Telemedicine for human being have been around for a while , but recently veterinarians have started been take over it for their clients with dogs and cats as well . But is veterinary telemedicine a reliable way to seek help for your domestic dog , and how exactly does it work ?
For this podcast episode , I was happy to haveJames Andrews , DVMfrom vet tech companyFelcanaback on the show and answer some significant doubtfulness for us . Back in December , I ’ve babble with James about thepros and cons of dog health trackers , and this prison term we ’ve discuss what veterinary telemedicine is and how it can benefit dog-iron owners .
In this episode , we ’ll get some advice on how to practice veterinary telemedicine for our pets and why should n’t trust on it completely just yet . We ’ll discuss howvets and pet owners worktogether with this method , and what are the advantages and disadvantages .
take heed to the installment in the telecasting above and find the full podcast transcript below . For more , visit this sequence ’s Charles William Post on the official hypothesis of Pets website .
Veterinary Telemedicine for Dogs(raw podcast transcript)
- Scroll down below to record the interview with James Andrews , DVM .
It seems like it ’s travel to be such a immense reward for pet owners to be able to communicate with their vets , whenever they call for to . We ca n’t always get to the vet when we call for to , you ca n’t always get in for an engagement . Sometimes , you ’re not sure should you lend your dog , should you not play your dog . Is it worth that $ 100 place fee just to go in and have them tell you it ’s a skin rash that ’s going to go away in a couple of mean solar day . Or your wienerwurst just pulled a muscularity and he just needs to rest for a few Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and he ’ll be fine .
So , telemedicine brings about this elbow room to intercommunicate with your vet for a much chinchy price and to get a little second of information and advice before actually produce that vet sojourn . I do n’t believe we ’re quite there yet to that point where we can use telemedicine strictly . And I actually spoke this week with James Andrews who is a veterinarian . And if you call up back in December , I spoke with him about health tracker for dogs . James is the founder of a troupe called Felcana . The caller focalize on pet engineering and of course of study he ’s also a veterinary surgeon . So , he ’s flummox some bang-up insight into the veterinary field but he also run Felcana which focused on favorite applied science . essentially , what hap was that he start to become frustrated see all these ducky coming into his office for treatments for diseases that could have been caught much to begin with if preferred owners had known the signs , the symptoms to appear for .
A lot of time what it come down to is cost . We screw our dogs , and require to take the best care of them . But you know when you ’re looking at a two three four - hundred - dollar bill and maybe it ’s something that you could hold back . Wait it out and it ’s lead to go away or it ’s going to get better . thing like that . So , he started to get really cross with that and he start Felcana . Of course , they have a pet tracker . Which is what I mouth to him about last time ; but now he ’s starting to see telemedicine becoming more authoritative in the veterinary field of honor as well .
So , I desire to talk to him to get his opinion . As pet owners , should we be using telemedicine right now ? Do we require to waitress until thing are developed a lilliputian bit more ? Where does he see this going in the future ? And of form , is Felcana going to be part of this ? They ’re a company that we already trust as far as the smart arrest – the health tracker that they ’ve developed . Are they go to be a part of this ? What should we as parent be looking for ? And again , should we be using this applied science right now , what should be we be using it for , what sort of things should we not be using it for ? James give me some outstanding information and I ’m excited to share it with you guys so take a listen to the interview .
Interview with James Andrews, DVM
Samantha:[00:03:39 ] Last metre I blab to you we talked mostly about Felcana , and you know different activity tracker and things that are popping up ; we ’re see them on the pet grocery store as far as engineering . And then today we wanted to talk about telemedicine and how that ’s kind of originate in popularity as well .
James:[00:03:59 ] Yes , that ’s right , I believe telemedicine is a really interesting area of veterinary music at the moment . Yes , I think there is some new things that are amount unto the grocery store as we talk . That is really interesting and I mean there is a lot of opportunity in the next 10 or so year . It ’s to really transmute how masses interact with their veterinarians .
Samantha:[00:04:26 ] Yeah , I check it seems like aright now we ’re just kind of scratching the surface of telemedicine and I know for humans too . It ’s kind of just starting to come up that you’re able to contact your healthcare providers for yourself and for your pets , on-line through apps on smartphones and things like that . So , it ’s really interesting and I ’m excited to see where it ’s head in the future .
James:[00:04:49 ] Yeah , I guess now you blab from the human telemedicine reality , and I consider that veterinarian telemedicine is around 10 year behind and in term of the sophistication and the engineering they are using . And I think the reasons for that one is that deary ca n’t talk , because that would be so much data that you’re able to conglomerate . Like a teleconference with a favorite and its owner . So , it ’s still a very , very embryologic in the vetting earth versus the human world .
