Veterinary telehealth: The basics

Telehealth, spurred by the rise of digital communications technologies, presents both opportunities and challenges for healthcare providers, including veterinarians and their staff. Understanding key definitions is important as you decide whether and how to implement telemedicine in your practice.

Telehealth

Telehealth is the overarching term that encompasses all uses of technology to deliver health information, education or care remotely. Telehealth can be divided into categories based on who is involved in the communication.

For communications between veterinarians and animal owners there are two important categories that are distinguished by whether a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) has been established: telemedicine, which is client-facing, includes the delivery of information specific to a particular patient and is allowable only within the context of an established VCPR; and non-client-facing models that involve delivery of general advice, telemarketing, and advertising.

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AVMA Veterinary Telehealth Guidelines cover

AVMA guidelines: Use of telehealth in veterinary practice

Use this hands-on reference as a practical, step-by-step guide to implement and expand telehealth in your practice.

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AVMA/AAHA joint guidelines for small-animal practice

CE to expand your mastery

Earn CE while learning about practical applications of telehealth in these on-demand webinars on AVMA Axon, both free for AVMA members.