Veterinarians' perspective on telemedicine in Germany

Introduction Information on the use of telemedical approaches in the context of veterinary medicine is evolving. As in human medicine, veterinary medicine is subject to an increasing digitalization effort. The aim of the current study was to investigate the perspective of German veterinarians regarding their awareness and usage of telemedical approaches. Furthermore, the degree of implementation of different digital approaches in the context of German veterinary medicine was elaborated. Methods A literature review, that also aimed to address the necessary framework or standardization of these digitalization efforts and potential barriers such as legal or infrastructural aspects, provided information for the empirical research. Using a quantitative research approach, the perspective of German veterinarians was surveyed. Results In total, responses from 169 veterinarians were analyzed. The results show that digital approaches were used by veterinarians and the usage was enhanced by the COVID-19 crisis. Discussion However, the lack of a clear legal framework may be a significant barrier for further implementation. This survey provides a basis for a critical discussion on the use of veterinary telemedicine in Germany. The results may contribute to future strategies for the implementation and development of necessary policies, training, and service applications within Germany, which may be transferable for the profession in other countries.

Veterinarians' perspective on telemedicine in Germany.

Introduction: Information on the use of telemedical approaches in the context of veterinary medicine is evolving. As in human medicine, veterinary medicine is subject to an increasing digitalization effort. The aim of the current study was to investigate the perspective of German veterinarians regarding their awareness and usage of telemedical approaches. Furthermore, the degree of implementation of different digital approaches in the context of German veterinary medicine was elaborated. Methods: A literature review, that also aimed to address the necessary framework or standardization of these digitalization efforts and potential barriers such as legal or infrastructural aspects, provided information for the empirical research. Using a quantitative research approach, the perspective of German veterinarians was surveyed. Results: In total, responses from 169 veterinarians were analyzed. The results show that digital approaches were used by veterinarians and the usage was enhanced by the COVID-19 crisis. Discussion: However, the lack of a clear legal framework may be a significant barrier for further implementation. This survey provides a basis for a critical discussion on the use of veterinary telemedicine in Germany. The results may contribute to future strategies for the implementation and development of necessary policies, training, and service applications within Germany, which may be transferable for the profession in other countries.

Key feature-cases as virtual patients in education of veterinary neurology.

To provide students of veterinary medicine with the necessary day 1 competences, e-learning offerings are increasingly used in addition to classical teaching formats such as lectures. For example, virtual patients offer the possibility of case-based, computer-assisted learning. A concept to teach and test clinical decision-making is the key feature (KF) approach. KF questions consist of three to five critical points that are crucial for the case resolution. In the current study usage, learning success, usability and acceptance of KF cases as neurological virtual patients should be determined in comparison to the long cases format. Elective courses were offered in winter term 2019/20 and summer term 2020 and a total of 38 virtual patients with neurological diseases were presented in the KF format. Eight cases were provided with a new clinical decision-making application (Clinical Reasoning Tool) and contrasted with eight other cases without the tool. In addition to the evaluation of the learning analytics (e.g., processing times, success rates), an evaluation took place after course completion. After 229 course participations (168 individual students and additional 61 with repeated participation), 199 evaluation sheets were completed. The average processing time of a long case was 53 min, while that of a KF case 17 min. 78% of the long cases and 73% of KF cases were successfully completed. The average processing time of cases with Clinical Reasoning Tool was 19 min. The success rate was 58.3 vs. 60.3% for cases without the tool. In the survey, the long cases received a ranking (1 = very good, 6 = poor) of 2.4, while KF cases received a grade of 1.6, 134 of the respondents confirmed that the casework made them feel better prepared to secure a diagnosis in a real patient. Flexibility in learning (n = 93) and practical relevance (n = 65) were the most frequently listed positive aspects. Since KF cases are short and highlight only the most important features of a patient, 30% (n = 70) of respondents expressed the desire for more specialist information. KF cases are suitable for presenting a wide range of diseases and for training students' clinical decision-making skills. The Clinical Reasoning Tool can be used for better structuring and visualizing the reasoning process.