Overview
Veterinary home health, also called in-home or mobile veterinary care, is the delivery of medical attention to animals in their own environment rather than in a clinic or hospital. It is designed to reduce the stress of travel and unfamiliar surroundings, to accommodate patients with limited mobility or contagious conditions, and to support animals requiring ongoing or end-of-life care. During a home visit, a veterinarian performs physical examination, preventive care such as vaccination and parasite control, diagnostic sample collection, and the administration of treatments, while also assessing the animal's living conditions and advising caregivers on husbandry. The model is widely used in companion-animal practice, where it eases handling of anxious or geriatric pets and enables palliative and hospice support, and it extends to herd and flock settings, where farm-based visits address production animals on site. Effective home-based care depends on portable diagnostic and treatment equipment, clear communication with owners, and protocols for sanitation, biosecurity, and medical-record continuity between the home and supporting laboratories. It complements rather than replaces clinic-based services, with referral for procedures requiring anesthesia, imaging, or hospitalization. As a sub-area of veterinary medicine, home health emphasizes accessibility, animal welfare, and continuity of care across the patient's life.
Research published in this journal
7 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 7 articles above have been cited 39 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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2026 · Veterinary Medicine International
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2025 · Frontiers in Veterinary Science
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2025 · iScience
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Stefan Coman et al. · 2025 · Animals
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Maurice Pitesky et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Veterinary Science
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2024 · Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine
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2024 · Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
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Amanda L. Rappaport et al. · 2024 · Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Veterinary Home Health, linking to each citing work.