The growing importance of spectrum of care in veterinary medicine

For Anita Patel, DVM, senior director of clinical excellence at IndeVets, one of the most consistent messages from the 2026 AVMA Convention was the importance of spectrum of care in everyday practice. Speaking with dvm360, Patel discussed how presentations on topics ranging from feline cardiomyopathies to fracture management highlighted the need for general practitioners to have tools and resources that fit different patient and client circumstances. She explains how the sessions taught her there is not always one right approach to treatment and how veterinarians can provide meaningful care within the options available.

Below is the transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

Anita Patel, DVM: So I think one of the biggest things that stuck with me is—I went to a presentation about spectrum of care and emergencies specifically, but something that I've seen in every single presentation I've been to, whether it's feline cardiomyopathies or managing fractures, the overall theme has been not what you shouldn't do as a general practitioner, but the basis of all of those have been spectrum of care. How do you, within a general practice standpoint, provide care for our clients and patients that isn't always going to be something that you can do via referral or via gold-standard medicine?

There is a spectrum of what we can offer, and I've really appreciated seeing everyone from general practitioners to specialists really embracing that and acknowledging that we've always been at that point where spectrum of care is important, but now more than ever, it's really critical with where clients are and meeting them there. I've loved seeing that. I've loved seeing how that applies to feline cardiomyopathy and how do you treat that congestive heart failure cat when they can't go to a cardiologist, and what information as a general practitioner should I pay attention to to make sure that I'm using the adequate tools? And then the same with fractures—giving us the tools to understand that, hey, in a perfect world we would refer, but that there's not always one right answer to everything. Once again, it opens that floor to giving us tools and resources that we can use within what we have. It doesn't always have to be having all of the best bells and whistles and all the best diagnostic tools. There's something you can do for every client and patient; you just really have to figure out where they can meet you, and it's been a common theme in every presentation I've been to, and I think it's just so important.