Pulse - August 2022 - 11

A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association suggests that one reason that
veterinarians struggle to get clients and patients through
their door is the Internet. The " Executive summary of
the Bayer veterinary care usage study " states that, " In the
online survey, 39% of pet owners agreed with the statement
that they look online first if a pet is sick or injured
and 15% agreed with the statement that because of the
Internet, they rely less on their veterinarian " (Volk et al.
2011). The most alarming part of their findings is the
impact it has had on clients' behavior related to when
they seek medical help for their pets. After consulting Dr.
Google, some clients may wait to see if the clinical signs
resolve in a day or so before taking their pet to the veterinarian.
Sometimes this can work in their favor. However,
in other cases, the pet's condition has worsened by
the time they are seen, thus requiring more extensive and
costly treatments.
Veterinarians should also be aware that Dr. Google
is not their only competition. Online resources, such as
Fetch by WebMD and PetMD are only a few clicks away.
These two resources are threatening veterinary business
in other ways. While Dr. Google consists of a person typing
in the Google search bar and receiving a list of generated
results/links, PetMD has a search function that is
a symptom checker. More specifically, clients can check
the symptom(s) of their pet and are then given more tailored
options of articles to read. Based on the article the
pet owner selects, it generates information that includes a
brief description, symptoms, causes, and a diagnosis. As a
positive, PetMD is veterinarian authored and veterinarian
approved. It also refers the pet owner to a veterinarian
based on the diagnosis, which may encourage some
people to actually seek veterinary medical care.
Veterinarians must remember that they have many
tools with which the Internet cannot compete effectively.
Veterinarians dedicate years of their lives in school,
learning the expertise of veterinary medicine. Dr. Google
does not have a degree or training in anything other than
transporting searchers to various web pages and does not
have the ability to assess the patient and make a proper
diagnosis. Most importantly, Dr. Google cannot foster
any form of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
Dr. Google is not capable of comforting a client when
delivering difficult news, offering an anxious dog a treat
to put him/her at ease, or feeling for abnormalities on a
physical exam. These are just a few examples of the skills
that veterinarians should promote in order for clients to
understand why their services have value.
Despite its disadvantages, Dr. Google also provides
benefits to veterinarians. Dr. Sagastume commented that
Dr. Google can help a client be a better educated consumer
and, therefore, more understanding of the veterinarian's
recommendations. A better-educated client will
optimize the time veterinarians spend with their clients
because some of the basics, such as medical terminology
and the reasoning behind testing, can be quickly covered
without a lot of explanation. Furthermore, a client who
is familiar with the terminology is easier to have a mutual
PULSE
AUGUST 2022
colitis veterinary college
Improve Clients'
Research Quality
Veterinarians cannot stop clients from doing
online research, but they can enhance their
searching strategies. Veterinarians can utilize
technology by helping guide clients to appropriate
sites based on six recommendations composed
by Dr. Nancy Kay. Her approach advises
veterinarians to take the following steps:
1. Create a list of recommended websites that
have already been approved by a veterinarian.
2. Advise clients to search on veterinary college
websites because the quality of information
is likely better.
Clients can add
" veterinary college " or " veterinary school "
after the name of the disease or clinical sign
they are researching.
3. If the patient has a breed-specific disease,
encourage the client to visit the site hosted
by that specific breed's national organization.
4. Advise clients to avoid business-sponsored
websites due to potentially biased
information.
5. Teach clients to recognize anecdotal information
for what it is.
6. Encourage clients to check out diseasespecific
online forums that have been
pre-approved. Not only do they provide
a wealth of educational information, but
members can provide an excellent source of
emotional support.
11
Pulse - August 2022

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