GAINESVILLE — Milo, a 3-year-old Goldendoodle, was recently diagnosed with Addison's disease. In other words, your body doesn't produce enough steroids to help you calm down when you're stressed.
“If he doesn't get treatment, (he) could die from it. But if he gets treatment, he's perfectly fine,” said Valesha Mohney, 56, of Palm Beach Gardens, South Florida. Mauney said Milo's health requires daily treatment, she said. “He will have to take medication for the rest of his life,” she said.
Treating his condition is expensive and time-consuming, but for Mauney and thousands of others across the state, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed a bill authorizing virtual veterinary care. The burden of care may be reduced.
Telebet is ideal for follow-up questions, prescriptions, and developments for existing conditions like Milo's disease, Mohney says.
Current state law allows veterinarians to treat animals via telemedicine as long as the patient has been seen in person within a year.
The new bill, which is still awaiting the governor's signature, would allow telemedicine for pets as a regular form of treatment and create a set of regulations regarding telecare in the state. It would also allow telemedicine for initial visits to establish a veterinarian-patient relationship, and allow veterinarians to prescribe certain medications through video visits.
“There are certain prescriptions that veterinarians cannot prescribe because of the strength of the drug,” said Rep. Sam Killebrew (R-Winter Haven), the House bill's sponsor. “If the veterinarian is communicating with the owner and the veterinarian doesn't feel comfortable making a diagnosis or prescribing a prescription, they can say, 'I don't feel comfortable doing that,'” he says. “It's up to the pet owner and veterinarian to decide.”
Veterinary telemedicine is predicted to grow 18% annually for the next 10 years. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, working from home drove demand for telehealth veterinary services, and people who worked remotely were eight times more likely to own a pet, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. .
“Veterinary hospitals don't want 10 people with minor issues with their pets yelling at their door to get an appointment when in reality this could have been resolved through telemedicine.” Mark Cushing, CEO and founder of Co-founder of Animal Policy Group and Veterinary Virtual Care Association.
Cushing said if telemedicine can be used for humans, it could also be applied to pets. “Why has human medicine adopted telemedicine in all 50 states? For these reasons, many people live in areas without doctors, hospitals, or clinics nearby,” he said. Ta. “The same thing applies to pet owners.”
Tallahassee veterinarian Alex Stebelson opposed the bill during a Senate committee hearing last month.
“Our patients can't communicate,” Stevevarson said. “We rely on the interpretations of lay owners, who are not medical professionals, to tell us what they think is wrong with their pets.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend telemedicine for infants younger than 2 because they do not have the communication skills, he said. Similarly, pet owners “sometimes make completely off-base judgments about what's wrong with their pets,” Steverson said.
Michael Sturgeon, 45, has been a veterinarian for 17 years. He practices at an animal veterinary clinic in Gainesville but does not do telemedicine.
“As a veterinarian, it can be difficult to advocate for these pets based solely on what the owner tells you, even over the phone,” he says. “Because even with brick-and-mortar stores, they often tell us what we want but they miss the underlying issue or they're upset about the cost.” is a challenge for all of us.”
Ms Sturgeon said the priority was for pets to be happy and healthy and for owners to be “financially conscious of what they are investing in”.
Jennifer Hobgood, a lobbyist for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is an advocate of veterinary telemedicine and is concerned about the nation's shortage of veterinarians and access to medical care for pets.
“The current care system, which is based in brick-and-mortar clinics, is not serving the general public and it is not serving pet owners,” Hobgood said. “Broader access to telehealth is needed to address geographic, logistical, and economic obstacles.”
According to the Veterinary Care Accessibility Project, there are at least 19 counties in Florida that have poor access to veterinarians. Counties with the lowest scores measuring access to care include DeSoto, Hendry, Gadsden and Lafayette.
The University of Florida projects a shortage of 14,000 to 24,000 companion animal veterinarians by 2030, said James Lloyd, former dean of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Sam Welker, 71, has two dogs and 15 cats in his Gainesville home. He doesn't trust virtual veterinary care.
“Of the 15 (cats), probably six or seven are on special diets, special medications, and some of them go to the vet at least once a month,” Welker said. Told. “That’s why we like veterinarians.”
The Welkers' 14-year-old Treeing Walker Coonhound, Hank Williams Jr., goes to the vet every two weeks for acupuncture treatment. Welker's 4-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, Jubal Letario, goes once a year.
“I don't want to take any chances,” Welker said. “I trust my veterinarian when I meet him at his office and when I see his diploma.”
This article was produced by Fresh Take Business, a news service covering business news from the University of Florida School of Journalism and Communication. The reporter can be contacted at: j.romeroguzman@ufl.edu.
