You must be aware about the telehealth veterinary company known as TeleVet which was started a few years back. Well, it is worth noting that the company has just raised a new round of funding worth $43M but the even bigger news is that the company is rebranding from TeleVet to Otto and the decision to do so has been explained later on in this article. Otto, as the company mentions, “offers a way for clinics to manage aspects of their operations, from schedule to after-hours triage to payments and digital prescription refills.”
CEO of Otto, Zeynep Young, says that “there has been a “huge explosion in the pet population,” However, at the same time, there is a decline in the number of veterinary clinics due in large part to burnout. Even if clinics add more people the problem won’t be solved without technology”. Young said, “Historically, the veterinary industry has been a bit of a tech laggard and a sleepy industry from an innovation perspective,” “We’re seeing that really change, obviously. But there’s a lot of room for improvement in terms of helping clinics deal with the expectations of today’s client and to be able to deliver the best healthcare for pets in today’s environment.”
She added, “Clinics have what is affectionately known as the ‘14 tabs problem. They’ve got 14 tabs open in front of them, and they’re trying to skip from one to the other to figure out how to follow an actual patient. That leads to some really thorny problems, like sending an appointment reminder to a pet that’s already been euthanized by the practice. And staff burnout from having to move from solution to solution, as well as disruptions in care and communication.” His approach seems to be working as he tells us that “The company grew its customer base by 600% to over 8,000 new veterinary clinics and hospitals after adding more than 1,000 in the past year”. On the change of name from TeleVet to Otto, Young mentions that “Otto is a name we love because much of our product is about automating those tedious tasks so your staff can focus on the best part of their job, which is to deliver healthcare. It’s friendly and approachable.”