Electronic Vet: Digital Horse Health Records for Competitions and Overall Health
There are many necessities when it comes to owning a horse and making sure you have a the most up-to-date health information tops many an equestrians list. The Tech Equestrian is always exploring what’s new and what’s next as it relates to horse tech and recently had the opportunity to speak with Barbara Blasko, founder and owner of Electronic Vet (eVet) to learn first-hand on how her product makes being a vet and managing vaccines as a horse owner seamless, accurate and worry-free.
Catching the Horse Bug
Growing up on Long Island, New York, Barbara was exposed to horses at a young age when she attended a friend’s birthday party and they had pony rides. “I was seven years old when I first got in the saddle and I knew immediately that I needed to keep riding,” shared Barbara. She was enrolled in a horse camp for the summer and soon started taking lessons. “When I was 14 years old, I got my first horse.” She came from a family that reminded her that having a horse was a luxury and she had to earn money to help with the board and upkeep. “I learned to braid around the same time I got my horse and it helped pay for horse shows,” said Barbara. She competed in equitation classes including the Medal/Maclay throughout the Northeast in her teenage years. “As I got older, I moved into jumpers and to this day I really enjoy the whole experience and lifestyle.”
Combining Her Talents
Barbara studied to become an Emergency Medicine doctor and started practicing in 1998 and in 2014 she expanded her practice and studied biomedical informatics. This exposed her to the development of transferring patient’s paperwork into electronic records. “This translated to the horse show world when I remember when that vaccine protocols were a big topic and it got scary when horses were getting vaccinated up to 19 times per year because there was no digital record that organizers could access,” explained Barbara. She saw this as an opportunity to create a centralized cloud database and make a subscription service for horse owners. Her idea became reality in 2015 with the launch of Electronic Vet.
The Solution
Electronic Vet is a subscription service ($60 per horse; per year) that is designed for horse owners to create a horse profile – inputting key data points along with photos and it can only be accessed by licensed vets to input vaccine information. Subscribers also add registration numbers (USEF, FEI, Passport etc.), microchip numbers, Coggins, and unique marking descriptions. eVet accounts can be accessed by computer, tablet or smartphone.
Electronic Vet helps enable open communication between all the people involved in the health and management of horses.
The web-based, mobile-friendly portal is easy to use and there is no fee for veterinarians to access, they just need to set up an account so they can be verified. “We also have a partnership with USEF to make horse showing a breeze by identifying your horse with the USEF number and it auto populates all of the key horse info into the eVet system. Once vaccines are entered, show managers can look up vaccine records by USEF number.” highlighted Barbara. Even though the product was designed to manage your vaccine program, you can store any document in the horse profile.
A Partnership Forms
“Two years ago I partnered with Business Infusions, a medical recordkeeping software solution platform for equine veterinarians and they have taken over the day to day so I can focus on enhancements and working closely with my customers,” said Barbara. They act as developers, marketers and business associates and have a great team of experienced technical folks to keep the product up-to-date and secure; eVet is also HIPAA compliant to enable the safety and privacy of your electronic documents.
From a Walk to a Gallop
“The equestrian world moves at a snail’s pace when it comes to technology adoption,” said Barbara and added, “however we are going to see most things move to digital in 5 years’ time.” As the young equestrians enter the ring and were taught to hold a smart phone along with their teething ring, adoption rates will soon be a lot higher she feels.
A Member of the Equine Tech Collab
Electronic Vet is proud to be a member of the Equine Tech Collaborative – a group of equine industry companies that have tech-based products. “I really enjoy our partnership and the ability to share resources and talk openly each month about what we have accomplished and any barriers we are facing,” mentioned Barbara.
Even with the support and guidance of the Tech Collab, Barbara does focus some of her time and money on educating vets on the benefits of Electronic Vet. “We have a revenue share with participating vets, and typically attend the annual AAEP vet conference. We promote via social media and find that word of mouth and influencers proves to be the most successful in helping increase subscriptions.”
“Protecting our horses health and the horses in our care is paramount. At Electronic Vet one of the best ways to maintain and achieve that goal is to tap into the power of open communication between all the people involved in the health and management of our horses.”
Follow Electronic Vet on:
Facebook: @electronicvet
Instagram: electronic_vet
