Veterinary Telehealth: Expanding Access for Underserved Pet Owners

In this comprehensive episode, host Penny Ellison examines how veterinary telehealth regulations are blocking millions of pet owners from accessing affordable veterinary care online. We explore Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) laws that prevent virtual veterinary consultations and investigate which states are expanding telehealth access for underserved pet owners.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:00 Introduction and connection to previous episodes about pet surrenders and shelter overcrowding.Penny explains barriers to veterinary care: cost, veterinary deserts, transportation and time.
• 00:47 Consequences of inaccessible care: pets suffering, increasing costs, and pet surrenders.Introduction to veterinary telehealth as a potential solution.
• 02:11 – Defining veterinary telehealth. Examples of telehealth services: video consults for skin/behavioral issues, medication guidance.What telehealth can and can’t do.
• 03:19 Real-life scenarios where telehealth could fill care gaps.Review of specific barriers for rural and urban pet owners. Emergency care costs as another hurdle.
• 04:01 The legal context: Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR).AVMA rules requiring in-person exams before any diagnosis or treatment.
• 05:12 Impact of VCPR rules on underserved communities.Telehealth expansion during the pandemic as a public health measure. States’ temporary rule changes and positive outcomes.
• 05:56 Case study: Dr. Brittany Watson’s research on telehealth with underserved zip codes.Key results: transportation and cost barriers overcome, high client satisfaction with telehealth.
• 06:56 Telehealth addresses multiple access barriers and is trusted by pet owners.Post-pandemic, many states reverted to restrictive laws.
• 07:52 State-by-state breakdown:
  • 19 states prohibit virtual VCPR
  • 22 states have unclear policies
  • 8 states allow virtual VCPR (with conditions)
• Recent state law changes (Florida, California, Colorado, Georgia) and their impact.
• 10:52 Comparison to human telemedicine: more progressive policies exist for people.The need to trust veterinarians’ professional judgment for telehealth.
• 11:47 Appropriate use of telehealth for certain pet medical concerns.Advocacy for flexible legal frameworks rather than eliminating in-person requirements altogether.
• 12:37 Expanding telehealth could minimize surrenders and improve early intervention.The human-animal bond and historic precedents for expanding access.
• 14:34 Listener question about rural telehealth access for her elderly mother.Explanation of current Texas law and practical suggestions for overcoming barriers.
• 15:47 “Be the Change” segment:
  • Research your state’s veterinary telehealth policies.
  • Share information, build community demand, and engage policymakers.

• 16:43 Closing thoughts: need for laws that balance innovation, access, and safety.Next episode preview: interview with a telehealth-experienced veterinarian.

 Resources:

1. AVMA Policy on Telehealth
2. Dr. Brittany Watson’s Study on Effectiveness of Veterinary Telehealth
3. Florida PETS Act

Transcript

Penny Ellison:

Welcome back to the Animal Advocate. If you’ve been listening to our recent episodes about preventing pet surrenders and reducing shelter overcrowding, you know we’re always looking at the systems that create problems rather than just treating the symptoms. And today we’re going to talk about something that could make a real difference in keeping pets healthy and with their families, and that’s veterinary telehealth. Right now, millions of pet owners face barriers to basic veterinary care. The first and most obvious is cost. It’s very expensive. But there are others. Some people live in veterinary deserts where the nearest vet is hours away, or they just can’t afford the time off work and the transportation costs for routine checkups.

Meanwhile, their pets might suffer from treatable conditions that just get worse and more expensive to treat over time. And some families end up surrendering animals they love because they can’t access the care their pets need. What if I told you that there’s technology that could connect pet owners directly with veterinarians from their living rooms? Technology that could help catch health problems early, provide guidance on urgent situations, and make basic veterinary advice accessible to communities that have been left behind? Well, that technology exists. The question is whether our laws will let veterinarians use it. Welcome to the Animal Advocate, where we arm animal lovers with the information and inspiration you need to become effective advocates. I’m your host, Penny Ellison, and I’ve taught animal law and advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania since 2006. If you’ve ever thought someone should do something about that, I’m here to guide you on your journey to being that someone. You can find us on the web@animaladvocacyacademy.com and that’s where you’ll find show notes and resources, and you can send us your comments on episodes and ideas for topics you’d like to hear on future shows.

So on to today’s topic. So what is veterinary telehealth? Let’s start with the basics. Veterinary telehealth encompasses a range of services that use technology to deliver veterinary care remotely. This might be a video call where a veterinarian can see your pet’s skin condition and recommend a treatment. A phone consultation about whether that late night behavior change requires an emergency visit or even a specialist consultation where your local vet can get expert advice a about your pet’s complex condition. It’s important to understand what telehealth can and can’t do. A veterinarian obviously can’t perform surgery through a screen or give vaccines remotely, but they can assess whether that Limp requires immediate attention, maybe help you determine if your pet’s symptoms warrant a trip to the emergency clinic. Provide guidance on medication administration and and other advice on behavioral and nutritional needs.

