Today we’d like to introduce you to Shadi Ireifej
Hi Shadi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was in 11th and 12th grade, I was inspired by my biology teachers. I wanted to find a career that would allow me to learn more about the natural world and animals, but also have a positive impact on them. I eventually landed on veterinary medicine. From there, I was able to attend the Cornell University — School of Veterinary Medicine and I graduated in 2006.
I decided to pursue certification in small animal surgery. After I graduated veterinary school, I attended Long Island Veterinary Specialists (LIVS) as a surgical intern followed by a surgical residency. During my surgical training at LIVS, I had realize that the receptionist were taking on 100 phone calls a day at this 24 hour facility, with clients having the same question of whether or not they should seek emergency care with their sick or injured pet. Because the receptionists are not medically trained personnel, they are unable to make a judgment call on this and have to give the client the same generic advice of “if you are concerned, come in”.
This led me devise a business model where clients can pay to speak to a doctor to be triaged in this capacity. That way the clients can get a real answer from a doctor and the receptionist can focus on their primary responsibilities at the hospital. Thus VetTriage was born.
I had spent the next 15 years working on the platform with my team. In 2019 we launched VetTriage, completely self-funded, being the first ever 24/7 video teletriage/teleadvice platform utilizing veterinarians for any animal type located around the world.
Since then we have grown to over 70 doctors and half a dozen support staff. We have seen over 40 different animal types, we have triaged clients from over 20 different countries and we now have approximately 1,000 partners across the world, made up of hospitals, clinics, specialty facilities, emergency facilities, universities, shelters, and many more. We are approaching 150,000 cases in just under 4 1/2 years.
We have three primary goals with this platform. We want to spearhead the movement in telehealth to help evolve this field of veterinary medicine to its fullest potential, we want to give access and spectrum of care to pet owners, especially those who live in more rural areas or cannot afford or travel to veterinary clinics, and we want to help our colleagues on the ground by partnering with their facilities so that when they are feeling overwhelmed, understaffed, there is inclement weather, and so forth, they can refer cases to VetTriage, allowing them to balance their work and life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anytime you want to challenge the status quo, you will run into challenges. Fortunately, my business partners and I are no stranger to such things. We have faced several challenges along the way, all of which were to be expected.
Firstly, the concept of virtual care in the veterinary space is a novel one. Despite the fact that telehealth has been implemented in the veterinary field since the common use of telephones, the concept in its current form is alien to the majority of the profession. We have to convince the veterinary world that telehealth is a powerful tool that can be used for the benefit of clients and pets worldwide.
Secondly, discussions with veterinary facilities to refer cases to our platform has proven to be a challenge. Veterinarians inherently like to have full control over their cases, despite the fact that they have a toxic work-life balance, and therefore this cultural shift was mandatory to the success of our platform. We had to educate our colleagues on the ground about this premise, so that they can relinquish control over these cases, and take back loving being a veterinarian again while also cherishing their personal time.
Finally, when attempting to test a novel concept while also focusing on being a business success, we have to be brave enough to challenge the status quo, but also provide as much objective data to our colleagues as possible. Therefore, we are not only focused on the fundamentals of the platform, but we’ve also expanded into the research world. We successfully published our first research paper in December 2023 by the Frontiers in Veterinary Science journal and are working on four more publications to show objectively to our colleagues that this form of veterinary practice can be accomplished with very powerful and positive effects.
Overall, with anticipation of these challenges, we were successful in methodically tackling each challenge and providing a solution that was effective in ultimately achieving our goals.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
VetTriage has three lofty goals: (1) Spearhead the movement in veterinary telehealth, launching within the virtual veterinary space to be more in alignment with human medicine, with what our colleagues in brick and mortar need, and with what pet owners desire, (2) Improve access and spectrum of care for pet owners across the world, especially during a time where the veterinary field is facing an immense amount of cultural and workflow challenges, and both financial and geographic hardships are commonplace, and (3) Improve the work-life balance and professional quality of life for our colleagues on the hospital floor, who work tirelessly and dedicate themselves relentlessly to help animals in need, by VetTriage partnering with their facility and providing them a means for referring cases away in real-time, especially during times of staff shortages, inclement weather, reaching hospital capacity, minimizing after-hours on-call emergencies, and so much more.
