One Health Clinic

Why treat the human animal unit?

The human-animal bond between people and pets can be so strong that people experiencing homelessness may forego services or food for themselves to provide care for their pet. Some people may be more likely to access care for their pet before themselves. 

The One Health Clinic provides a unique, interdisciplinary way to provide healthcare to individuals and their pets as a family unit. Healthcare is provided for people and pets individually as well as looking at the intersectionality, which can include zoonotic disease, behavioral health, nutrition and other key areas. While all care is beneficial to the communities served, we focus on the integrated clinic (the “One Health Clinic™”) versus side-by-side or referral care clinics (see below for definitions).

What is a One Health Clinic?

When we think about efforts to provide health services for humans and animals, there are a few options for how to do this. The human and animal healthcare components can have varying levels of overlap depending on resource availability. We consider the “Gold Standard” of care for a true One Health Clinic to be a fully integrated clinic where both people and pets  have access to primary healthcare at one place and at one time, and where the human and veterinary healthcare providers have created a joint healthcare plan.

Types of Health Care Services for Humans and Animals

One Health Clinic™

Integrated human and veterinary healthcare in a single clinic. Human healthcare practitioners and veterinarians work in tandem to diagnose and treat both people and pets as a family unit. Importantly, there is sharing of health information between human health and veterinary healthcare providers. We request that clinics calling themselves a “One Health Clinic [Your Community]”, will provide such integrated care in comparison to the types of clinics below. As mentioned elsewhere, we will be happy to license the name “One Health Clinic” at no cost to your clinic if it meets this criteria. 

Side-by-side (parallel) Healthcare services

This is the model that is often seen at health fairs. Both human and veterinary care are offered independently but there is no communication between providers as to healthcare issues nor integrated care plans. There is no direct sharing of health information between the human health and the animal health sector. 

Clinics providing referrals for other types of care

In this model, healthcare is offered to either people or pets with a referral system for accessing the other type of care. An example would be a veterinary clinic that is also attended by front office staff from a local human healthcare provider or a health department who can help  make future appointments for human medical care. While this option also does not have integrated care and can create barriers for care related to transportation, access, scheduling, etc, it can provide information which leads the owner to seek healthcare. 

Single Type of Care Clinic (Human or Animal)

This is the standard clinical care model for both humans and animals, where care is provided to only the animal or the owner. While this kind of clinic can provide important services for the community, this model does not offer integrated healthcare in a One Health manner.