Think about all the times you’ve worried about whether your pet needed to go to the vet but you weren’t sure if it was serious enough to justify that cost. Or the stress of a vet visit. Or times when you needed professional guidance but couldn’t get an appointment for weeks. Telehealth could help fill those gaps. The barriers to veterinary care are real and heartbreaking. In rural areas, veterinary shortages mean pet owners might drive hours to reach the nearest clinic. In urban areas, working families often can’t take time off during business hours for routine care. And emergency visits can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

When pet owners can’t access care, pets suffer and families face impossible choices about surrender. To understand why veterinary telehealth is so limited, we need to talk about something called the Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship, or VCPR. This is the legal foundation that has to exist before a veterinarian can diagnose or treat an animal or prescribe medications. According to the AVMA, a VCPR exists when the veterinarian has assumed responsibility for making clinical judgments about the patient’s health, has sufficient knowledge of the patient to make at least a preliminary diagnosis, and is readily available for follow up care. But here’s the catch. The AVMA’s Model Practice Act states that a veterinarian client patient relationship cannot be established solely by telephonic or other electronic means. This means that in most states, a veterinarian must physically examine an animal in person before they can legally provide any diagnosis or treatment. Now think about what this means for underserved communities.

If you live in a veterinary desert and don’t have a relationship with a local vet, you can’t access telehealth services if you can’t afford or can’t arrange transportation for an initial in person visit. Telehealth remains out of reach. So the very people who would benefit the most from virtual care are are systematically excluded from it. Now, the pandemic provided an interesting ….Let’s call it “experiment.” Telehealth got a major boost. Suddenly, staying home wasn’t just convenient, it was a public health necessity. So many states relaxed their rules temporarily, allowing veterinarians to provide remote care in ways that had been prohibited before. And the results were encouraging.

Veterinarians found that they could handle many consultations effectively through video calls. Pet owners appreciated the convenience and lower costs and importantly, the sky didn’t fall. There wasn’t an epidemic of misdiagnosis or treatment disasters. In fact, some veterinarians will tell you -and pet owners – that it’s actually advantageous to be able to examine a pet in his own home environment, either because they get totally stressed out going to a vet, or it’s easier to observe behavior in the environment where it occurs. Dr. Brittany Watson of the University of Pennsylvania’s Vet School studied exactly this issue during the pandemic, and her research through Pets for Life program examined the use of telehealth appointments provided to clients in underserved zip codes. So they’re looking at people who have a hard time accessing care, and they partnered with vet students to deliver care through virtual visits. The results demonstrate that telehealth can be highly effective.

Nearly 25% of clients reported that they would not have been able to secure transportation to an in person veterinary clinic, and 58% reported that they could not afford it. More importantly, both the clients and the vet students reported overwhelmingly positive experiences with the telehealth appointments. People were satisfied with the care their pets received directly undercutting any concerns that virtual care is somehow inferior to in person visits. This shows that telehealth isn’t just helpful for one type of barrier. It can solve multiple access barriers at once while delivering quality care that pet owners trust. But, as pandemic restrictions lifted, many states snapped back to their old rules, shutting down these expanded telehealth options just when they’d proven they could work. Let’s take a look at what the law is and like we always do, what it could be. So the rules vary dramatically from state to state.

Nineteen states explicitly prohibit establishing a VCPR through a virtual exam. 22 states require vets to have “seen” or “become acquainted with” the patient with unclear rules about whether this can be virtual. And only eight states expressly allow establishment of a virtual VCPR under certain conditions. But change is starting to happen. Florida recently passed the Providing Equity in Telehealth Services Act. Everybody loves a good acronym, the PETS Act, which allows veterinarians to establish a VCPR through synchronous video visits, though with limitations on prescribing. California has also recently allowed virtual VCPRs, but also with some restrictions on how long you can prescribe a medication for and requirements for in person follow up. Colorado took a different approach with their 2024 law.

First, they clarified that a VCPR has to be established through an in person exam. But then they allowed extensive use of Telehealth once that relationship exists. But here’s the problem with approaches like Colorado’s. The very people who need telehealth the most, those facing high cost or transportation barriers, they’re the ones who can’t establish that initial in person relationship. And even if they manage one visit, you know what happens at a low cost clinic where the staff veterinarians change all the time, that new one might be willing to see you through telehealth. They might not. Just this month, Georgia’s new law went into effect and one of the things it did was address this problem. They expanded the veterinarian client patient relationship so that any licensed vet in the same practice can provide care once one vet at that facility has established that relationship.

 It also allows for limited telemedicine without an in person VCPR in true veterinary deserts. If no veterinarian is within 50 miles or can’t arrive within 24 hours, you can have veterinary telehealth without an in person visit. And I think that’s really important. But it does restrict what can be done virtually, such that their Pet Poison Helpline now says that they can no longer give pet owners emergency risk assessments or advice virtually. There’s some back and forth going on about that, but if that turns out to be the case, then obviously that’s a problem. It’s also worth taking note of the fact that while human medicine still faces some restrictions around new patient relationships, the American Medical Association’s policy is notably more progressive than the AVMA’s. They at least allow virtual establishment of doctor patient relationships through two way real time video and audio conferencing. And this brings us to a crucial point.

