Abstract
Veterinary practices are increasingly adopting digital tools to improve communication with clients, strengthen client relationships, and increase operational efficiency. Three of the most influential developments in recent years have been the use of social media platforms, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence (AI). Social media allows practices to educate clients, market services, and build trust within their communities while telemedicine offers convenience and flexibility to veterinary practices and clients alike. AI, meanwhile, offers opportunities to streamline administrative tasks, improve medical records, and assist with clinical decision-making. However, these technologies create legal, ethical, and operational risks that veterinary practices must carefully manage. This paper examines the benefits and challenges associated with social media communication, telemedicine, and AI implementation in veterinary medicine and provides recommendations for responsible use within veterinary practices.
Social Media in Veterinary Practices
Introduction
Pet owners increasingly expect immediate access to information, online communication, and digital engagement with veterinary practices. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn have become important tools for client communication and practice marketing.
Benefits of Social Media Communications
Social media serves as a highly effective marketing and communication tool available to veterinary practices. Social media allows practices to engage directly with current clients and prospective clients. Other ways animal hospitals can use social media include sharing educational content regarding pet health and preventative care; promoting services and community events; highlighting staff members and practice culture to gain client trust; sharing success stories and patient recoveries; and interacting and building relationships with clients by answering general inquires.
Effectively using social media as a commination tool at the veterinary practices can greatly improve client retention, increase brand awareness, and serve as the trusted source that every client needs when they may not know where to go or whom to trust.
Pet owners increasingly search online for veterinary advice, which allows them to go to sources that provide easily accessible, quality information. They can seek medical advice through comments, direct messages, or public posts on social media.
Challenges With Social Media
When viewing pet owners’ concerns for their pets, veterinarians as well as veterinary technicians may want to lend a hand; but, by responding to medical questions without an established veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR), veterinarians may unintentionally establish professional responsibilities and create negative consequences when pet owners do not fully understand information provided.
So, while these technologies offer many benefits, they also create legal and ethical concerns regarding confidentiality, professional liability, data security, and compliance with the VCPR. Veterinary practices must therefore understand both the opportunities and risks associated with these tools to utilize them effectively while protecting clients, patients, and the practice itself.
Practices need to determine how much information to contribute online that won’t affect VCPR and how much advice to provide pet owners. It may seem easier to give a quick reply with just a little information to keep your practice safe. Well-intended advice, however, can drive pet owners towards DIY treatments or Google searches. This, in turn, can lead them to cheaper and easier answers that might not be the most successful and effective ways to treat their pets.
Fortunately, AVMA has provided resources for veterinary practices to consider— guidelines and policies to help you and your veterinary practices remain safe without legal issues.
Responding to Inquiries Via Social Media
The AVMA’s Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics require veterinarians to have sufficient knowledge of a patient before making medical recommendations[1]. Practices can provide general educational information online; however, they should reserve individualized diagnoses and treatment recommendations for situations where a valid VCPR exists. This will help to avoid any at-home treatment that can lead to potentially dire or even fatal effects. Effective strategies provided by AVMA’s social media plan include only allowing approved staff members to post or comment on the practice’s behalf. Responses might include:
[name], out of respect for your privacy and to provide [pet’s name] with the best care possible, please give us a call at [number] to discuss your questions and concerns.
[name], we’re sorry to hear that [pet’s name] is having problems. We know [his/her] health and well-being are especially important to you, and we’ll do our best to help [him/her]. Please contact us as soon as possible to talk about your concerns and questions.
If there are non-clients seeking advice, use responses such as the one below:
[name], thanks for your question. We don’t provide veterinary advice online because there is no substitute for a hands-on examination and face-to-face discussions with our veterinary team. If you have any concerns about your pet’s health, a veterinary exam and consultation are the best places to start. We’d be happy to set up an appointment for you if you can give us a call at [insert number].
Confidentiality and Privacy Concerns
Veterinarians have ethical obligations to protect client/patient information, and the AVMA and other professional organizations emphasize maintaining confidentiality when using social media platforms. Practices should never post photos, videos, medical records, radiographs, or case details without obtaining explicit client consent. Employees who post information about patients or clients without authorization may expose both themselves and the practice to liability. Approval from staff engaged in procedures, treatments, and events should also be consented to by the individual and veterinarian.
When responding to comments online, designated staff should do so in a timely and professional manner. These pet owners care deeply about their pets, so showing compassion allows the owner to feel safe when communicating with you.
