Owner satisfaction with use of videoconferencing for recheck examinations following routine surgical sterilization in dogs
Owner satisfaction with use of videoconferencing for recheck examinations following routine surgical sterilization in dogs
Published 19 August 2020
Bishop, G.T. et al. (2018) Owner satisfaction with use of videoconferencing for recheck examinations following routine surgical sterilization in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253 (9), pp. 1151-1157. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.253.9.1151
This paper reports on a small randomised trial comparing owner satisfaction with post-operative recheck consultations carried out either remotely (telemedicine group) or in the veterinary clinic (control group). All the dogs had undergone uncomplicated neutering and the owners had to agree to random allocation and to complete an online survey. Although 37 dogs were initially enrolled in the study seven owners later dropped out for a variety of reasons This left a study population of 30 dogs.
The study found that owners were equally satisfied with recheck examinations performed by videoconference and in-clinic appointments. Owners of dogs in the telemedicine group indicated that their dogs were less afraid during the virtual appointment, compared with what was typical for them during in-clinic appointments, but the difference was not statistically significant. Most owners who completed a postsurgical recheck examination by videoconferencing preferred this method for similar appointments in the future. The study did not collect any information on veterinarian satisfaction with the two methods of examination.
This study suggests that while in clinic consultations will continue to be necessary for a range of reasons, including the condition of the animal and owner preference, those owners who have experienced remote consultations may prefer this method for similar consultations in future.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!