Pet healthcare sector must work in tandem with the best of global skill-sets and services

Ohhun Kwon, Director, A’alda Vet India and Dr Vinod Sharma, Head of Veterinary services, DCC Animal Hospital in an inteaction with Express Healthcare explains that the pet healthcare sector must work in tandem with the best of global skill-sets and services, instead of only a problem-solution approach

Tell us more about DCC’s newly launched mobile app

PetConnect is a mobile app made for the clients at DCC. What makes it a unique, first-of-its-kind initiative in India, is how it digitises how pet parents interact with veterinarians. The app has been carefully designed to address all the need gaps seen so far in the veterinary system, offering everything from ease of booking or rescheduling appointments to maintaining the comprehensive medical records of your pet in an organised, digitised format.

Sometimes, when it comes to your pets, something that might appear to be a very small an issue at a particular stage of their life, could, three years later, turn out to be potentially life-threatening. It could become a major issue causing serious health complications, requiring surgery, or other intensive procedures. So, DCC is focused on creating awareness and also growing the ecosystem of how pet parents understand diseases and symptoms. Maintaining a proper medical record helps doctors keep those factors in mind in a day-to-day health check-up. And if all the records are maintained digitally, there is no scope of any loss of data. This lets them check for the specific issue during multiple health check-ups, consultations, or vaccinations, and address them early on.

Also, COVID has helped a lot of us see that it is actually quite safe to do contactless transactions. So, PetConnect also lets you access or review your invoices whenever you like, and even make payments, completely contactless. You can book an in-person appointment at the hospital or a telehealth consultation, which helps address all of your pet’s health concerns simply through your laptop or mobile phone, with the guidance and support of a trained veterinarian. In addition, we are also constantly enhancing our knowledge bank on the app where articles and content are added regularly, so that pet-parents can easily refer to it to know about the best practices.

What kind of differentiation are you looking at creating for DCC via PetConnect?

Pet Connect is one of the many efforts that DCC is making to connect better with pet parents, and help grow their knowledge and awareness. It focuses strongly on preventive care against issues or diseases that a dog, cat, or any pets may have at a later stage. Hence, we are looking at both digital and on-ground services, and are fully committed to transforming the face of veterinary care in India.

To that end, the PetConnect app offers easy access to expert medical healthcare, best techniques, treatments, guidance, and a whole lot of convenience. I believe this is what differentiates us, as we aim to bring up the standards of pet healthcare to the same benchmarks as that for humans.

Are there any expansion plans for services offered or areas catered to?

Yes, there are. We understand how the market works, and hence, are constantly researching on and catering to the various needs of pet-parents based on the inputs and feedback we receive. Hence, we have a gradual expansion plan starting with expanding our services and facilities across the Delhi-NCR. We are currently present at two locations, in South Delhi and Gurugram, but plan to unveil several more, in the coming year.

According to you, what kind of innovation, transformation, or evolution does the Indian pet care industry need?

I think we need to start with the basics first. There are a lot of facilities in the foreign market. For example, even at the level of wellness centres for senior dogs and dog gyms for their physical activity, which is actually the root cause of many health issues. There are a lot of advanced amenities available today. However, what we as DCC feel is most necessary at this stage is ensuring crystal-clear and transparent medical healthcare where the pet parents are made to understand what preventive care looks like — basics like the importance of vaccinations and their correct storage, as well as taking into account the specific physical conditions of the dog, during check-ups prior to administering those vaccines. The efficacy is dependent on a lot of factors, and not a lot of pet parents are as aware of them as is necessary. So, we need to start addressing the root cause of the problem by creating that awareness, and the importance of the basics, that can help save lives.

Secondly, the pet healthcare sector must work in tandem with the best of global skill-sets and services, instead of only a problem-solution approach. With the amount of detailed records available today, complete transparency is a must. Pet parents must be helped to understand and identify symptoms of early-onset diseases, so that the issue can be addressed at a much earlier stage, instead of when it’s already become much more severe.

How has healthcare for pets changed in India during the pandemic era?

Since stepping out of our houses was no longer an option during the pandemic, telehealth consultation services were in very high demand. The focus was on providing the best care and assistance possible, since on-ground or in-person medical care was difficult at the time. Because of this, digital support for pet healthcare has grown immensely. Even now that things are starting to improve, pet-parents have been highly appreciative of the convenience that our PetConnect app offers. All the guidance they need is at their fingertips, and for more in-depth care, they can book appointments, treatments, and check-ups, and keep track of them using the app itself!

However, another trend that we have seen is one that is quite heartbreaking. A lot of pandemic pet-parents have been abandoning their pets, now that things are starting to improve and they are returning to office. So, we would really request pet-owners not to abandon their pets, and instead, plan their lives and work around them.

DCC is focusing on creating extremely comfortable boarding services where rooms are completely air-conditioned and temperature-controlled. Our doctors at the facility are also handpicked based on their global expertise and skill sets, in consultation with a team of advisers from Japan and the US, who work closely with them to enhance those skill sets.