COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Telemedicine is a tool many veterinarians use at Texas A&M and statewide. SB 2155 would have allowed for medication to be prescribed to an animal through telemedicine without an initial physical exam.
- The push to expand telemedicine for veterinarians in Texas failed to make it to a vote.
- SB 2155 gained mixed opinions from both veterinarians and advocates of the bill
- Dr. Lori Teller, both a faculty clinician and clinical professor at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, disagreed with the bill's goal of allowing medication to be prescribed to an animal through telemedicine before an initial inpatient visit.
- Shelby Bobsoky of the Texas Humane Legislation Network tells 15 ABC the bill is about removing that barrier to that first inpatient visit and that they will be back to advocate in 2027.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I actually oversee our telemedicine program here at A&M," Dr. Lori Teller, both a faculty clinician and clinical professor at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said.
Telemedicine is a popular tool for many veterinarians.
“So if we have a patient, say with a chronic condition like diabetes, arthritis, things like that, once we have established that relationship, diagnosed the problem, then we can use telemedicine for a bunch of our follow up," said Dr. Teller.
Although telemedicine is already being used, SB 2155 pushed for more.
“51 counties don't even have a veterinarian, so telemedicine would have been a huge a boost to areas that are completely underserved by veterinarians or areas that lack veterinarians altogether," Shelby Bobosky, Executive Director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, said.
Despite the belief Bobosky's organization has in the bill, Dr. Teller disagrees.
“They are also advertising it as a way to access care. However, we can already do advice and triage, and that's what most animals need before they've seen a veterinarian, and so all of those things are legal to do in the State of Texas already.”
Dr. Teller’s concerns about increased access come down to safety.
15 ABC confirmed with Dr. Teller if before they do telemedicine with anybody, or telehealth, if they do have that first inital exam.
"Yes, right, we do that initial physical exam."
"That legislation would allow people to prescribe medication without ever putting their hands on the animal, and so I very much support telemedicine, but I support telemedicine with guardrails around it, including having done that initial physical exam and meeting the client first before we use telemedicine for additional care," added Dr. Teller.
With these conversations set to continue, Bobosky questions those safety concerns.
“There is not one study that has shown that telemedicine can create those dangerous situations or even malpractice. So, again, we leave it up to the professionals to decide whether or not they want to see a pet in person or not."