The Televeterinary Coalition is a volunteer group of people who believe remote veterinary consulting can be added to traditional veterinary practice to help pets, people and the veterinary profession.
The origin of the Televeterinary Coalition is from the Veterinary Future Society (VFS).
The VFS founder, Dr. Rolan Tripp now serves as volunteer chair of the Televeterinary Coalition. (DrRolanTripp@gmail.com)
Coalition members include practicing veterinarians, attorneys, veterinary specialists, vet industry observers and pet owners.
Organizations or individuals can become members of the coalition. If an organization joins the Televeterinary Coalition, it means that they designate one member of that org as a representative who agrees to also become a voting member of the Coalition. The other individuals of the member-org may or may not decide to join the Televeterinary Coalition.
The member-org representative then determines what that org might contribute to the televeterinary effort and reports back to their respective org keeping them informed of any progress.
The coalition does not currently include food production consultants but this is another potential area where remote access to televeterinary specialists could benefit the profession and public.
The current primary goal of the Coalition is to partner with the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics to develop, "Proposed Global Guidelines for Ethical Televeterinary Practice." Because remote consulting crosses not only state lines but also national boundaries, the intent is for the veterinary profession to guide this new addition to the profession along ethical lines. The guidelines will then be openly distributed in the hope that they are helpful to states or nations that revise or develop their own televeterinary guidelines.
We have invited and hope to partner with the American Veterinary Medical History Society to learn from past changes in the profession on how to maximize the benefit and minimize the problems when adding new components to veterinary practice.
We have invited and hope to partner with the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Association to request individuals who use Televeterinary Services give feedback about what should be included in the Proposed Guidelines.
Another goal is to study positions of organizations such as the American Association of Veterinary State Boards who put out position papers on Televeterinary Practice. We hope to become a "Clearinghouse of Information on Televeterinary Practice."
After removing any personal information, we invite state boards to notify us of reported issues related to Televeterinary Practice. We want to know, "What are the issues or problems encountered when attempting to give remote assistance?"
In some cases, we may contact individual state veterinary medical boards and encourage them to embrace televeterinary practice and avoid including wording in their next revision of their state veterinary practice act that restrains veterinarians under their jurisdiction from employing televeterinary tools.
Member organizations designate one representative to represent the view of that org and to report back to the org in general on progress of the coalition. Each org is a separate entity responsible for their own bylaws, rules, and actions. The coalition does not control and is not responsible for the actions of the member orgs and visa versa.
Individuals can participate to the level of involvement desired. Some people are available to help if requested, others sign up for our listserv and some dedicated contributors are working on developing "Proposed Global Guidelines for Ethical Televeterinary Practice."
Televeterinary is simply a new veterinary tool that some groups are trying to restrict. Over the last few years there has been incredible development of technology such as cloud computing, broadband wireless and ubiquitous smart-phones. Therefore, televeterinary audiovisual is a new type of animal imaging where any televeterinarian can simply ask the pet owner (anywhere in the world) to turn on their speakerphone and webcam, then position the camera to record a high-definition audio-visual addition to the medical record. This is a record that can then be viewed later as review or shared with family or other interested parties including veterinary medical boards if called upon to review this new standard in medical records.
Supportive! In the US, the licensure of veterinarians is reserved for states who are charged with protecting the public. Many veterinarians volunteer time to serve on these boards and they are often the unsung heroes of the profession because they help keep the profession free of incompetent veterinarians. However, because televeterinary has been restricted in the past, now with new technology, there is very little experience and few complaints to use as a guide. The worry is that in an effort to protect the public, some boards may overreach and restrict the public's ability to access pet care in the ways best for them.
There is no charge to join the coalition. At this time we do not accept donations or sponsorships. Each individual participates only for the benefit of pets, people and the profession. If expenses are incurred it is by individuals who contribute because they think it is the right thing to do.
- a group of private individuals who love the veterinary profession and want to see it prosper
- a few organizations that contribute expertise and become more educated regarding the future of televeterinary
- a listserv communication tool
- a government agency
- a registered non-profit
- a business or commercial entity
First, we are global-focused. With the expansion of the emerging global middle class, it is expected that this will bring many more people with pets and with the corresponding need for veterinary advice. Within the US, we feel that pet owners should be able to choose any veterinary advisor instead of being limited to those within driving distance. Some pet owners have the resources and desire to consult directly with world experts.
Second, we feel the field is more accurately described as "Televeterinary " instead of "Veterinary Telemedicine." To the public the word "medicine" is generally used to designate pills or liquid that is consumed because of a human disease. "Telemedicine" may imply to the public that the service involves remote delivery of medicine, whereas the majority of Televeterinary service is consulting that does not involve medication. Therefore, Telemedicine can be considered a misleading term unless talking about the medical treatment of humans, as in "Medical Doctor" or MD. In the past "Veterinary Medicine" was used to designate the sub-specialty of medical treatment of animals. Since we are now introducing a new type of remote veterinary practice, this is the opportunity to no longer be a subset or confused with human medical practice. The word Televeterinary is immediately clear that it represents a veterinarian delivering remote expertise.
Third, we feel that remote veterinary expertise can be delivered BEFORE a "hands-on personal" visit in some situations. Many states have taken the position that no televeterinary expertise can only be delivered until AFTER a "hands-on exam." Some feel this restriction is promoted by veterinary facility owners. In any case, this restriction defeats many of the benefits of this new tool. For example:
- very fearful pets are required to be taken to the facility where they might injure themselves, the vet staff of the pet owner
- many pets will not get the care they need because the pet owner will not bring a fear aggressive pet into a vet facility
- pet owners become limited in who they can directly consult
- veterinarians who are disabled or home-bound are restrained from offering their expertise to pet owners who would pay for it