On-Line Veterinary Medicine Sites
Story Date: 3/20/2014
Veterinary Medicine Online – What Sites Can You Trust?
It’s not hard to find pet health information on the Internet. But,
the challenge is finding advice and information from sources that you
can trust. What can you do to make sure that the recommendations and
opinions you find will actually help? And…what about those review
sites? Can they help you find a veterinarian when you need one?
By: Dr. Jim Humphries
From new toys and comfy beds for your pets to medications, designer sweaters and even recommendations for “pet friendly” vacation destinations, animal lovers can find just about anything for their four legged furry family online. Unfortunately, it’s far too easy to find a lot of mis-information and even potentially dangerous advice when it comes to your pet’s health care.
Since the very first website was created, anyone with the time,
creativity and access to a web hosting service can post their opinions
about almost any subject. This has led to a wide variety of
non-veterinarians who claim to be “experts” in pets providing advice and
recommendations. Sadly, pets have been harmed or even died when owners
followed the counsel provided by these individuals.
When searching for helpful information about animal health, you should
trust sites that have a veterinarian who either writes or oversees the
content. HealthyPet.com
from the American Animal Hospital Association is a great place to
start. You can also look at your state’s veterinary medical association
website or even their Facebook page for pet owner resources.
A new organization, the American Society of Veterinary Journalists,
has been created to help both the media and the public find trustworthy
professionals providing advice through any sort of media. Look for the
Seal of Approval from ASVJ.
The popularity of veterinary blogs is hard to ignore and bloggers like Pawcurious.com or Pet Health Care Gazette.com
can provide general suggestions and opinions about veterinary care.
The added bonus to following these well-liked sites is that they are
often a lot of fun and give the reader a personal viewpoint that is
lacking from other sites. Just remember, none of these bloggers can
diagnose or treat your pet’s specific problem.
Another fashionable trend is the use of review sites to find service
providers, restaurants or almost any other type of retail outlet. The
question here is, should you rely on these review sites when you are
looking for a veterinarian?
According to SearchEngineLand.com,
almost 80% of online users say they trust online reviews as much as
personnel recommendations. There is no doubt that sites like Yelp,
YP.com and Angie’s List can have a significant impact on a person’s
decision to use a specific provider. These experts do recommend that
you follow some easy guidelines when reading online reviews.
First, find sites that present a balanced set of reviews and look for at
least ten to twelve postings before you can say you spot a trend for
that particular business.
Next, look beyond the reviewer’s words. Is there a genuine concern over
poor service or are emotions and a focus on money obscuring the real
issue? Let’s face it…some people are very hard to please or are often
simply grumpy.
Conversely, avoid relying on reviews that are excessively positive and
seem too good to be true. While there are people who are always happy
and never have a bad word to say, companies do exist that pay
individuals to write positive reviews for a wide variety of
organizations.
Finally, look at the reviewer’s profile. Has this person reviewed other
businesses? Do they seem to be objective or are they using the same
“cut and paste” language on all their reviews? If their evaluations
seem too similar, they may be working for one of the review writing
companies. Another red flag is to watch out for reviewers who
constantly try to send you to look at their own profile…odds are, they
are trying to sell something and they are using the review sites as
marketing opportunities.
It’s been said before, but your veterinarian (and their website) will
always offer you the best and most trusted source of information. With a
good relationship, you can have confidence that your veterinary
professionals are eager to help and offer the correct advice!
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