There is a perception that virtual care is synonyms with live video conference. People mistakenly think that virtual care cases require a scheduled time when the doctor and the client sit in front of a computer screen and discuss a problem about the pet.
This type of virtual care is valuable (feline house soiling) but is not feasible for most veterinary practices because the doctor has to block-off in-clinic time to see virtual patients. Thankfully fewer than 5% of my virtual cases require a video conference.
Most of my cases are solved with texting. I recently was in a text conversation with a client via Medici about her dog and I was concerned that she was confused about my medical instructions. I decided that I needed to offer her a phone call to clarify, even though I knew it would be less time efficient. To my surprise, she declined the offer of a phone call and wanted to continue texting. We passed a few more clarifying texts back and forth and the exam was finished. She was happy and I was amazed.
Virtual care is an easy addition to any veterinary practice because most problems can be solved via text. What I have discovered is that most clients, even older “nontechie“, clients prefer text messaging. This is good news because it frees me up to practice virtual care without reducing my in-clinic availability.
Share on social