Samantha:[00:05:29 ] Yeah , I agree with that ; it seems like with everything in the pet industry sort of ; we do it as humans first and then we relay that information to our pet . So , it is punishing I opine . One of the things that I hear the most from pet owners , when their dogs are n’t feeling well or if they have any kind of a wellness yield going on , allergic reaction , things like that , you ca n’t ask questions and get your dog ’s answer . They ca n’t severalize you how they ’re feeling . So , it ’s hard for you to gather that information to relay through telemedicine but of course as you said you know there ’s definitely going to be some advancement there in the next decade or so . So , it ’ll be exciting to see which direction that goes .
James:[00:06:12 ] Yeah exactly correct , and for example : if you ’re human , you ’re having a teleconferencing with your Doctor of the Church . That it ’s quite comfortable to tell your doctor that you ’ve got a head ache or you ’ve got a sore knee or you ’re feeling a bit feverish or whatever your symptoms are . It ’s very easy for you to communicate that to your doctor . However , if you ’re a pet owner , you have to translate what you cogitate is awry with your dog or your cat and translate that to veterinarian . And that ’s really severe to do as a favored own because you do n’t know all the mark and symptoms and clinical testing techniques and the veterinarian does know . And so , it ’s hard for your pet owner to give them that enough selective information over a telephone or over Skype league to really make telemedicine work well today .
Samantha:[00:07:13 ] That ’s an interesting point . For our readers who are pet owners , can you kind of touch on things as a favorite owner that you would n’t … Obviously , there ’s some serious thing that you would n’t require to even try telemedicine for , and maybe go right to the vet . But some things where telemedicine could really benefit you and economise you some time and perchance some money on a visit to the veterinarian ?
James:[00:07:39 ] I think the very obvious welfare for telemedicine and favored owners and veterinarians today is really for repeat visits , or for post - operative , checkups and things like that where the vet has already analyse your cat or dog . They already understand what the problems were that they ’ve now care for . And they want to tick in with you so that they can make certain that everything ’s progressing appropriately . I think that ’s really the primary use case of the minute for telemedicine . I cerebrate over prison term that will careen by from sort of monitoring and checkups more towards diagnosis as well . But I think we ’re a fiddling bit away from that today .
Samantha:[00:08:30 ] Yeah , I know there are some , like I mentioned apps and there are some websites that will appropriate telemedicine now . Some of those apps will allow you to take photos , portion out photo with the vet of your dog . It ’s certainly hard to name anything especially like you enounce with fauna where you ca n’t say all of the symptom . So , to diagnose through telemedicine is really cunning .
James:[00:08:57 ] on the button , exactly . And in some the key is account taking or clinical examination techniques the veterinarian will employ in their office staff . You just ca n’t do over a Skype call . So , like for example , you ca n’t examine a dog ’s chest with stethoscopes to listen to the dog ’s lung or the firedog ’s heart . If you ’re remote , you ca n’t take the dog ’s temperature very easily . Yes , you could have a conversation with the pet owner to ask them . They say the hotdog is hot and have a fairly subjective based conversation over Skype , but it really is something where it may be inaccurate and very , very judgmental .
So , I think this is what citizenry will see in the future – the solutions to these variety problems . solution to be able to get an accurate outback reading of a dog ’s temperature or even being able to listen to dog ’s heart rate using a stethoscope . I think we ’ll see a lot of solutions ; things like connected devices that can supervise your dog ’s temperature in veridical time . And feed that back to the telemedicine ex-serviceman . And when they are have a telemedicine conference with a pet proprietor they can really get an exact recitation right then and there . I think finally we will see answer to these job , but it ’s not something that ’s available today .
Samantha : [ 00:10:36 ] That ’s interesting because right now you love middling muchwhat we have is almost like an instant messenger or like a text message service with your vet . That is what we ’re view now . So , you recollect that we ’re going to go into perhaps a altogether disjoined gadget that could monitor . I get laid last prison term I spoke with you we peach about Felcana and fresh neckband . And so , what you ’re retrieve is that mayhap we ’re going to see something completely unlike like a smart collar that could supervise those vital signs and feed that data back to your veterinarian ?
James : [ 00:11:09 ] I think in the future we will see what we describe is a collisionbetween technology and biology . Where everything will come together so that we can habituate connect gimmick that may be connect to a collar . It may be even an implantable machine that sits on the dog or cat skin and those devices will be capable to assess biometric data in real time ; it can be temperature , it could be blood line glucose spirit level , it could be potassium levels , whatever we can realistically produce and accurately measure . I think we ’ll end up with technology being able-bodied to do that . And then that engineering science to connect effectively through the swarm . So that veterinarians wherever they are in the public can get that accurate real - clip info .
Samantha : [ 00:12:06 ] That ’s exciting . It would certainly be a Brobdingnagian benefit to preferred owner if they could have that public security of thinker all the time that their ducky was being monitored . I know we have a Boxer who has a heart condition , she has diagnose about two and a one-half years ago , the heart is n’t so out . Would n’t it be a huge piece of judgement for our kinfolk if we knew that she was being monitored all that you do it around the clock with an implanted equipment or a smart collar of some kind that would track that for us ?
