Vet Telemedicine for Chickens — Randy’s Chicken Blog

• Convenience and Flexibility: Local chicken vets are often scarce, and if you do have one, they may not be open evenings, weekends, or holidays (because that’s when Hennifer gets sick, right?). For a telemedicine visit you grab your phone—not your pet carrier and car keys.

• Less Stress for Your Chicken: Picture it: You remove sick Hennifer from her flock, shove her into a carrier, and drive her to a noisy, chaotic clinic. This is nothing like a spa day for Hennifer. Do you think this might worsen her condition? I do. A virtual visit allows her to be examined in the comfort of her own coop.

• Lower Cost: Online vet services usually charge less than traditional clinics—partly because they don’t have the same overhead. I can’t think of any downside to keeping more money in my pocket.

• Easier Follow-ups: Many rechecks—like wound healing or monitoring chronic conditions—can be managed virtually. A quick photo or video update saves you (and Hennifer) a trip to the clinic.

Back in the dark ages, a medical exam could have gone something like this: The sick patient extends a hand through a curtain and the doctor on the other side takes a pulse, consults his astrological charts, and determines the best time to let blood and apply the leeches. Medical science for both humans and animals has made great strides since those dark days. One of the biggest leaps forward was when doctors (and vets) started actually examining their patients hands-on.

Is vet telemedicine a return to those dark times? Telemedicine, by its very definition (tele: at a distance) means the doctor is not in the same room with the patient. It is unquestionably true that modern science has created a whole toolbox of tech to make consulting a vet from afar possible. It is equally true that there are times when Hennifer, for an accurate diagnosis, really does need a hands-on exam. The vet needs to actually touch her; maybe draw some blood or collect other specimens for lab testing; or administer vaccinations.

TelaVets’ Christine Long agrees that there are situations where telemedicine isn’t advisable. “Telemedicine has its limits—if a hen needs hands-on diagnostics like an X-ray or lab work, or is experiencing a life-threatening emergency (e.g., profuse bleeding, broken limbs, or collapse), an in-person visit is necessary. But in many cases—especially when you need quick advice or a prescription to stabilize things—telemedicine can be an incredibly practical, even life-saving, option.”

Perhaps the biggest limitation that could prevent Hennifer from seeing a virtual vet in her hour of need is a legal one. The technology is here, and the demand is sky-high (thanks in part to the lessons learned during the pandemic), but the laws around veterinary telemedicine haven’t caught up. The biggest sticking point is something called the VCPR. It’s at the heart of what vets are legally allowed to do through telemedicine. What is this VCPR thing that most people have never heard of and why is it an issue? Let’s take a closer look.

The Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship is the term used to describe the relationship that exists between a vet, an animal and the animal’s owner. The expression essentially describes the initial “getting to know you” session between the vet and sick Hennifer. Vets have shortened the term to its initials: VCPR.

Why is the VCPR a big deal? Because the law says a vet can’t legally diagnose, treat, or prescribe meds for your chicken until a VCPR has been established. And here’s the tricky part: Prety much every state seems to have its own version of what “established” means. According to The Veterinary Virtual Care Association:

• 19 states flat-out state, “Nope. You CAN NOT set up a VCPR with a virtual visit.”

• 1 state (that would be New York) doesn’t mention VCPR at all—thus has no rules around it.

• 22 states say a vet has to “see” or “get acquainted with” your animal, but they don’t make it clear if that can happen through a virtual exam.

• 8 states clearly say that you can establish a VCPR virtually.

Does this sound like a confusing hodge-podge? Just wait. The rules keep changing as states catch up to the telemedicine boom that took off during the pandemic.

Here are a few recent updates:

• Florida (July 1, 2024): Now lets vets establish a VCPR by video visit. Prescriptions are limited—up to a month of flea/tick meds or two weeks of other meds.

• D.C. (July 19, 2024): Gave the green light to VCPRs via telehealth.

• California (Nov. 17, 2023): Changed its law so a VCPR can be set up through live audio-video chats, though prescriptions are capped at certain lengths.

Those are just a few examples. I did consider posting a helpful state-by-state list of regulations here, but with the constant and ongoing regulation changes, such a list would be outdated almost as soon as I posted it.

So, what are you supposed to do? Hennifer is sick and you don’t know which state agency you’re supposed to contact to find out about the current legal status of vet telemedicine in your state. And you’ve read this Randy’s Chicken Blog article all the way to this point. Just so you could find out who to contact! And now, you just read that I’m not going to tell you that!!

It’s ok. Take a deep breath. You don’t have to figure it out yourself. Every legitimate virtual vet service keeps track of the laws. It’s their job to know exactly what’s allowed in your state. I asked Christine Long about her company’s business practice regarding VCPRs. “TelaVets operates in compliance with each state’s laws,” she explained. “In VCPR states, we focus on advice, triage, and follow-up—not prescribing. In non-VCPR states, we can offer full telemedicine services, including prescriptions. We’ve built internal tools to automatically route cases to vets licensed and authorized in each user’s state, so compliance is seamless for pet parents.”

Translation: You don’t need to stress about the rules. If you think the time has come for you and sick Hennifer to try a virtual vet visit, get in touch! The service will let you know what they can and can’t do based on your state’s current regulations—and then help you from there.

A paper published last year in The Open Veterinary Journal was entitled “Veterinary Telemedicine: A New Era for Animal Welfare.” It offered an optimistic vision for the future of telemedicine: “Veterinary telemedicine has a bright future and will impact veterinary medicine and animal welfare due to its low cost, availability, online payment, and effectiveness in many clinical scenarios.”

Pet owners’ expectations are changing. Advances in communication and information technology have created a new normal.  Vet practices will have to adapt to meet those new expectations.

For backyard chicken folks, like me and you, who perhaps have been underserved by traditional vet medicine, telemedicine appears to be the path to better, more affordable, more available veterinary care.

Hennifer, sadly, will have nothing to gain from vet telemedicine. Because Hennifer is an imaginary chicken.

But for the real chickens in my real flock, I see vet telemedicine leading to a better, brighter, healthier future.