# Keynote Case Study: NAVC — Veterinary Care Was Becoming Connected, Predictive and Personalized
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At the North American Veterinary Community conference in Orlando, I was invited to challenge veterinary leaders to think boldly about the future of animal care. The keynote title captured the assignment: “Being Bold: Positioning Ourselves for the World of 21st Century Veterinary Care.” The veterinary profession was already experiencing multiple forms of acceleration. Medical science was moving faster. Genomics was becoming dramatically cheaper. 3D printing was creating new possibilities for surgical planning and reconstruction. Connected devices were making remote monitoring practical. Consumers were becoming more demanding and more digitally informed. Online competitors were challenging traditional business models. And the volume of professional knowledge was expanding at a pace that made continuous learning essential. The session began with a reality check. Pet medications were increasingly available through large retailers and online channels. Sites such as VetStreet and “Dr. Internet” were changing how pet owners sought advice. High-margin pharmaceutical revenue faced pressure from online ordering. New veterinary graduates faced high levels of debt. Industry consolidation was accelerating. In other words, the science was changing and the economics were changing at the same time. Six trends were central to the discussion: Connected Pet Health. Wearables and biosensors can monitor activity, heart rate, respiratory rate and other physiological indicators. 3D Printing. Veterinary teams can use printed anatomical models for surgical planning and increasingly create custom prosthetics and reconstructive solutions. Genomic Acceleration. Rapidly falling sequencing costs increase the potential for more personalized and predictive animal care. Bio-Connectivity. Physiological data can increasingly move wirelessly from the animal to smartphones, clinicians and care systems. Knowledge Acceleration. The volume of available drugs, treatments, procedures and scientific insight continues to grow rapidly. Business-Model Disruption. Online retail, changing consumer behavior and new digital platforms challenge traditional practice economics. The deck explored a future in which minimally invasive surgery becomes routine across more types of animal care. Drug effectiveness can be monitored remotely. Pet obesity programs can be managed through connected weight and dietary tracking. Custom hip replacements, joints and facial reconstruction can be supported by locally printed 3D models. That future requires new skills. It also requires a different mindset. The biggest challenge is not simply adopting new technology. It is learning fast enough to stay relevant. Veterinary professionals increasingly need to interpret more data, understand new materials, evaluate new procedures and help clients navigate a rapidly expanding universe of online information. The pace of knowledge itself becomes a strategic issue. One of the ideas I emphasized was the shift from a system in which we fix animals after they are sick toward one in which more health problems can be predicted, monitored and prevented. That is the same philosophical shift occurring across human healthcare. From reactive care to predictive care. From occasional observation to continuous monitoring. From standardized treatment to more personalized intervention. For the veterinary profession, the opportunity is enormous. But so is the need for speed. The question I put to the audience was straightforward: What do you do right now to deal with a world in which the future belongs to those who are fast? The answer begins with thinking bigger, looking further ahead and continually building the skills required for what comes next.

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Source: https://jimcarroll.com/2016/02/keynote-case-study-navc-veterinary-care-was-becoming-connected-predictive-and-personalized/