How Changing Technology is Helping Veterinary Medicine and Practice
Technological advancements have helped improve the quality of not just human life but also that of the animals dear to them.
The field of veterinary medicine has witnessed transformations in leaps and bounds, enabling veterinary practitioners to make faster diagnoses, more accurate prognoses, and ultimately save animal lives.
The use of technology has also ensured better care outcomes – not just for the pets, but also for their owners.
Technological Advancements in Veterinary Medicine
Over the past decade or so, veterinary medicine has seen many changes with respect to diagnosis, treatment, and care. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), ultrasound scans, and laparoscopy that were used solely on human beings are now the norm for treating pets and other animals as well. Following suit are digital radiographs that replace X-ray films for digital communication, thorough assessment, and effective treatment. Digital dental X-rays and advanced oral surgery instruments too follow this pattern, enabling veterinarians to improve oral health in pets. Newer inventions further address health issues in pets not just within clinics, but on an all-around basis for prevention and better care.
1. Wearable devices
Animal wearables are increasingly being used to monitor animal health. These devices that capture vital statistics such as the body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, pH levels etc. help keep track of the pet’s health on a continuous basis. Such devices also improve diagnoses and result in better, quicker, and more accurate treatment.
Surgical procedures through minimally invasive methods can now be performed on almost any body part of the pet, including the heart and other internal organs. This technology drastically reduces post-surgery recovery time for pets and helps them to get back to their normal at the earliest.
2. 3D Printing
3D printing is extremely advantageous in surgical procedures for animals. The technology equips veterinarians with near-real information on internal bone and muscle structures of the animal that is about to be operated. It facilitates rapid prototyping that helps create animal bone models from the information gathered using computed tomography scans. Such advancements are also a boon for pet owners as they help educate the latter about their pet’s anatomy and physiology. 3D Printing technology is also widely employed to manufacture custom-designed prosthetics for animals, which are generally difficult to source or obtain.
3. Minimally invasive surgical procedures
Surgical procedures through minimally invasive methods can now be performed on almost any body part of the pet, including the heart and other internal organs. This technology drastically reduces post-surgery recovery time for pets and helps them to get back to their normal at the earliest.
Other advancements in veterinary medicine include microchip fracture detection for broken bones, surgical monitoring devices, corrective laser eye surgeries, oral pill camera that obtain 360-degree internal images when swallows, and so on.
Developments in Veterinary Practice Management
Progressions in technology have helped not just veterinary medicines, but also veterinary practice. veterinary computer programs, though not new to the market, has received a facelift with most software providers moving to the cloud. The advantages here are many.
1.Easily accessible: When patient data and medical records get stored in the cloud, veterinarians can retrieve them in the click of a button using any internet-enabled device. This becomes extremely crucial when medical records need to be accessed on the go or during an emergency case.
2.Better collaboration: Caring for pets requires teamwork. Electronic medical records stored on the cloud allow all team members to access and work on the latest data, even when they are split across different locations or time zones. Newer veterinary practice management software allows clinics and hospitals to directly access results from diagnostic laboratories, thus bringing down the treatment time drastically and making life easier for pet owners. Such sharing of information through the web also improves treatment efficiency and brings down the possibility of a medical error.
3.Secure data: Data stored in a cloud-based veterinary practice management software gets saved, backed-up, and restored to an off-site location, thus preventing theft or damage due to hardware crashes, calamities, and so on.
4.Cost-effective: Cloud-based practice management software saves veterinarians the time, effort, and money spent on servers, program installations, updates, or on-site consultants. Most systems offer flexible pricing plans suitable to the size and needs of the practice, which also results in quicker and better return on investments.
Computer software systems, advanced medical technologies, and enhanced web marketing strategies are driving the global veterinary services market, which is now poised to reach $200 billion in 2020. Thus, adoption of newer technologies, in veterinary medicine as well as in veterinary practice, becomes indispensable to veterinarians, clinics, and hospitals looking to grow their practice.
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