Telemedicine

We are excited to offer an affordable and convenient option to pets and their owners who are existing clients. In this era of Coronavirus concerns, telemedicine can also keep all of us safer!

vet care via email

Our new telemedicine app is called Teletails. (We have downloading instructions at the bottom of this page). You can video chat with the veterinarian, show/email photos of problems, and get help for your pet quickly! We can prescribe medication and offer a diagnosis without examining your pet in some cases. This practice is referred to as “telemedicine,” and it saves you, the pet owner, time, money, and loads of anxiety – not to mention limiting exposure!

Telemedicine consults cost $44, and only take about 15 minutes. After our consult, I will enter notes in the medical record, similar to an appointment. I can arrange medications to be picked up same day at our Belleville clinic (we have an outside box for pick up, or can run them out to your car if you don’t want to come in!), we can mail them, or a handful of medications can even be called into a human pharmacy for prompt pick-up. If we conduct a telemedicine consult and determine we really need to examine your pet in person, the telemedicine consult is no charge.

You can request a Telemedicine consult just like you can request a regular appointment. Simply call, email, text, or request it in our VitusVet app. We’ll try to set you up with a timeframe so you aren’t waiting forever. However, you may choose to initiate a consult through the app, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

teletails app

To get started:

1 – Download the app for free in either the App Store or Google Play. Just search for “Teletails” and install it on your device.

2 – Create an account for yourself and your pet. Sometimes when your phone auto-fills your email, it puts a space after it, so delete that space if the app gives you attitude…or don’t let it auto-complete. It does not link to our other app or our practice software, so you’ll have to enter your pet’s name too.

3 – When it asks for a provider code, enter MEHVC

4 – Click “Start Consultation.” We can send text messages, pictures, and also video chat!

*If I am in an appointment or it’s after hours, I may not respond right away. Please call or text 618-327-0417 and set up a time for the consult so you aren’t stuck staring at your phone. 🙂

**The legal requirements for us to conduct telemedicine consults are for us to have a valid Veterinarian-Client -Patient Relationship, or a VCPR. Any animal Dr. Laura or I have examined within the last 12 months has an established VCPR with us as a practice. If we have not seen your pet in over 12 months, our VCPR is no longer valid until we perform a physical examine on your pet, in person, again. We cannot legally sell or prescribe any medications via our telemedicine option until we examine your pet and re-establish that relationship. This is the legal definition, not mine.