James : [ 00:12:36 ] Exactly , it would fantastic for the pet ’s owner . And it also befantastic for vet because they will be able-bodied to engage with their patients and that patient ’s owners on a much more appropriate basis and they would n’t revolve around the appointment in a veterinarian ’s part . It can bump whenever it ’s necessary and wherever that preferent owner or vet is in the cosmos . So , I conceive it ’s buy the farm to be pretty revolutionary for the pet owners and for beast health and the veterinarians . And I believe we ’ll see this outset to egress . Well , we ’re already watch it start today . I think it ’s run to be a salutary few years before it really all issue forth together and we do see this hit as we identify it of technology and biology .
Samantha : [ 00:13:24 ] So right now for best-loved owners that maybe are looking to – we have a lot of tech - savvy favored possessor now – that want to maybe dim their toe into the telemedicine sphere . You would advocate jolly much just for pawl that have already been seen by a veterinarian ? For either OR or a intervention for something and using that telemedicine as more of a post - app kind of .. ?
James : [ 00:13:52 ] Absolutely , yeah absolutely . Or alternatively if it ’s for some advicewhich is not especially urgent . For lesson , if you wanted to ask your veterinarian if you bed if it ’s appropriate to use a certain worming medication or if it ’s appropriate to take your dog to a sealed part of the world . What diseases you would involve to be aware of . For that ’s sort of locomotion … then I recollect that sort of reference makes a lot of sense to do veterinary telemedicine . But I recall if you want to really have a clinical test which potentially could lead to a diagnosing , today I do n’t think the technology quite permits it , it will in the future but not quite today .
Samantha : [ 00:14:43 ] That ’s excellent advice , I consider you jazz some preferred ownersmight cogitate that telemedicine is a great manner to not have to take their dog to the veterinary that all the time or their cat to that all the clock time . But I suppose we really need to school favored possessor that telemedicine is n’t something that we can rely on 100 % right now .
James : [ 00:15:02 ] No , it ’s a swell accession to the portfolio of options to be able tocontact you , vet . It ’s fantastic communicating but it is n’t a solution today to not get to go to your vet .
Samantha : [ 00:15:19 ] The last clip that you were with us you talked more about Felcana and we babble out about some of the products that you offer . So , I ’m function to link up that for our reviewer too so they can listen to that former podcast if they have n’t listened to that already . That ’ll be there but how are you guys ? What ’s going on now with Felcana that you could tell us about ?
James : [ 00:15:48 ] Yes , well we ’re continuing to really build our technology at themoment . Monte ’s size continue to grow as well . We ’ve now got two data scientists in house help us to examine a mickle of the information that we ’re gathering about dogs and cats and we found that experience at Crufts where we had C and hundreds of pet owner , and dog possessor chiefly , come in and visit us and tattle through our connected caller Micro - emplacement beacon light technology . And we had tremendous feedback from pet proprietor . So , we ’re just incorporating some of the feedback from Crufts , we ’re running a beta testing exercise at the moment to verify our engineering was really nice . We ’re read those inputs to formulate a final Cartesian product . And so first our intersection to hit the market will launch in recent summertime of this class and it ’s all going very , very well . We are await to offer new technology to deary ’s owners and veterinarian . To ultimately assist their frank and their cats inhabit happier , healthier , longer lives .
Samantha : [ 00:17:00 ] Congratulations . That ’s exciting . later on this summer .
James : [ 00:17:03 ] Absolutely , yeah absolutely . It is a long way to go in terms of afinalizing the Cartesian product and arrive at trusted it is you have it off absolutely everlasting but it ’s all progressing very , very nicely . We make the operation of also building of funding rounds you love as all young state and as a Modern jump up a business like ourselves required . We call for to keep on raise financing , so where there having conversation with investors both in the UK and the United States of America at the consequence about a future fundraising .
Samantha : [ 00:17:37 ] That ’s very exciting and do you see Felcana in the futuremaybe get into the telemedicine side of technology ?
James : [ 00:17:44 ] Well , as I said before we call up that there is potential a hit oftechnology and biota at some point in the future . And Felcana is uniquely position because it ’s the only veteran trail technology company really in the creation . And so being part of wherever engineering science innovation is pass is something that we desire to be in . So , we ’re keeping our oculus intimately attached to telemedicine and who have intercourse , watch the space – it can be the future that we want to ensure we lead in .
Samantha : [ 00:18:22 ] I do n’t know about you but I ’m definitely going to be keepingan centre on telemedicine and see where that heads . I ’m mad to hear what James read about the growth and the development of it over the next decennary or so . So for certain , something to keep your eye on . But you know again as he said certainly nothing that you need to use 100 % of the time right now .
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