VetTriage is the first and largest 24/7/365 synchronous video teletriage and teleadvice platform, boasting experienced and compassionate DVMs available to pet owners on a global scale. Approximately 40 different animals types have been triaged. VetTriage has massive credibility in the veterinary field with over 500 veterinary partners located globally; universities, emergency facilities, multi-specialty facilities, rescues/shelters, and general practices make up the majority of partnerships. VetTriage also offers Spanish-speaking DVMs 24/7 and an equine-only platform with equine DVMs available 24/7. All DVMs are interviewed and trained by Dr. Ireifej, a board certified surgeon and almost 18 years as a veterinarian, with high standards being placed on who is able to join the VetTriage team. Our DVMs have numerous years of practice in the field, exhibit natural compassion and empathy, and provide clear communication and clarity to clients; these are only a few of the requirements we seek in our doctors. Pet owners have accessed VetTriage globally from over 20 different countries. Pet owners pay $50 USD for non-equine video sessions and $75 USD for equine video sessions, and they are able to spend as much time with our DVMs as needed, including any follow-up, questions or re-triaging until their family practice is open for regular hours. The partnerships with veterinary facilities is free with no contracts or agreements.
What also sets us apart in the virtual sphere is our alignment with brick and mortar facilities; the method by which any given veterinary facility best leverages the benefits of VetTriage is dependent on what challenges their practice is currently facing. Common examples include replacing the current answering service/offering their cellular telephone numbers for on-call with VetTriage, long emergency wait times, short staffing, inclement weather, excessive walk-in appointments, reaching capacity due to number of patients, and reaching capacity due to the particular type of cases being accepted, are just a few of the common reasons.
Essentially, VetTriage is an extension of the veterinary facility, an adjunctive tool, with the referrals to VetTriage being dictated by their staff on an as-needed basis or consistently during after-hours. When their client is seen by VetTriage, their individual and unique protocol will be followed with what options we have for emergency care should the client’s pet have a true medical or surgical emergency. We find that well over 80% of clients do not have actual emergencies with their pets, giving their client peace of mind in addition to advice and monitoring instructions that they will follow until their family veterinary facility reopens for a scheduled recheck appointment. All clients who do not have an emergency are referred back to their facility for follow-up, and those that do have emergencies will be called into the on-call DVM or ER hospital in accordance with their protocols. All medical records are shared with the pet owner and their facility, date- and time-stamped with when the session occurred, keeping their family veterinarian in the loop with the details of their client’s interaction with VetTriage. These medical records not only contains our client communication and the advice given, but also the signalment, history, video examination findings, clinical signs to be observant for at home, and the VetTriage contact information to be re-triaged if needed at no additional charge.
The following is a summary of the profound ways we’ve seen a VetTriage partnership benefit the practice:
Staff shortages:
Improve retention
Lessen turnover
Easier hiring
Less revenue lost on headhunting/training
More cohesive team
Decrease work stressors/anxieties:
Compassion fatigue is lessened
Individual patient care improves
Leadership team is viewed as caring
Improved client online reviews
New veterinarian graduates:
Customize caseload to the DVM experience level
Customize caseload to the staff present
Leadership appears empathetic
More individual case focus
Individual facility solutions:
Customized protocols for each facility
Tailor VetTriage operations to your client demographic
Protocols are unique to your own hospital operations
VetTriage is adaptive to your geographic location/challenges
The process for veterinary hospitals and pet organizations to begin with VetTriage is to contact Dr. Ireifej directly or through the VetTriage website so that any questions or further elaboration on how the partnership will look like can be addressed via a video or phone call. After that, our short protocol word document is filled out by their medical staff, being as detailed and nuanced as possible so that we can operate to their desires. Once we receive the protocol, we will build customized fliers (these are shared with clients via e-mail, at the time of checking out, via social media posts and newsletters, etc.) and a customized landing page (this will be on their website embedded within the VetTriage logo on their homepage and/or emergency/after-hours page). We can go live within hours of receiving the items needed, and their protocols/our relationship can evolve over time as feedback becomes more common from their clients and team members.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I do not view anything as being bad luck. I only view unfortunate circumstances or outcomes as an opportunity to look at something in a novel way, and use it to our advantage. In regard to good luck, I believe we’ve had plenty of that.
We were lucky in that no outside funding or investment was needed. This entire endeavor was self-funded, allowing us to maintain our true visions for what we wanted this platform to represent.
Another bout of luck is my business partners. I was fortunate enough to meet people who not only shared my love for animals and displayed a diligent work ethic, but are also proficient in all the avenues that I am weakest in; marketing, finances, technology, and so much more skill they are able to provide valuable expertise on, allowing me to focus on the medical and clinical side.
Finally, we launched this platform several months before the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although I believe it would have been successful without the pandemic, the pandemic certainly accelerated our progression and exposure in the space.
These are just a handful of examples where luck appear to play a role in our success and evolution.
Pricing:
- $50 USD for non-equine video sessions
- $75 USD for equine video sessions
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.VetTriage.com
- Instagram: @vettriage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/televeterinarian
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vettriage9959
