Development of an early health and wellbeing warning system for owners of companion animals
It should be a concern to all veterinary professionals and responsible pet owners that, although the number of companion cats and dogs continues to steadily increase, visits to veterinary practices have been going in noticeably the other direction for several years.
There are many possible explanations for this; economic pressures may well be salient, alongside readily available pet healthcare information on the internet. The evidence is clear however that owners do not fully grasp that regular evaluation of health and health-related quality of life (HRQL) can substantially benefit animals who cannot otherwise “tell” us how they feel.
Professor Jacky Reid, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and CEO of NewMetrica has recently published a research paper on measurable HRQL, co-authored by Vinny Davies and Marian Scott of the University of Glasgow and Andrea Wright of Zoetis, Inc.
Using PetDialog, a smartphone app developed by Zoetis, Inc which includes NewMetrica’s HRQL questionnaire for owners , the team analysed the health and wellbeing of over 6,000 dogs, aged between 6 weeks and 16 years. Of these, more than 5,000 were deemed “in perfect health” by owners, yet the app triggered a wellness alert for 27% of those animals, unfortunately indicating that all was not as well as it seemed.
In their paper, Prof Reid and her colleagues speculate that many pet owners unfortunately associate veterinary care primarily with vaccinations and the treatment of acute diseases or injuries. Also, that owners may confuse the signs of chronic illness with a “normal” aging process in cats and dogs. The result is that many potential benefits of preventative veterinary medicine are not being realized and animals may be suffering unnecessarily.
The paper argues that many middle-aged dogs may be suffering from undetected chronic disease, such as painful osteoarthritis or diabetes. Their research also supports that the use of VetMetrica, delivered via the PetDialog app, is an efficient way for vets to provide pet owners with the opportunity to monitor their animal's wellness throughout their lifetime.
The information can be automatically shared with vets, providing them with a remote mechanism to identify pet health problems early, and stimulating owners to be more proactive in seeking veterinary attention.
Read the paper here for full information https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.575795/full?utm_source=F-NTF&utm_medium=EMLX&utm_campaign=PRD_FEOPS_20170000_ARTICLE
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"I have been using VetMetrica for over 18 months now and have found it has revolutionised how I monitor patients and collect data. It is very easy to set up and the tools are intuitive and easy to follow
VetMetrica provides a great window into the animals’ quality of life and how it feels in its home environment. This has enabled me to better care for these patients and also collect good quality data for future publications. I cannot recommend VetMetrica enough. "
Andy Armitage, Greenside Vet Practice

Vetmetrica offers a valuable tool in assessing the impact of chronic pain on quality of life in dogs & cats. When treating chronic pain, most owners say that quality of life is paramount and they want their pet to be pain free. Vetmetrica engages owners and gives them the ability to measure quality of life.

"I found that a computer based scale run by Newmetrica... the same great people who gave us the Glasgow Pain Scales... is a wonderful way to get reliable quality of life scores. You can find it here at http://www.newmetrica.com/vetmetrica-hrql/. It generates a non-biased decision using a computer algorithum. Answers are weighted differently so it is harder for the caregiver to subconsciously manipulate the outcome. And they cannot go back and change their answers like they can on paper form" Dr Mike Petty

“Firstly I want to congratulate you and your team on the important work you are doing in the field of pain assessment and in particular the NewMetrica HRQL tool which I think is a real game changer!” – Leon Warne.
