May 14, 2025

#142: Thinking About Telemedicine? Here’s What Veterinarians Need to Know. With Dr Shadi Ireifej

#142: Thinking About Telemedicine? Here’s What Veterinarians Need to Know. With Dr Shadi Ireifej
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Season 1

Telemedicine.

What’s your gut reaction when you hear that term?Maybe you think it was just a clever COVID workaround, or second-rate substitute for a “real” vet visit.

Or maybe you’re a bit curious about what it’s like to work in telemedicine— but you’re worried it’ll be boring. Or worse: that you’ll spend your days diagnosing lizards over Zoom.

Whatever you think— chances are, you’re wrong. But don’t worry. This episode will change that. We go deep on the real-world pros and cons of telemedicine , from two key angles:

For curious vets:

  • What’s it really like to work in telemedicine?
  • Is it fulfilling?
  • How will I cope with all the tricky questions (and species?!)
  • Is the pay good?
  • Can you get into trouble for giving remote advice?


For clinic owners:

  • How do you integrate telemedicine into your practice?
  • What are the practical hurdles?
  • What’s worked (and what hasn’t) from someone who’s built a global platform from scratch?

Our guest is Dr. Shadi Ireifej , a board-certified surgeon, tech entrepreneur, and co-founder of VetTriage, a global teletriage platform.

This one made me rethink what “good vet work” really means. I think it’ll do the same for you.


Join us on the slopes of New Zealand for our winter CPD adventure with Vets On Tour Wānaka 25 .

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts at ⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠ for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠⁠ .

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Topics and Time Stamps

01:43 So you think you want to work in telemedicine?

04:20 Common concerns about telehealth work

06:11 Will I get sued for giving the wrong advice?

10:37  Vets on Tour: Upcoming Events

15:55  Income and Work Hours in Telemedicine

18:35 Will I have to give advice for all sorts of weird animals?21:29 Unexpected Joys of Telehealth

23:44  Future of Telehealth and Technology

29:21  Challenges and Lessons in Telehealth for Practice Owners

36:33 What about the technology?


We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact form at ⁠thevetvault.com⁠ , or catch up with us on ⁠Instagram⁠ . And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this.