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In a Veterinary Practice News commentary, veterinarian Patty Khuly identifies six changes she believes the profession should make, including questioning habitual antibiotic use, offering medically sound care options and taking part in professional policy. The supplied report contains detail on the first three proposals and begins a fourth, but does not include the full list or supporting responses from other sources.
Veterinarian Patty Khuly is urging the profession to put its stated principles into practice, calling for changes that include more careful antibiotic prescribing, clinician-led discussions of treatment options and greater participation in veterinary policy. Her commentary, published by Veterinary Practice News under the headline “6 things we should be doing in vet med (but aren’t),” frames the proposals as steps veterinary teams could take within existing practice rather than a list of problems alone.
Khuly’s first proposal is to stop practices she says are already at odds with current evidence, particularly habitual antibiotic use. She points to antibiotics prescribed for many kennel-cough cases, uncomplicated acute diarrhea and some cats with urinary symptoms. She also questions reflexive antibiotics before clean surgery, treatment of subclinical bacteriuria and empirical medication for recurrent or deep infections when testing may be warranted. These are examples in her commentary, not findings from a study measuring prescribing across the profession.
She also argues that clinics should make spectrum of care practical: discuss more than one medically acceptable plan and help clients understand what can safely be prioritized or deferred. Khuly says veterinarians, rather than front-desk staff alone, should explain estimates when choices require medical judgment. She criticizes policies that can shut down discussion, including treating a declined recommendation as the end of the conversation or refusing outpatient care when a reasonable alternative may exist.
Her third proposal is for veterinarians to take a more active role in professional organizations and policymaking. Khuly says many practitioners do not join local or state veterinary associations, attend meetings or participate in committees and legislative discussions. She argues that decisions about telemedicine, veterinary-client-patient relationships, technician duties, prescribing and corporate ownership will still be made, and practitioners should have a voice in those decisions. The supplied excerpt begins a fourth proposal about younger veterinarians speaking up, but cuts off before detailing the remaining points.
How Clinic Choices Shape Care
The proposals touch decisions that affect patient treatment, client costs and trust. If a diagnostic test is unlikely to change a plan, Khuly argues, a standard panel may consume funds that could have supported a more relevant test. Conversely, omitting a lower-cost test that could change the diagnosis may also limit useful options. Her point is to connect testing and treatment choices to the individual patient rather than relying automatically on routine.
Her argument about treatment estimates also places veterinarians at the center of conversations about trade-offs. Clients may decline care for financial or other reasons; a discussion of a medically defensible alternative can clarify what remains possible. The commentary does not establish how often practices fail to offer such plans, but it highlights a tension between clinic workflows and individualized decisions.
Participation in professional groups has a broader effect: practitioners who do not engage may have less influence over rules that shape their work. Khuly presents this as a concern about representation, not evidence that a particular policy has been decided or that veterinary organizations lack practitioner input.
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Principles Meet Daily Practice
Khuly opens by listing principles she says veterinary medicine commonly endorses: evidence-based medicine, One Health, antimicrobial stewardship, client-centered communication, spectrum of care, diversity and independent clinical judgment. Her commentary asks whether routine practice consistently reflects those commitments.
She describes the piece as a call to act on practices the profession already knows how to change, rather than another inventory of shortcomings. The examples are her professional observations and recommendations. The supplied source does not cite a survey, prescribing audit or other data quantifying how widespread the behaviors are.
“Deciding what we can safely remove from Plan A to create a medically defensible Plan B—or C—is practicing medicine.”
— Patty Khuly
The Full Six-Point List
The source material provided for this article is incomplete: it includes the first three proposals and only the opening of a fourth, which concerns younger veterinarians having a voice. It does not show the full six points, so the remaining proposals cannot be reported here. The excerpt also provides no publication date, independent response, survey data or examples that establish how common the cited practices are. Khuly’s statements should be understood as arguments and observations in a commentary, not as independently verified profession-wide findings.
Further Detail Needed
The next step for readers seeking the complete argument is to consult the full Veterinary Practice News article, which is identified in the supplied source material. No follow-up announcement, policy change or formal response is reported in the excerpt. The broader questions Khuly raises—how clinics handle antibiotic decisions, treatment estimates and practitioner involvement in policy—would require practice-level information or further reporting to establish what changes are occurring and how widely they are adopted.
Key Questions
What is the article about?
It is a commentary by veterinarian Patty Khuly calling for changes in veterinary practice. The supplied excerpt focuses on antibiotic habits, treatment options and participation in professional policy.
Does the source include all six proposals?
No. The provided text details the first three and begins a fourth proposal about younger veterinarians speaking up. It does not include the complete list.
Does the commentary show that these practices are widespread?
No profession-wide survey or audit is included in the supplied material. Khuly describes examples and concerns from her perspective; the scale of the practices is not quantified.
What does Khuly mean by spectrum of care?
She argues that veterinary teams should discuss more than one medically acceptable treatment plan and have veterinarians explain which options can be prioritized or adapted to a client’s circumstances.
What policy areas does she say veterinarians should engage with?
Khuly names decisions involving veterinary-client-patient relationships, telemedicine, technician scope of practice, prescribing, controlled substances, animal welfare and corporate ownership.
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