Veterinary practices should create a social media policy that addresses confidentiality expectations, appropriate online conduct, protection of company reputation, guidelines for personal and professional accounts as well as procedures for responding to negative reviews or complaints. Establishing expectations helps to protect both employees and the practice from preventable issues. They should include not providing specific advice online to a client or non-client. Direct pet owners asking simple questions to contact the practice; state that a staff member at the practice will promptly answer all inquiries.[2]
Plus, individual employee behavior on social media can affect a veterinary practice’s reputation. Harassment, discriminatory statements, misinformation, or disparaging comments regarding clients, coworkers, or competitors may expose practices to legal and reputational risks. Include details in your social media policy.
Telemedicine in Veterinary Practices
The ease of online connections leads to another amazing benefit: the use of telemedicine. Not only does telemedicine facilitate ease of use for pet owners and veterinarians, but it allows owners to feel more connected and confident that your practice will appropriately care for their loved ones.
Benefits of telemedicine include the ability to maintain the mandatory VCPR when providing medical advice by upholding the AMVA standard: that they “believe that veterinary telemedicine should only be conducted within an existing Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR), with the exception for advice given in an emergency until that patient can be seen by a veterinarian.”[3] This policy will allow veterinarians to speak to owners in a manner that maintains confidentiality, uphold the best quality of care, and provide convenience to both parties. Telemedicine also allows veterinarians to provide both online and in-person appointments during more flexible hours, which can create a better revenue stream.
For the pet owners, this creates more flexibility when they cannot have an appointment in person. It can also help pet owners to feel more at ease with pet-related concerns.
Practices must determine when its professionals need to physically see patients to diagnose, treat, and provide medical management and when telemedicine suffices. Practices can successfully use telemedicine for general, non-patient animal health information shared over the phone, text, email, website, and even social media pages. Clients who have recurring trips to the veterinary hospital can benefit from customized telemedicine check-in calls. If the state and federal requirements stratify requirements for a VCPR, and the veterinarian feels comfortable offering remote care and can exercise good clinical judgment, then the practice can offer many other services via telemedicine. [4]
Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Practices
Introduction
Artificial intelligence has emerged as a rapidly growing technology capable of supporting administrative functions, medical record ease, diagnostic imaging analysis, and client communications.
Is AI the Future?
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly common within veterinary medicine. AI-powered tools are useful in assisting with medical records, appointment scheduling, client communication, diagnostic imaging analysis, laboratory results interpretation, and hospital management. AI is changing from a futuristic idea into an everyday tool in modern veterinary clinics.
As one example, new AI software can now look through x-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds to quickly spot issues like lung tumors, broken bones, or swollen organs. As another example, AI is reducing boring paperwork that burns veterinarians out. Speech-to-text tools can turn a vet’s spoken notes into neat digital medical records, write up take-home instructions for pet owners, and track clinic inventory. This cuts down on-screen time so that teams can focus more on the actual animals.
AI, like social media, has ethical concerns to consider, including its reliability in veterinary medicine and its incorporation into everyday practice. Artificial intelligence should aid, not replace, veterinary professional decision-making, meaning that it should flag areas that need a closer look into rather than offer final diagnostics.
AI for Medical Documentation
AI has significantly improved efficiency in veterinary practices by assisting with medical records. AI is a powerful transcription tool that can convert veterinarian-client conversations into medical notes, reducing the time commitment needed to write records and spending more time with patients. Some platforms can listen to veterinary-client conversations and generate medical notes, treatment plans, and discharge instructions. The ultimate ethical responsibility of the veterinarian is to ensure that all information and transcription recorded into the medical record is accurate, complete, and complaint with professional standards.[5]
The use of AI assisted recording systems can raise a few concerns regarding informed consent and client privacy.[6] In efforts to remain confidentiality, practices need to disclose when conversations are being recorded and allow clients to understand how the recordings are used, stored, and protected.[7] Maintaining confidentiality and complying with applicable privacy regulation are critical consideration when implementing AI- based documentation systems.[8]
AI-Assisted Diagnostics
Regarding AI diagnostics, they can interpret radiographs, lab work, and other diagnostic data. Radiograph assistance tools have built-in learning algorithms to identify abnormal images and help support clinical decisions. AI systems are trained to review bloodwork and aid in disease detection. As mentioned previously, this assistance should not replace a veterinarian’s judgment because AI diagnostic tools can produce errors. There can be concern regarding the liability that could arise if AI-generated recommendations contribute to incorrect diagnoses or treatment plans. [9]
Overuse of AI can cloud judgement. Issues to watch for include misdiagnoses such as when a radiograph report mistakenly diagnoses pneumonia, and the veterinarian prescribes unnecessary antibiotics. If AI mistakenly suggests inflammatory disease, then an incorrect treatment plan with steroids could worsen the infection.
