Otto Partners with Cornell University Hospital for Animals

  • One of the top veterinary schools in the U.S. adopts Otto for multiple specialty services and student instruction
  • Cornell veterinarians and vet students are using Otto for large- and small-animal consultations
  • 6,500 veterinarians nationwide now use leading virtual care experience platform

AUSTIN, Texas and ITHACA, NY—August 13, 2020—Otto, creators of the mobile telemedicine application virtually connecting veterinary clinics to pet owners, has announced that the Cornell University Hospital for Animals has adopted Otto for its operations. Cornell, which sees 24,000 cases per year, is one of the top veterinary colleges in the country.

“We are thrilled to partner with such a prestigious organization, which has done so much to advance veterinary science and the quality of life for animals,” said Otto Co-Founder and CEO Steven Carter. “It’s an honor to assist them in their mission.”

The pilot program, which launched in March, focuses on specific areas that are especially well-suited to telemedicine, including dermatology and behavioral modification. So far, Cornell has conducted more than 160 consultations through Otto, with 65 staff members and about 200 pet owners using the system. Novel uses, like second-opinion oncology consults and rehabilitation exercise coaching, have been as common as first-opinion dermatology appointments, even though Cornell expected that their primary use would be to facilitate contact-free client services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We love how easy it is to train on, and are piloting integration with our EMR partner ezyVet, enabling us to easily fulfill our mission to provide services during the pandemic.

“We were quite surprised at how quickly it was accepted,” said Dr. Meg Thompson, Associate Dean of Hospital Operations and Director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals. “We’re a large organization that had to implement changes quickly during the shutdown. Now we are acclimating our students to telemedicine because we don’t expect to have clients in the building for quite some time, and students need to learn client communication skills beyond phone conversations. We love how easy it is to train on, and are piloting integration with our EMR (electronic medical record) partner ezyVet, enabling us to easily fulfill our mission to provide services during the pandemic.

With a nationwide community of 6,500 veterinarians, Otto is rapidly growing at a critical time for veterinarians and pet guardians. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to reshape healthcare, Otto’s vet-driven design is becoming the one-stop platform of choice for enabling vets to operate their traditional clinics from anywhere. The platform integrates easily with practice management software to conduct telemedicine consultations and follow-up appointments through video, phone, and text, enabling vets to examine pets, prescribe medications, update electronic health records, create bills and more.

About Otto
Otto provides technology solutions to veterinary clinics that improve workflow efficiency and enable improved communication between staff and patients. The Otto app allows two-way communication between clients and veterinary staff, enabling telemedicine, appointment scheduling, digital prescriptions and much more. Now, veterinary clinics can provide a modern, mobile communications experience with their clients, saving them time and money as well as providing the latest in professional care. Otto integrates seamlessly into an existing office workflow in under one hour, with no setup fee and unlimited live support. Founded in 2015, Otto strengthens the relationship between veterinarians and their clients by embracing the Veterinary Client Patient Relationship. The company has strong financial backing, having raised $7.3 million in venture capital to date.