Spectrum of care: more than treatment options

Brown, Carolyn; Garrett, Laura D.; Gilles, William K; Houlihan, Kendall E.; McCobb, Emily; Pailler, Sharon; Putnam, Holly; Scarlett, Jennifer L.; Treglia, Linda; Watson, Brittany; Wietsma, Henry T.

doi:10.2460/javma.259.7.712

Cited by 31 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although payment plans and compassionate pricing are not feasible for all private veterinary operations, large-scale veterinary providers that benefit from economies of scale may be able to offer more flexible pricing and payment options. Veterinary clinics can also consider using a spectrum of care treatment or incremental care options to increase access to care for low-income animal guardians ( 45 ). For more recommendations related to cost, Mattson compiled suggestions for veterinarians to better provide access-to-care options during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 46 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Care in Veterinary Services: Lessons Learned From Low-Income Pet Guardians' Experiences at Private Clinics and Hospitals During COVID-19

Morris

Morales

2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of low-income pet guardians in accessing veterinary care during COVID-19. Participants were recruited through a purposive sampling method: 12 individuals who applied to and met the low-income threshold to access support for veterinary fees from the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) were invited for semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews. Participants indicated that they experienced pandemic-related barriers related to and compounded by their low-income status. Their experiences fit into three categories: the barriers to accessing veterinary care pre-and peri-COVID-19, the emotional impact of compounding barriers related to accessing veterinary care during COVID-19, and the human-animal bond and resilience in the context of COVID-19. Drawing on the One Health, One Welfare approach, we argue that veterinary and animal services should evaluate and improve their support services, particularly programs developed for low-income pet guardians. Based on the participants' recommendations, we propose that veterinary and animal services prepare for future disaster situations by increasing their financial capacity to support people needing assistance, undergoing training to better work with people experiencing financial and emotional stress, and providing easily accessible resources to better distribute knowledge about animal needs and available financial assistance programming. The suggestions are intended to benefit animals, their guardians, and both veterinary and animal service sector workers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Care in Veterinary Services: Lessons Learned From Low-Income Pet Guardians' Experiences at Private Clinics and Hospitals During COVID-19

Morris

Morales

2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conceptually, AVC has been positioned as being at one end of a continuum or spectrum of acceptable care, with basic veterinary care situated at the other end of the spectrum [ 12 ]. According to this model, basic veterinary care is characterised by low costs, low technology, basic skills and being less resource dependent, while AVC is characterised by higher costs, advanced skills, state-of-the-art techniques and equipment, and being more resource dependent [ 13 ].…”

Section: What Constitutes Advanced Veterinary Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Standard of care (SOC), also known as standard of practice, has been defined as that required of and practiced by the average, reasonably prudent and competent veterinarian [ 12 , 14 ]. The SOC is referred to in codes of conduct.…”

Section: What Constitutes Advanced Veterinary Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Patients seen in such facilities are more likely to have uncommon or complex conditions. Furthermore, those admitted to university teaching hospitals as emergency patients tend to be referred internally to specialist services, under “an assumption that owners will want to pursue expensive diagnostic testing and advanced treatment for their pets” [ 12 ]. As a result, according to Stull and colleagues, “veterinarians (most notably recent graduates) may be unaware of, and lack the knowledge and skills to offer, a wide spectrum of care options for a given condition and therefore may be unable to communicate to clients the relative effectiveness and costs of options along this spectrum” [ 30 ].…”

Section: What Constitutes Advanced Veterinary Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerningly, AVC may be conflated with SOC, leaving practitioners and those who do not practice AVC exposed to charges of incompetence or negligence, or the risk of professional liability [ 14 ]. As a result, some veterinarians may practice AVC defensively, to reduce the risk of complaints and liability [ 12 ]. Even specialists are not immune to such influences.…”

Section: What Constitutes Advanced Veterinary Care?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ethical Challenges Posed by Advanced Veterinary Care in Companion Animal Veterinary Practice

Quain

Ward

Mullan

2021

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Advanced veterinary care (AVC) of companion animals may yield improved clinical outcomes, improved animal welfare, improved satisfaction of veterinary clients, improved satisfaction of veterinary team members, and increased practice profitability. However, it also raises ethical challenges. Yet, what counts as AVC is difficult to pinpoint due to continuing advancements. We discuss some of the challenges in defining advanced veterinary care (AVC), particularly in relation to a standard of care (SOC). We then review key ethical challenges associated with AVC that have been identified in the veterinary ethics literature, including poor quality of life, dysthanasia and caregiver burden, financial cost and accessibility of veterinary care, conflicts of interest, and the absence of ethical review for some patients undergoing AVC. We suggest some strategies to address these concerns, including prospective ethical review utilising ethical frameworks and decision-making tools, the setting of humane end points, the role of regulatory bodies in limiting acceptable procedures, and the normalisation of quality-of-life scoring. We also suggest a role for retrospective ethical review in the form of ethics rounds and clinical auditing. Our discussion reenforces the need for a spectrum of veterinary care for companion animals.

show abstract

The Gold Standard, Standards of Care, and Spectrum of Care

Englar¹

2022

Low‐Cost Veterinary Clinical Diagnostics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spectrum of care: more than treatment options

Cited by 31 publications

References 33 publications

Barriers to Care in Veterinary Services: Lessons Learned From Low-Income Pet Guardians' Experiences at Private Clinics and Hospitals During COVID-19

Barriers to Care in Veterinary Services: Lessons Learned From Low-Income Pet Guardians' Experiences at Private Clinics and Hospitals During COVID-19

Ethical Challenges Posed by Advanced Veterinary Care in Companion Animal Veterinary Practice

The Gold Standard, Standards of Care, and Spectrum of Care

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About