Abstract
Telemedicine has only received limited attention by veterinary professional regulatory bodies, particularly in Europe. In Portugal, telemedicine is currently outside what is considered acceptable practice by the regulator, the Portuguese Veterinary Order (Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários). As part of a wider research aimed at gathering evidence for developing a new veterinary Code of Professional Conduct, this study describes the use of the Policy Delphi technique to gather the views and perceptions of a purposeful sample of 41 Portuguese veterinarians regarding telemedicine. Four main issues were addressed using mixed research methods: teleconsultation, teleconsulting, teleadvice, and the regulator's role. Responses highlight participants' perception of both the relevance of medical digital technologies in improving healthcare and their limitations. Overall opinion was that, although restrictions to remote veterinary practice should be reduced, improved guidance and regulation are warranted. Eighty percent of participants considered that limits to the use of veterinary telemedicine should be imposed and two thirds considered that a remote consultation must always be preceded by a face-to-face consultation. While most respondents thought that vet-to-vet teleconsulting using social media (namely Facebook) should not be banned, 83% recognized that it should be regulated by ethical standards. Participants' concerns with telemedicine had mostly to do with reputational risk for the veterinary profession, while overlooking privacy or confidentiality issues. A consultative group should be established to ensure that telemedicine providers comply with professional requirements. It is expected that these results will support policy-making by the Portuguese Veterinary Order and by veterinary regulators at other jurisdictions.
Highlights
Telehealth and telemedicine have so far received limited attention by veterinary professional regulatory bodies
Similar to the position of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) [2], the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) recommends its members to allow the use of telemedicine in the context of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR)
Participants were deemed to reflect the breadth of the veterinary profession in Portugal in terms of gender (61% Male), age (56% younger than 45), education (Degree, Master, Ph.D.), expertise, field of activity (Figure 1)
Summary
Telehealth (the remote exchange of health information through technological platforms) and telemedicine (the use of telehealth for diagnosis and treatment of patients) have so far received limited attention by veterinary professional regulatory bodies. The human medical profession has long embraced telemedicine as part of its armory to improve healthcare services, but its use in veterinary medicine has remained marginal, especially in Europe, where telemedicine remains mostly unregulated. The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) has prepared a position. Portuguese Veterinarians’ Opinions on Telemedicine paper and recommendations on the use of telemedicine, to be adopted by November 2020, and focused on four domains: remote consulting, remote diagnosis, remote prescribing, and third party generated medical data [1]. Similar to the position of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) [2], the FVE recommends its members to allow the use of telemedicine in the context of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). Benefits can include more affordable services, convenience and practicality, less distress for the animal, improved access to specialist care and more efficient triage. The risks of breaching the rules laid down by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should not be neglected
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