AVMA emphasizes that AI does not remove the responsibility from the veterinarian. Professionals must still provide clinical judgment when assessing cases and reviewing AI results. Due diligence includes continuously learning the strengths and weaknesses of new diagnostic tools, reviewing literature, and attending continuing education courses. It’s important to consider how AI can miss information provided or ignore certain contextual points about the patient’s history, exam findings, breed, and age.
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Practices use AI systems, including ChatGPT, for drafting employee handbooks, creating client consent forms, generating education materials, and legal or human resources tasks. Although the potential for efficiency is significant, limitations exist with information lacking factual support. This phenomenon, referred to as hallucination, presents risk when users rely on AI-generated information without verification. Without the use of critical thinking, this can introduce bias into decision making processes,[10].
When using AI to support management responsibilities, practices can reduce administrative workload and standardize internal policies. However, legal reviews of employment-related documents remain a critical step before implementation.[11] Employment law can vary by jurisdiction, and AI generated policies may not reflect appropriate legal requirements. So, practices using AI should understand the sources of information and correct misinformation.
A critical ethical concern surrounding AI involves transparency about data used to train AI systems. Many AI models operate as “black boxes,” making it difficult for users to understand how conclusions are reached. Biases present in training data may influence recommendations, diagnoses, or business decisions generated by AI systems.[12]
Researchers have also raised concerns about algorithmic bias, accountability, and explainability. If veterinarians cannot understand how an AI system arrived at a recommendation, evaluating its reliability becomes challenging. Ethical implementation of AI requires ongoing human oversight, validation, and transparency regarding data sources and model limitations.[13]
General AI Versus Vendor – Specific AI System
An important distinction exists between general-purpose AI systems and vendor-specific AI platforms. General AI systems, such as ChatGPT, are trained on broad datasets spanning numerous topics and industries. While these systems can assist with writing, brainstorming, and general information gathering, they may lack specialized veterinary knowledge and may generate inaccurate content.
In contrast, vendor-specific AI systems are often trained on proprietary veterinary datasets and designed for applications such as radiology interpretation, laboratory analysis, or practice management. Because these systems are tailored to veterinary medicine, they may provide more accurate and clinically relevant recommendations. However, their use raises additional questions regarding data ownership, privacy, cybersecurity, and accountability for errors.
Conclusion
Social media, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence have become valuable tools within the veterinary profession. Social media allows veterinary practices to communicate with clients, share educational content, build trust within their communities, and strengthen client engagement. Telemedicine offers an added stream of flexible and convenient care. AI has improved efficiency by assisting with administrative tasks, medical record documentation, and content creation.
All three technologies offer important benefits alongside ethical and professional challenges. As use of technology continues to become incorporated in veterinary practices, it is essential for veterinary professionals to adhere to the standards and guidelines established by the AVMA and other regulatory organizations for optimal patient care and protection of the practice.
References
- American Veterinary Medical Association. (2021). AVMA guidelines for the use of telehealth in veterinary practice: Implementing connected care. American Veterinary Medical Association. https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/AVMA-Veterinary-Telehealth-Guidelines.pdf
- American Veterinary Medical Association. (n.d.). Social media plan template [Word document]. American Veterinary Medical Association
- Chu, C. P. (2024). ChatGPT in veterinary medicine: A practical guidance of generative artificial intelligence in clinics, education, and research. Veterinary Sciences, 11(2), 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11020057
- [1]Miailhe, N., & Hodes, M. (2024). Artificial intelligence and veterinary medicine: Applications, ethical considerations, and legal implications. AI & Society, 39(4), 1803–1812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01686-1
- American Veterinary Medical Association. (2024, April 18). Artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine: What are the ethical and legal implications? https://www.avma.org/news/artificial-intelligence-veterinary-medicine-what-are-ethical-and-legal-implications
- Cohen, E. B., & Gordon, I. K. (2022). First, do no harm: Ethical and legal issues of artificial intelligence and machine learning in veterinary radiology and radiation oncology. Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound, 63(Suppl. 1), 840–850. https://doi.org/10.1111/vru.1317
