefits to practices:
- Improved clinic efficiency and workflows (more patients/cases managed per day)
- Increased practice revenue (ability to charge for and monetize telemedicine)
- Improved work-life balance for staff
Yet clients may not know that your practice has Petriage or understand the benefits:
- Expanded access to care (24/7 AI-driven Symptom Checker, virtual consultations, and automated remote monitoring)
- Improved patient outcomes and continuity of care
- Enriched client experience (more touchpoints and convenient access to pet health care)
To increase awareness, strengthen client engagement, and realize more appointments, reach out to your clients through email, your practice social channels, and practice website to let them know you have Petriage. If you’ve already done so, send them a reminder. They may not have seen your original announcement, and make sure to tell clients what Petriage offers them. The more you do this, the more you strengthen your practice as their preferred choice of veterinary care.
If You Haven’t Heard of Petriage
Designed to optimize practice operations and efficiencies through PIMS integration for automatic medical record keeping, Petriage stands apart from competing telehealth services as a full-circle telehealth solution, with a patent-pending AI-driven teletriage tool, virtual medicine consultations, and automated remote monitoring.
Petriage’s teletriage tool drives appointments by providing clients with free 24/7 access to a Symptom Checker with increasing levels of urgency, and a corresponding time range for care. The Symptom Checker has a triage accuracy rate of 99.2%, and built-in Stripe integration allows clients to pay for consultations directly through Petriage.
Available through LifeLearn as a standalone solution, Petriage can also be added and integrated into WebDVM websites (both for existing and new WebDVM customers) for quick pet-owner access.
Contact LifeLearn today to find out more about Petriage.
