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Pet owners know finding a good veterinarian is hard. But in much of the country, finding a vet at all is increasingly tough. A new report released by veterinary telemedicine company Dutch, found that around 38% or 129 million Americans may be living in a veterinary care desert, meaning they don’t have accessible, affordable, or available care for their pets. Dutch’s State of Online Veterinary Care report found that 22% counties nationwide have zero vets per 1,000 households, and pet care is particularly hard to come by in parts of California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. It’s an issue founder and CEO Joe Spector says likely won’t improve quickly. There are around 34 veterinary schools in the United States, while theres almost 400 medical schools, says Spector, a cofounder of telehealth service Hims. We just don’t produce that many veterinarians and the veterinarians we do produce drop out [from burnout]. Spector started Dutch because he saw an opportunity for a vet telehealth approach to help address gaps in care. Launched in 2021, Dutch connects pet owners from anywhere in the country to licensed veterinarians over video call and chat for 150 conditions for dogs and cats. With a membership program that allows unlimited consultations starting at $11 a month, the company says it’s seen 600,000 patients since launch, and can save pet owners $700 per year. These are the folks who otherwise would not see a veterinarian otherwise, because we’ve made it far more affordable, he says. Cost aside, some veterinary organizations are hesitant to embrace telehealth for pets. The American Veterinary Medical Associationa nonprofit organization representing over 108,000 stakeholders involved with the veterinary professionsays because most telehealth visits are for acute conditions, they aren’t likely to address issues that will eventually require an in-person vet visit. “Not surprisingly, remote areas without a veterinarian often also lack reliable internet access, making the use of telemedicine impractical,” the AVMA says on its site about telehealth vet care. “Mobile veterinary services are a better option not only in terms of access, but also quality of care.” Spector, echoing Dutch’s report, asserts that 90% of veterinary care can be addressed virtually, and notes the company offers additional diagnostic tools for pet owners. “Between overnight testing kits . . . and what we’re able to examine on video, there’s actually a lot that we can do via telemedicine to at least establish that initial treatment plan. In the four years that Dutch has been active, the company has hired vets in all 50 states. Though Dutch vets can only write prescriptions for patients in 34 states, Spector has been working with state legislators to increase that number. “Change in any field is hard he says. But if we can look at human telemedicine, I think at the end of the day we can see . . . how telemedicine has simply become another useful tool that we can use. We don’t have to use it, but it’s yet another option that makes care more affordable and accessible.
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E-Commerce
Hertz is notifying customers that hackers may have stolen personal information including credit card details and Social Security numbers during a data breach on one of its vendors. In a notice on its website, Hertz said an unauthorized third-party stole data during a cyberattack on Cleo Communications’s file-transfer platform between October 2024 and December 2024. Hertz, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty rental brands, said it confirmed the attack on February 10 and concluded April 2 that the information exposed by the breach could have included customers’ names, contact information, dates of birth, credit card information, drivers license information, and information related to workers compensation claims. It added that a small number of customers may have had other identifying details also impacted, including Social Security or other government identification numbers, passport information, Medicare or Medicaid ID, or injury-related information associated with vehicle accident claims. “While Hertz is not aware of any misuse of personal information for fraudulent purposes in connection with the event, we encourage potentially impacted individuals, as a best practice, to remain vigilant to the possibility of fraud or errors by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports for any unauthorized activity and reporting any such activity,” the company said in its notice. It’s unclear exactly how many customers have been impacted. Hertz disclosed the breach to customers in several U.S. states and other countries, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Last October, Cleo was hit by a mass-hacking campaign by a large Russian-linked ransomware gang. TechCrunch reported that Cleo had more than 4,200 customers, including retail giant New Balance. At the time, Hertz said that it had “no evidence” that Hertz data or systems were affected. Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and data breaches are hitting historic levels, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook and the Identity Theft Resource Center. Hertz said that potentially impacted U.S. customers can sign up for identity-monitoring services through Kroll for two years for at no cost.
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E-Commerce
OpenAI is working on its own X-like social media network, the Verge reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. The project is still in early stages and there is an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed, the report said. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, the Verge said, adding that it was unclear whether the company plans to release the social network as a stand-alone application or integrate it into ChatGPT. Deborah Sophia, Reuters
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