Let's talk veterinary data!
Every year, there are a couple of mega conferences for veterinarians and this one, the NAVC as it's fondly referred to, is one of them. Embrace is not exhibiting here this year although we have in the past but I am here to attend the North American Pet Heath Insurance Association's quarterly Board meeting (NAPHIA).
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a number of pet insurers, veterinarians, pharma and microchip companies and veterinary software companies in discussions on bringing in standards for veterinary data. Data standards, such as those the Vet XML Consortium have in place in the United Kingdom, mean for example, there would be a consistent list of procedures, diagnoses, and breeds between veterinary management systems.
I know it doesn't sound particularly sexy but it's crucially important for everyone in the veterinary business that data standards come about. Unlike human medicine, veterinary medicine has nothing in place now. For example:
- veterinarians could learn more about the prevelence of different hereditary conditions between breeds if the breed list and diagnoses lists were common across databases.
- your primary veterinarian could send your pet's records electronically to the emergency clinic you've taken your pet to in a blink of an eye or to a new veterinarian you have decided to go to
- Pet insurers would be able to receive claim information electronically in a consistent manner across veterinary practices, saving a lot of manual effort that is required now.
This would all be good for you, the pet parent, reducing costs, helping understand disease prevelence, and making veterinary data portable, amongst the many many benefits.
Fingers and paws crossed we can get moving on these standards asap.
