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How effective is telemedicine, really?

How effective is telemedicine, really?

7 Aug 2023 14:39 | Erik Fausak (Administrator)

Independent research is needed to answer questions about telemedicine

Published August 7, 2023 at https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/

Telemedicine is difficult to define, and, as such, may be difficult to form specific clinical questions for investigation. How does it compare to being in the clinic? Are there benefits? Downsides? What is it like for the patients? For clients? Veterinarians? Even wearable devices are considered telemedicine, but currently, the field is largely undefined.

Veterinarians are busy, and not always with animals. Emails, voicemails, and our EMR worklist grows like a field of foxtail grass in the spring. However, while technology is often sold to make life or work easier, things can also go awry.

One of the big “disruptors” in contemporary veterinary medicine seems to be the looming specter of telehealth. This term does not really have any standardized definition, but in general, means “medicine at a distance.” The patient and the provider are connected in different locations through technology. In fact, at some level, if you have ever been emailed a photo of a cat’s rear end and asked, “Are these tapeworms?” you have already practiced telemedicine!

Read the full article here! Written by EBVMA Member, Greg Bishop, DVM

The EBVMA (Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association) is an international non-profit [U.S. 501(c)3] professional organization founded to better organize the emerging research, training and practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) — the formal strategy to integrate the best critically-designed and statistically evaluated research available combined with clinical expertise as well as the unique needs or wishes of each client in clinical practice.

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