Access to Virtual Veterinary Care/Telemedicine in Texas

Featured Bill of THLN’s Priority Agenda for the 89th Texas Legislative Session

Pet ownership has drastically increased over the past few years. From household pets to livestock and show animals, many people own pets now more than ever. Unfortunately, the number of veterinarians has not increased to meet the growing demand from pet owners. That has forced pet and livestock owners to succumb to lengthy waitlists when seeking veterinary care, drive long distances to see a vet, or forgo medical care for their animal altogether. This is especially true for large animal vets who often must travel long distances to see livestock, which limits how many patients they can see per day – because they are traveling. One study estimated that by 2030, about 75 million pets could be without veterinary care due to staff shortages.

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What is Telemedicine?

Virtual veterinary care, or telemedicine, is the use of technology to obtain healthcare services for a pet remotely. This bill would allow virtual appointments even if a prior veterinarian-patient relationship does not exist, eliminating the need to travel to a veterinary office with your pet. It will enable patients and veterinarians to connect without being physically present at a clinic, making medical consultations, diagnoses, prescription refills, and follow-up appointments more accessible and convenient. This virtual care would only be carried out by veterinarians who are licensed in the state of Texas. Such practices have already been approved for humans in all 50 states and became legal in Texas in 2017.

How it helps:

Telemedicine would provide pet owners with timely access to professional advice without the need to travel to a clinic. Telemedicine could bridge the gap for pet owners in rural or underserved areas where access to veterinary services may be limited and ensure pets receive the care they need. 51 counties in Texas do not have a single veterinary clinic.

Virtual veterinary appointments are not only convenient, but for some pet owners, they’re a necessity. Some groups of people in particular that would greatly benefit from virtual appointments are older people and those with disabilities. Transporting pets and handling them in the stressful environment of a busy clinic can be difficult for anyone, but it is especially problematic for older people or anyone who struggles with a physical impairment. Virtual visits would also provide easy access to those who lack reliable transportation, a nearby clinic, or who have an animal that becomes highly anxious in a veterinary office.

View the Fact Sheet

Expand Access to Safe, Convenient Veterinary Telemedicine

How Telemedicine Benefits Pets, Owners, and Vets

Seven states have passed this bill, including Florida, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Idaho, Virginia, and Vermont.

By passing a bill to allow virtual veterinary consultations, Texas would align with the advancements of several other states, which have already implemented telemedicine laws to enhance access to veterinary services.

Telemedicine works for people—and it can work for pet

Telemedicine has been widely implemented in human medicine. In all fifty states, physicians may use telemedicine to establish new doctor-patient relationships. They may employ telemedicine technologies to diagnose and treat current and new patients—including infants and other nonverbal people. The licensed provider determines when a condition can be safely treated using telehealth or when a patient needs to be examined in a clinic.

Texas has a Veterinary Shortage

The veterinary industry is experiencing a critical shortage of veterinarians and other professionals in the workforce—there aren’t enough veterinary professionals to care for all the animals in need. Experts predict that the veterinary shortage situation could become even more dire in the coming years, with research indicating a shortage of one-fourth the number of needed veterinarians by 2032. By diverting non-urgent or routine cases to telemedicine appointments, veterinary virtual care can help bridge gaps in care exacerbated by workforce shortages.

Access to Veterinary Care Keeps Pets in Homes and Out of Animal Shelters

Lack of affordable, accessible care is an ongoing crisis for millions of pets and animal shelters. At least a third of pets don’t see a veterinarian regularly, and one in four pet owners continue to face serious geographic or logistical barriers to veterinary care, such as affordability, transportation, or because they live in a remote area or a community that is underserved by veterinarians. A national study showed that forty percent of low-income owners who rehomed their pets reported that access to affordable vet care would have helped them keep their pet.

Reduced Fear and Stress in Pets

Telemedicine can prevent the stress most pets experience while traveling to or being examined at a vet clinic, including senior, anxious, or potentially aggressive pets. Clinical veterinary visits are stressful for most dogs and cats, many of whom must be dragged or carried into exam rooms. Pet owners may postpone or forego clinic appointments to avoid stressing their pets. When a vet can gather sufficient data over telemedicine to diagnose and treat pet ailments safely, pet owners can spare their anxious pets the stress of an unnecessary clinic visit, while getting care their pet may otherwise not receive.

Pet Behavior Speaks Volumes

Pets behave differently at the vet. During clinical veterinary visits, stressed pets may alter certain behaviors—behavioral signals that can be helpful for diagnosis. Over telemedicine, a vet can see how a pet acts at home where the pet is not stressed, providing essential data that may be unavailable in a clinic setting while sparing the pet and owner an unnecessary, stressful clinic visit.

Increased Professional Flexibility

Laws and regulations should enable licensed veterinarians to decide when to use telemedicine technology and when to ask pet owners to bring their pet to a clinic for an in-person exam. Veterinary telemedicine gives veterinarians more tools to use in their practice, enabling them to offer more services to attract a diverse client base.

Business Revenue Generator

Telemedicine technology enables veterinarians to offer telemedicine services to more patients, provides a new revenue stream for vets and additional choices for pet owners who want better access to safe, convenient veterinary telemedicine. Expanding legal access to veterinary telemedicine may attract millennials and other clients who are comfortable with technology and increase the competition in the healthy marketplace.

Improved Quality of Life for Veterinarians

Expanded implementation of veterinary telemedicine can help practices become more efficient and alleviate industry problems with increased caseloads and limited work-life balance. Remote-based telehealth positions can offer disabled veterinarians and those with young children or aging family members more flexibility and professional opportunities.

Why Now?

With the Fifth Circuit Hines case and Texas losing young veterinarians to Arizona and Florida, the time is now to allow veterinarian telemedicine in Texas.