2024: The Biggest Stories of the Year

Hello 👋 

Happy (almost) New Year and welcome to a very special edition of Weekend Rounds!

In a tradition that we started last year, we’re excited to bring you our year-end recap of the biggest stories that shaped our profession. Whether you’re new to Weekend Rounds and missed some stories earlier in the year or you’d like to be reminded just how much we’ve covered this year, this is the edition for you. These are the stories that we felt made the biggest news at the time, and whether or not there are possible long term implications.

If you’d like to refresh your memory on the top stories from 2023, check it out here.

But first a quick programming note - we’re going to take next week off for some much needed R&R (because your favorite newsletter authors deserve some self-love over the holidays too!), and we’ll be back in action later in January.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holidays! Stay safe, stay warm, and we will see you in 2025!

The Biggest Stories of 2024

The year started off with a bang, as approval for veterinary telemedicine in California went into effect on January 1, 2024. We’ve covered the debate on telemedicine ad nauseum so we won’t spend too much time on it, but the short version is that proponents say it can help reduce burden on vets, reach rural animals more easily, and be a piece of the veterinary shortage puzzle; opponents say it can reduce the quality of diagnoses and treatment. In fact, the debate around the veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) and whether it needs to be established before a doctor can practice telemedicine on their patient was our top story of last year. And here it is again topping the charts and defining the way our profession will evolve in the second half of the 2020s.

There hasn’t been a ton of coverage on how the telemedicine roll out in California has gone (if you’re a practicing vet in Cali, let us know your experience!). But we’ve seen a number of new telehealth providers pop up, and there is support for enhanced telemedicine options among humane societies and advocates for increased access to care.

Unfortunately, the state-by-state laws have created a patchwork of regulations that can be tough to follow. The AAHA has a handy breakdown on how each state is managing the VCPR and the laws around telemedicine. In September, the FDA also published answers to FAQs on federal regulations.

We initially covered this story in the January 7 edition of Weekend Rounds, Telemedine Goes Live in California

If you thought the patchwork of telehealth regulations was confusing, how about a whole new career in Colorado but nowhere else? On November 5, Colorado voters approved Proposition 129, which set in motion the creation of a new career designation called the veterinary professional associate (VPA), which could be earned through a Master’s Degree and will allow a registered veterinary professional associate to practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

What exactly does this mean? No one really knew at the time when they voted, and we still aren’t completely sure. Supporters say that the VPA will help tackle the state’s veterinary shortage, especially in rural areas, but the ballot measure lacked clear definitions, leaving the scope of practice and training requirements to be figured out later.

Unlike veterinary technicians—who are battling to standardize their credentials—the VPA role is starting off with zero national oversight, as it is the the Colorado Veterinary Medical Board that is now tasked with setting up licensing and credentialing standards.

Although the position will require a Master’s Degree in veterinary clinical care from Colorado State University (CSU), the AVMA (a strong opponent of the proposition), is not impressed with the curriculum, calling it too thin for such a high-stakes role. Meanwhile, CSU is rushing to seat its first class next fall, despite ongoing critiques.

We covered Proposition 129 twice:
Before the election in the October 27 edition, Understanding Proposition 129 
And after the measure passed in the November 10 edition, Prop 129 Passed - What Now?

Okay, we will admit this one wasn’t huge news when we wrote about it the November 18 edition of Weekend Rounds, but we hadn’t heard of it and we found it fairly interesting.

This story is about the Gebührenordnung für Tierärzte (GOT) which translates to "fee schedule for veterinarians" and is the German government’s program that regulates the costs that practitioners can and must charge for their work.

The pricing scale dates back to World War II amid the Nazi regime's goal to coordinate of all elements of society. But even as Germany has transformed into a modern capitalist democracy, the program has lived on. Amidst high inflation and rising costs of care, the GOT has become something a safeguard against perceived price gauging and the associated anti-veterinarian sentiment.

Some practitioners dislike the government oversight and regulation. After all, Germany has free market capitalism in most other industries. Why should veterinarians be limited? While others see the GOT as a possible case study that other countries could study to address the steep rises in the cost of veterinary care.

As the cost of care is a hot button issue in our profession, it will be interesting to see if Germany adapts their program or if other countries use it as a case study for reform. 

In possibly our most debated edition of the year, we covered the Wall Street Journal’s article in April about pet owners who feel the osteoarthritis medication Librela was responsible for the death or serious health deterioration of their dogs, and a Facebook group dedicated entirely to a stories to drive a class action lawsuit against Zoetis.

