CARSON CITY, Nevada (KOLO) – Leona Galau, who lives in Dayton, has three horses, two donkeys, a goat, and four dogs. She has brought vets to her home and taken her animals to the vet. While she believes telemedicine has a role in the wildlife, she still has many questions about face-to-face visits and camera consultations.
“They know that a picture of a wound says a lot,” says Galau. “But when you place your hands and feel like heat, it says a lot, too,” she says.
The idea of veterinarians and their customers using telemedicine is not for the future. Nevada’s legislation is currently considering regulating it in Carson City.
“We are concerned about the lack of control over telemedicine and the veterinary world,” said Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod MP, Democrat who represents District 34 and sponsor of the law.
Bill 200 would allow telemedicine in veterinary practices with some provisions. The vet must have a relationship with the patient. National companies that provide veterinarians from other parts of the country for telemedicine are not allowed to operate in the state under AB 200.
The former state veterinarian Dr. JJ Goicochea says there is a reason for this.
“So you’re telling me this is what my dog does, this is what my horse does, and it’s a zoonotic disease that means something that can spread to humans,” says Dr. Goicochea. “That can potentially be harmful. Not just for you and your animals, but for your neighbors in the Nevada state economy, ”he says.
Dr. Goicochea says telemedicine will be reserved for certain medical scenarios involving animals. It would not replace the practice itself. The main reason is that humans can tell you what’s going on, but animals can’t.
And Leona has another observation. “So the vet would rely on me as the owner and my feelings,” she says.
AB 200 has already made it out of the congregation and is on its way to a Senate committee.
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