Veterinarian telehealth bill aims to relieve limited access to vet care
For the last several years, there have been two primary reasons pets are surrendered to animal shelters: lack of affordable pet-inclusive housing options, and lack of access to affordable veterinary care and/or access to timely vet appointments.
The bad news: we haven’t fixed the problem with affordable pet-inclusive housing. Not even close.
The good news: California is fixin’ to address limited access to veterinary care by passing Assembly Bill 1399 — which empowers licensed California veterinarians to establish a veterinarian-client/patient relationship through video technology — which basically means now you do not have to first establish care with a vet in-person before you can access telemedicine visits.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law two weeks ago, and it will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
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