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15 years of VetCompass –
enabled by the veterinary community
etCompass (Veterinary VetCompass is a widely collaborative VetCompass rapidly expanded and now
Companion Animal project that works alongside other covers more than 20 million animals
Surveillance System) was veterinary, welfare and policy across all species from more than 1,800
Vconceived at the RVC in 2007, communities to provide a robust UK practices – around a third of the total
with an aspirational aim of harnessing evidence base that collectively practices within the UK. Epidemiological
clinical data generated in first opinion contributes to improved decision- projects have spanned conditions as
veterinary practices to generate robust making on animal health issues at a diverse as epilepsy, cancer, skin disease,
clinical evidence that could be used to population level. It contributes to the endocrinopathies and heart disease,
better inform us of what was happening routine evidence base veterinarians use as well as describing overall disorder
in the vast majority of veterinary in practice every day to support and prevalence and longevity in different
activities in the real world. improve the health and welfare of their breeds and species.
patients. VetCompass has published
With the critical collaboration of In addition to sharing results with
veterinary practices across the UK, as over 100 peer-reviewed papers covering veterinary colleagues via peer reviewed
well as internationally, VetCompass has diverse companion animal species and journals and at conferences, the
expanded in scope and achievement topics, with many more in progress. VetCompass team works hard to share
to shed light on an increasingly wide ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION insights with the wider public to inform
range of research and welfare questions. The VetCompass concept was born as a decision-making when choosing and
This evidence has contributed to our pilot project running from 2007 to 2010 caring for pets – and to promote wider
shared understanding of the causes and that included data on dogs from seven understanding of disease risks. This
solutions to health problems and risks UK veterinary practices. Information sharing includes infographics that
affecting millions of animals. summarise the core messages from
gathered at that point was used to
VetCompass is a not-for-profit research report on antibiotic and glucocorticoid studies, as well as press messaging that
routinely includes TV and newspapers.
programme, owned and coordinated by use in small animal practice. Building on
the RVC, and drawing on anonymised this early learning, the full VetCompass Although veterinary knowledge,
data shared by the wider veterinary project commenced in October 2010 techniques and technologies are
community. VetCompass research with an invitation for any UK practice to rapidly evolving to improve the care
contributes to a diverse range of join. Practices responded in their droves, offered, many animals continue to
undergraduate, MSc, PhD and other sharing hard-earned veterinary insights suffer from disorders that could be
research projects both at the RVC and at to help revolutionise our understanding reduced or avoided if breed-related
many other institutions that aim to reveal of companion animal health at or environmental risks were better
novel insights into the health of animals. population level. understood and shared. VetCompass
evidence is now a major contributor to
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