22 Jun 2022
Telemedicine firm Vet AI has urged the RCVS to lift its blanket ban on remote prescribing after publishing a new report it claims shows the efficacy and safety of its use through the COVID-19 pandemic.
James Westgate
Job Title
Samantha Webster.
Calls have been renewed for remote prescribing to be permitted for video consultations following the publication of new research.
Telemedicine firm Vet-AI wants the RCVS to give the green light to remote prescribing in light of the research, which, it says, shows the safety of its use by the company during the pandemic.
The RCVS allowed remote prescribing from March to November 2020 at a time practices were limited to dealing with “emergencies only” due to COVID-19 restrictions.
It then put in place a requirement to provide in-person care to prescribe remotely from November 2020, which was initially allowed until December 2021 in light of “additional pressures” on practices, but was removed completely in March 2022.
Vet-AI, which offers video veterinary consultations via its Joii Pet Care app, analysed records from all consultations across the height of the pandemic, between 1 April and 31 October 2020, and has published its findings in a paper on RCVS Knowledge’s journal Veterinary Evidence.
In the seven-month timeframe, Joii Pet Care’s vets conducted 21,383 veterinary video consultations: 78.1% of them for dogs and 21.9% for cats.
Of the total vet-led video consultations completed, 3,541 had medicines prescribed during the consultation. Some consultations required more than one prescription, which meant a total of 4,282 POM-V medications were prescribed. Of those, 0.87% reported a mild adverse effect.
Antibiotics were prescribed in 5.9% of all consultations, 99.3% of which was first line. Follow-up on prescribing was available in 67.7% of cases and 89.4% of all known treatment outcomes were complete or had an expected response to treatment. Skin problems were the most common body system/disease category seen and prescribed for.
The remaining 17,482 consultations, which did not require a prescription medicine, had resolutions assigned.
This included:
Vet Samantha Webster, of Joii Pet Care, said: “Given the clear evidence outlined in this report, we believe the future of veterinary medicine should include remote consultations with remote prescribing where appropriate and regulated.
“We invite the RCVS and other veterinary governing bodies to consider that there is a place for prescribing remotely on an ongoing basis for certain cases under certain conditions, such as a secure video and audio link with clinical record keeping and pharmacovigilance practice. A blanket ban is not appropriate with the advance of modern technology.”
Vet-AI wants to hear from veterinary professionals on the subject of remote prescribing and has asked for feedback on how best to work collaboratively across the sector to achieve change.
To share your views on this proposal, email [email protected]
