AVMA podcast spotlights Dr. Kristin Welch’s teleconsultation model
Bottom line
AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast this week featured Dr. Kristin Welch, DACVECC, founder of DVM STAT Consulting, in an episode titled “Answering the Call.” The conversation spotlights Welch’s work building a teleconsultation model that connects veterinarians with board-certified specialists, particularly when in-person referral isn’t feasible because of geography, cost, or case urgency. Outside the podcast itself, recent background on Welch and DVM STAT shows the company has positioned itself as a 24/7 specialty teleconsultation service for general, emergency, and mobile practices, and Welch has framed the model as a way to extend specialty-level support without replacing the attending veterinarian’s role. (cvm.msu.edu)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the episode lands at a time when teleconsultation is becoming more normalized as a practical access tool rather than a novelty. AAHA’s referral guidance says teleconsultation can help practices improve access to timely specialty input, and broader veterinary telehealth guidance continues to distinguish veterinarian-to-veterinarian teleconsultation from direct-to-client telemedicine, which remains more tightly tied to VCPR rules. That makes Welch’s model relevant for clinics trying to manage complex cases, support newer associates, reduce unnecessary transfers, and keep more care local while staying within established practice structures. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Expect more attention on how teleconsultation platforms fit into referral workflows, mentorship, and AI-assisted case review as practices look for scalable ways to expand specialty support. (veterinaryinnovationpodcast.com)
AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast is putting a spotlight on one of veterinary medicine’s quieter infrastructure shifts: specialist teleconsultation. In the episode “Answering the Call,” host Dr. Annie Siobhan speaks with Dr. Kristin Welch, a board-certified small animal emergency and critical care specialist and founder of DVM STAT Consulting, about building a service that connects practicing veterinarians with boarded specialists when referral isn’t straightforward. The feature is less about a product launch than about a care-delivery model that’s gaining traction across companion animal practice. (podcasts.apple.com)
Welch’s background helps explain why the topic resonates. Michigan State University profiled her in March 2025 as a 2005 DVM alum who spent years in emergency and critical care leadership before founding DVM STAT in 2019 to address gaps in access to advanced care. According to that profile, the service supports veterinarians across the US and Canada and had completed more than 13,000 individual case consults as of March 11, 2025. MSU also noted that Welch’s work has expanded beyond case support into continuing education and mentorship for younger clinicians. (cvm.msu.edu)
That broader positioning is visible in DVM STAT’s current materials. On its site, the company describes itself as a 24/7 board-certified specialist teleconsultation service for general, emergency, and mobile practices. Its blog and service pages emphasize not just case consultation, but also continuing education, mentorship, and workflow support for clinics trying to add specialty depth without adding on-site specialists. In a March 27, 2025 interview on the Veterinary Innovation Podcast, Welch described the service as providing a “concierge-level” specialist experience and discussed the growing use of AI to streamline medical-record review and support veterinary workflows. (dvmstat.com)
The timing matters because teleconsultation has moved from edge case to accepted tool in veterinary referral strategy. AAHA’s 2025 referral guidelines include a dedicated section on teleconsultation, advising practices to consider using it routinely for cases that may benefit from specialty input and noting its value in improving access to timely care despite geographic limitations. AAHA’s telehealth-related guidance also frames specialist teleconsultation as something that can augment care when specialty hospitals are hard to access, while still emphasizing that these tools are meant to support, not replace, in-person veterinary care. (aaha.org)
From a regulatory and practice-standards perspective, that distinction is important. Teleconsultation between veterinarians sits in a different lane from direct telemedicine with pet parents. The AVMA has long maintained that a VCPR cannot be established solely by electronic means under its model framework, while more recent AAVSB model documents continue to define telemedicine and other virtual-practice terms within a regulated practice structure. In practical terms, veterinarian-to-veterinarian consultation can offer clinical support and expand access without triggering some of the same legal and prescribing questions that surround virtual VCPR debates. (avma.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary teams, especially in general practice, ER, and underserved markets, Welch’s appearance underscores how teleconsultation is increasingly being used as both a clinical and workforce support tool. It can help clinicians keep more cases in-house, sharpen decision-making for newer associates, and offer another option when pet parents can’t pursue referral because of distance or cost. That doesn’t eliminate the need for referral centers, but it may help practices make better use of them, escalating the right cases while supporting local management of others. It also aligns with a broader industry push to reduce friction in access to care without lowering the standard of care. (cvm.msu.edu)
The industry angle is also worth watching because teleconsultation is starting to overlap with other operational priorities, including retention, mentorship, and technology adoption. Welch has publicly tied specialist access to clinician confidence and burnout relief, and recent podcast coverage highlighted AI-assisted record review as part of the next phase of service evolution. If that model continues to mature, teleconsultation may become less of an occasional rescue option and more of a standard layer in practice infrastructure, particularly for hospitals that want specialty backup without building specialty departments of their own. (veterinaryinnovationpodcast.com)
What to watch: The next signal will be whether more practices formalize teleconsultation inside referral protocols, CE programs, and associate support, and whether regulators and professional groups continue to draw a clear line between clinician-to-clinician consultation and direct telemedicine with pet parents. (aaha.org)