Digital opportunities to connect and complain – the use of Facebook in small animal practice

Seeing the benefits, but not taking advantage of them: Dog and cat owners' beliefs about veterinary telemedicine

BACKGROUND

Telemedicine offers benefits to clients and their animals, but potential disadvantages are also being debated.

METHODS

Using a questionnaire, we investigated dog and cat owners' (N = 2117) use of and beliefs about telemedicine and whether beliefs impact past and expected future use.

RESULTS

Although the majority of owners are aware that telemedicine can lead to the risk of something being missed, they see great potential in remote consultation in terms of usefulness for follow-up appointments or improving access to a specialist. However, only 12% of dog owners and 6% of cat owners have used telemedicine, and around 25% of owners who have never used it would be willing to use it in the future. Owners with a larger number of recent veterinary visits were more likely to have used telemedicine.

LIMITATIONS

Although a definition of 'telemedicine' was provided, respondents may have had different perceptions of what this meant.

CONCLUSION

Owners of dogs and cats recognise the potential benefits of telemedicine, but there is a mismatch with the actual uptake. This not only raises questions about the current availability of telemedicine but also should increase veterinary professionals' understanding of its potential benefits in veterinary practice.

Between Leisure and Pressure-Veterinarians' Attitudes towards the Care of Competition Horses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Equine veterinarians face a range of challenges when attending competition horses. Athletic goals may significantly impact veterinary decision making, and the veterinarian's work can be complicated by reputational considerations and rival opinions during an assessment of whether a horse is "fit to compete". Using an online questionnaire, we found that the majority of German, Austrian and Swiss equine veterinarians (N = 172) surveyed agreed that the owners of competition horses are more likely than owners of leisure horses to approach them with clear treatment ideas, and that the former have higher expectations of the medical services provided. The data also show that the veterinarian's reputation plays a more important role in the competition sphere. Using a case vignette, we established that, on the grounds of equine welfare, the majority of respondents indicated that they would decide against starting a dressage horse with low-grade lameness in a competition. Those respondents who indicated that they would approve a start of the dressage horse indicated that a horse with a low-grade lameness was fit enough "to compete". We conclude that clearer definitions of phrases, such as "fit to compete", may be helpful in guiding veterinarians as they discharge their professional responsibilities during competitions and reduce the reputational stress they experience in this working context.

Compete or Cooperate with ‘Dr. Google’? Small Animal Veterinarians’ Attitudes towards Clients’ Use of Internet Resources—A Comparative Study across Austria, Denmark and the UK

Simple Summary

Owners of dogs, cats, and other companion animals increasingly make use of the internet to find out how to best care for their animals. This may affect owners’ relations with veterinarians in both positive and negative ways. A positive consequence could be that owners are better informed when they approach a veterinarian. However, there can also be challenging situations in which the owners may question veterinarians’ professional advice based on online information. Using a questionnaire, we found that a majority of Austrian, Danish, and UK veterinarians (n = 641) surveyed were occasionally confronted with clients who question their medical advice based on information obtained from the internet. In addition, the veterinarians were concerned about the potential for clients to misunderstand information found on the internet, or to develop unrealistic expectations of what is possible in small animal practices. As internet use becomes ever more widespread, we suggest that the types of resources that are available and used by animal owners should be further explored.

Abstract

Veterinary medicine is increasingly affected by animal owners having the opportunity to become better informed on pet health issues by using various internet resources. Using an online questionnaire including a section on clients’ use of internet resources to obtain medical information, this study aimed to investigate veterinarians’ estimates of the percentage of clients using internet resources, how often clients question veterinarians’ professional medical advice based on online information, and veterinarians’ attitudes towards clients’ use of internet resources, across Austrian, Danish, and UK veterinarians (n = 641). The results show that 48.8% of respondents estimated that 40–79% of their clients use internet resources to find medical information. Further, 70–80% of respondents stated that they are occasionally challenged by clients questioning their advice based on online information. Although veterinarians recognized the potential advantages related to clients’ use of internet resources, such as an increased acceptance of advanced diagnostics and treatments, they also highlighted clients’ increased expectations or false impressions of small animal practices as potentially negative aspects in this context. As internet use increases, it seems likely that these issues will become increasingly important in the future.