Not a ton has changed over the the last few months, but the discourse is heating up. Just this month, the FDA issued a ‘Dear Veterinarian’ letter addressing the adverse effects of the drug. Zoetis, the drug’s manufacturer, has responded to the FDA saying that they agree with many of the statements, but “continue to have the utmost confidence in the safety and efficacy of Librela.”

And the media coverage is just picking up as The Globe and Mail, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and local media outlets have published articles.

Given the FDA weighing in on the issue. We’ll ask again… what is your experience like and has it changed this year?

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At the end of April, the FTC voted 3-2 to approve a set of regulations that banned non-compete clauses entirely in new-employment scenarios, and most existing non-competes unenforceable. This was massive news for the entire American workforce, but especially veterinarians who have been plagued by non-compete clauses in their contracts that restrict freedom, harm wellbeing, lower wages, and decrease innovation.

In theory, under the new rules, fewer vets would be stuck in dead-end jobs and have leverage to seek new employment as they wish.

However, a U.S. District Court in Texas appealed the ruling, suggesting that the FTC’s non-compete rule is unlawful. This motion and ruling prevents the FTC from enforcing the rule against any company nationwide until things are settled. The FTC may appeal this decision, but the case is likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has recently issued decisions curtailing the power of federal agencies. For now, we’re stuck in a frustrating holding pattern. We got a brief taste of freedom, just for it to be ripped away.

We wrote about the initial FTC ruling in the April 28 edition of Weekend Rounds:
So Long Non-Competes!
And the appeal on July 21:
The USA's new canine travel rules

Strikes are usually that noteworthy, but the veterinary strike in Wales made big news this year because our profession is dominated by private equity, not unions. Over 100 veterinary staff at Valley Vets in South Wales went on strike from July 16-30 and again August 6-23. The news was covered at the time by both The Guardian and VIN News.

Valley Vets is owned by VetPartners one of 6 major corporations in the UK currently under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority for anti-competitive actions. The six groups own 60% of veterinary practices in the UK right now, up from 10% in 2013.

The end result of the strike was not a pretty one. VetPartners has closed 4/5ths of the Valley Vets hospitals in South Wales. Union members believe the reason is simple, VetPartners wants to stifle the 400 veterinary workers they employ across the UK by showing their power to close work places. On the other side, VetPartners says that their business operates at a loss and claims it cannot increase salaries further.

We covered the strike in the August 25th edition Vets Continue Strike in Wales.

By far one of the biggest disasters of the year was Hurricane Helene. Helene, which made landfall in September of this year, had a devastating impact across the southeastern United States. The hurricane hit Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph, and caused widespread damage across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. The storm resulted in over 230 fatalities, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The economic damage is estimated to be as high as $200 billion, potentially making it the costliest storm in U.S. history. Helene brought record-breaking rainfall, with some areas receiving over 30 inches, leading to historic flooding. The storm’s rapid intensification was attributed to unusually warm waters in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, highlighting the ongoing impact of global warming.

Our October 7th edition, Veterinary Teams respond to Hurricane Helene featured news of the courageous efforts of veterinary groups to respond the animal side of the crisis. Emergency teams from Texas A&M, the ASPCA and Humane Society were dispatched to affected areas. As with many disasters before, the heart wrenching imagery of animals being rescued and the knowledge of those who could not be saved left an indelible mark.

2024 was a hectic year. A lot happened, so it’s hard to say what it will be known for in 10 years. But the continual rise of Artificial Intelligence is a pretty good bet, which is why our final story of the year is one that will likely carry forward into 2025 and beyond. From large language models like ChatGPT, and the accelerating development of AI Agents, there is no doubt that artificial intelligence is reshaping the profession. The two biggest use cases to date are radiology interpretation and AI scribes.

We wrote about the rise of AI scribes in the September 29th edition, The Rise of AI Scribes. AI Scribes do exactly what you might think: they use AI to turn audio inputs into SOAP notes for each case, thereby freeing up time for veterinarians. Although AI-powered scribe products are growing immensely in popularity among vets, it’s a crowded marketplace with various options for consumers. Talkatoo, Pup Pilot, Happydoc, Whippet Notes, Scribble Vet, and CoVet (just to name a few!) all have AI-powered scribe products. The field is so crowded, with so much potential, it is attracting major investments including $8.2 million to Scribenote.

When we asked the first time, 52% of Weekend Rounds readers who answered said they don’t use AI-scribes, but would love to try, and another 24% said you use them and never looking back. We’re curious… have things changed?

If you made it this far, and read all the way to the end of this lengthy edition, please know how much we appreciate you. We write Weekend Rounds for veterinary professionals like you, as part of our commitment to the profession so that you feel empowered, knowledgeable, and ready for the week ahead. We hope you found value in it this year.
Thanks for sticking with us ❤️