Connected Care: The future of veterinary medicine

The same story, only this time… 

The year I started practicing veterinary medicine was 1994, which also happened to be the same year Banfield (At the time MMI) launched its partnership with PetSmart. Two years later, the partnership had opened 150 locations. The idea made a lot of sense; you were already going to a Big Box pet store to get your pet supplies, so why not go to the same location to get your veterinary services, grooming, and doggie daycare?

Financially, this model worked exceptionally well for a long time, so much so that Mars purchased Banfield in 2007. The dynamics began to change in 2011 when a young founder out of Florida started a company called Chewy. As we all know, Chewy is an online pet supply retailer—the Amazon of pet supplies. With more and more people buying their pet supplies online (i.e., Chewy), especially consumables (i.e., food), consumers didn't need to go to their local big box stores. If you buy your pet supplies online, taking your dog or cat to a big box retail store to get veterinary medicine may no longer feel necessary.

Fast forward to 2023, and Chewy announces they are getting into veterinary medicine by way of de novo brick-and-mortar locations. So, a pet retailer is getting into veterinary medicine. Didn't we already see that? Yes, but this time, it may be different. This is going to date me, but I remember in 1994, when the PetSmart/Banfield deal was done, Amazon wasn't even invented, and the internet was not really a thing. In 1994, convenience was all about going to the same location to do multiple things simultaneously. So, that strategy made a ton of sense as long as the one-stop shop was the most convenient thing possible for the consumer. With the invention of e-commerce, that is not always the case. Today, convenience for many consumers is all about online, although PetSmart continues to do well and is even venturing into franchise veterinary operations.

So Chewy is making a different bet. And one that I have been advocating for a long time. The future of veterinary medicine will be about connected care, which will need to be in-person and online. Connected care means a platform connecting and helping the pet parent with a model that is both convenient for them and effective to deliver the best medical outcomes for their pets. These interactions should be seamless and empowered by the use of technology and data that travels seamlessly throughout a pet's journey. 

Chewy started offering virtual care a few years ago. While I am a huge believer and early adopter of virtual pet care, I believe the ideal combination connects virtual care with a physical clinic. Chewy may have had those same learnings and decided they needed to open their own clinics. I have no idea if Chewy will succeed, but I think their entry into the space will be a net benefit for the veterinary industry. They and other newcomers like us at Petfolk will help push veterinary medicine into the twenty-first century. In my view, the future of veterinary medicine hinges on the integration of connected care, seamlessly uniting virtual and in person models.