 Veterinarians are highly trained medical professionals. They spend years learning when a condition requires hands on examination versus when it can be assessed remotely. They understand the limitations of virtual care and the risks of misdiagnosis. When we require in person visits for all VCPR establishment, we’re essentially saying we don’t trust veterinarians to make those professional judgments. We’re treating them like they’re less capable than human physicians who routinely establish patient relationships and provide care through telemedicine. The irony is that many conditions that bring pets to veterinary clinics are actually well suited to remote assessment. Skin conditions can be clearly visible on video. Behavioral issues can be discussed thoroughly over the phone, and medication questions often don’t require a physical exam at all.

 What we need are laws that trust veterinarians to know when virtual care is appropriate and when an in person visit is necessary. Just like we trust human doctors to make those decisions every day. The solution isn’t to eliminate all requirements for in person care. It’s to create a flexible system that expands access while maintaining safety. This might mean allowing virtual VCPR establishment for certain types of conditions, creating emergency exceptions for urgent situations, or simply trusting veterinary professional judgment about when telehealth is appropriate. As we’ve talked about, it doesn’t need to be all or nothing. Some states are allowing telehealth with some restrictions. The key is recognizing that perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of good.

 Even limited telehealth access could prevent a lot of pet surrenders, catch health problems early, and connect underserved communities with the veterinary care they really need. This isn’t just about convenience or technology. It’s about animal welfare and especially it’s about the human animal bond. When families can access basic veterinary guidance remotely, they’re more likely to seek help early rather than waiting until problems become emergencies. They’re less likely to surrender pets for treatable conditions, and they’re more likely to maintain their relationships with their animals that bring joy and companionship to their lives. We’ve seen this pattern before. Mobile clinics brought veterinary care to underserved neighborhoods. Low cost spay neuter programs made vet care accessible to low income families.

 Online pharmacies reduced the cost of medications. Each innovation faced resistance from those worried about maintaining standards, but ultimately expanded access without compromising care. Telehealth is the next frontier in making veterinary care more accessible and and humane. Today’s question comes from Maria in Texas and she asks My elderly mother lives in a rural area and has trouble getting her cat to the vet because of transportation issues. The nearest Veterinary clinic is 45 minutes away. Could telehealth help her? And how can she find veterinarians who offer these services? Maria this is exactly the situation where telehealth could make a huge difference. But the answer depends on your state’s laws and your mother’s specific situation. First, check if your mother’s cat already has an established relationship with a veterinarian.

 If the cat has been seen in person within the last year, many vets are willing to provide follow up care and consultations through phone or video calls. Even in states with restrictive telehealth laws, if there’s no existing relationship. Unfortunately, Texas currently requires in person exams to establish that veterinary client patient relationship, so that transportation hurdle is not going to be surmountable at this point. That’s why we need new laws. In terms of some more practical suggestions, you can see if there’s a vet clinic that offers house calls or mobile services even if they’re not that frequent. Or look into pet transportation services in your area and consider whether a friend or neighbor might be willing to help with transportation. The most important thing at this point is establishing that initial in person relationship whenever possible, because that opens up many more options for remote follow up care. For today’s Be the Change segment, I want you to search online for your state plus the words Veterinary Medical Association and find out what their policies are around telehealth.

 That’s the first step in thinking about making telehealth more available in your state. Then share what you learn, post about it on social media, discuss it with other pet owners, and let your local vets know you’d be interested in telehealth services. Creating demand and awareness is often the first step toward policy change. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can research whether your state legislature has any pending bills related to veterinary telehealth and contact your representatives to express support for expanded access. The important thing, as always, is making your voice heard. Policymakers need to know that pet owners want these services and that artificial barriers to telehealth are harming animals and families in their communities. Remember, every state that has expanded telehealth access started with advocates who spoke up and demanded change. Your voice could be part of that movement in your state.

 Hey, we all know technology has the power to connect, heal and transform how we care about the people and the animals that we love. But technology alone isn’t enough. We need laws and policies that embrace innovation, all while protecting the vulnerable, that trust professional judgment while maintaining safety standards, and that prioritize access and equity alongside quality care. The question isn’t whether veterinary telehealth will expand, it’s whether we’ll leave that expansion thoughtfully or let artificial barriers continue to harm animals and families who need them most. And join us next week when we talk to a veterinarian who’s practiced in several states who has done veterinary telehealth, and we’ll get into some examples about why it’s important and how it should work. We’ll see you then. That’s it for today. The Animal Advocate is brought to you by the Animal Advocacy Academy.

 You can find the episodes and show notes at animaladvocacyacademy.com you can listen to episodes you missed, leave a comment and start a discussion there. And if you’re really interested in learning more about protecting animals, subscribe to the show so you can get every episode right when it comes out. If you have any questions on this or any other topic related to animal law, go ahead and email them to me@podcastiminaladvocacyacademy.com and remember, compassion is great, but compassionate action is infinitely better. Look forward to speaking with you next time. Take care.