With the pandemic raging on, returning to normal practice is still not within reach. Owner polls of their feelings regarding the new normal are a mixed bag.
A recent survey of owners from the community group ‘Holly's Army’, an online veterinary supported arthritis group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2161091580843717/), reaffirmed the concerns regarding communication between veterinary professionals and their clients. When asking owners for their opinions on the ‘new normal’ the feedback was not music to the ears.
‘I am my dog's advocate and I feel I can't do this effectively at present and I find that upsetting and feel it is damaging the vet-owner relationship.’
Canine arthritis is a regular feature in first opinion practice and has been relabelled a welfare concern by VetCompass, because it can affect dogs for a long time, with significant impingement on quality of life. It is well reported that gold standard holistic treatment plans are often blocked by owner understanding, practicality, financials, and lack of time. Could this be the perfect disease to implement a nurse-led telehealth approach to improve service provision in your practice? Is it an unidentified income stream? Is it an opportunity to get nurse clinics back up and running in the new norm?
Telehealth is a rapidly expanding market with new telemedicine providers connecting with clients through insurance company packages and other channels. Telehealth is definitely the new norm that was parading before the pandemic but is now in full charge with client use soaring. There are many views regarding it, which can lead to a wide service provision being mislabelled.
Telehealth is a broad term including non-interactive online health resources through to tailored vet-client-patient relationship building, remote diagnosis and prescription. The pandemic has certainly catalysed the latter as a result of the RCVS temporarily modifying restrictions to remote prescription. It is this component that tends to generate the biggest debate with pros and cons being well argued. However, this should not overshadow the whole sector, and more importantly consideration must be given to the pandemic having catalysed a behavioural change in our clients to accept remote healthcare provision. With this in mind, should first opinion practice seize this opportunity to adopt a new sustainable approach to nurse clinics?
A recent poll on Holly's Army, an online community group for owners of arthritic dogs, revealed that the majority of owners did not know their veterinary practices offered nurse clinics, and never considered that they could request to see a nurse regarding their dog's chronic condition. Those that did use nurse services replied with great enthusiasm.
Another poll on a well-attended veterinary forum suggested that many practices have not reinstated nurse clinics, which supports what the author has also heard through colleagues.
‘This is a long-term change to a more sustainable way of working that can improve your working life, staff morale and your patients' experience of accessing care. Realising these benefits will require an investment of effort to bring about change and this should not be underestimated.’ NHS online consultation toolkit.
Through questioning Holly's Army followers regarding their new norm experiences, the following client requests were distilled:
The workshop from Canine Arthritis Management aims to tackle the need for an adapted approach to chronic disease care, and provide structure for those willing to embrace the transition.