By: Taylor Graveline
Vet clinics are facing challenges across the country. With too few doctors stretched across too many exam rooms, many are grappling with exhaustion and wondering how long they can maintain the pace. For pet parents, this can translate to long waitlists, rising bills, and vet visits that sometimes feel more focused on paperwork than compassionate care.
Few people understand the disconnect more personally than Prem Sharma, founder of Tandem Vet Care. After selling his last health-tech venture, Sharma anticipated his next chapter would be a sabbatical, not until the arrival of Sammy, the family’s first puppy. Suddenly, routine trips to multiple clinics for vaccines, prescriptions, and follow-ups revealed an industry still largely reliant on paper files, while human medicine had advanced with virtual triage and integrated records. “Pet parents love their vets,” Sharma notes, “but they hate the vet experience.”
Eventually, this personal experience became his motivation to build a system where medical excellence and modern convenience could work in harmony.
Redefining Veterinary Visits Through Compassionate Innovation
Tandem Vet Care’s approach starts with reducing the “logistics tax” embedded in every appointment. A typical check-up asks owners to spend about ninety minutes—driving, waiting, paying—for just a short period of care. Tandem Vet Care aims to flip that dynamic. Mobile clinics, fully equipped like rolling exam rooms, park in Greater Boston neighborhoods during mornings, evenings, and weekends. Parents can book in sixty seconds, track the van’s arrival just like a rideshare, and meet it outside their door rather than across town. Anxious cats avoid stressful carriers, and senior dogs avoid potentially dangerous waiting-room floors.
Recognizing that more intensive procedures still require an in-clinic setting, Tandem Vet Care’s plans include flagship spaces designed specifically to minimize stress. These spaces will feature natural light, sound-absorbing materials, and layouts that reduce anxiety for pets. Whether care is delivered at home or in the clinic, the aim is to ensure every visit is connected to the Tandem Vet Care app. The platform aims to provide features such as an AI-guided symptom checker, 24/7 video consultations, one-tap pharmacy refills, and access to pets’ complete medical history.
From Fragmented Care to Seamless, Holistic Solutions
While providers usually offer individual appointments, Tandem Vet Care strives to be a continuous companion. For a modest $35 per month, members receive an annual wellness exam, three telehealth consults, and automatic 20-percent savings on diagnostics, vaccines, and common procedures, with every fee clearly stated upfront. Transparent pricing aims to ease the surprise-bill anxiety that sometimes discourages preventive care; this predictable revenue stream allows Tandem Vet Care to invest in technologies that unify the ecosystem.
The platform’s back end is just as innovative as the user-facing features. AI systems analyze clinical notes and autofill records, which saves a significant amount of time for veterinarians. Prescriptions flow directly to an integrated pharmacy that ships to the doorstep. Follow-up reminders, medication alerts, and nutrition suggestions are sent automatically, turning isolated visits into a continuous wellness loop. Where traditional systems would hand pet parents a stack of discharge papers, Tandem Vet Care delivers an ongoing health timeline.
Building Stronger Bonds Between Pet Parents and Vets
While technology alone is unlikely to solve the issue of vet burnout, when paired with empathy, it can help. Tandem Vet Care has designed its workflows so that human interactions are prioritized and not rushed. With much of the documentation automated, clinicians can engage more directly with pet parents. Smart medical notes and decision-support dashboards reduce cognitive load, and restorative break rooms provide staff with the opportunity to decompress. Tandem Vet Care’s model gives veterinarians the flexibility to practice medicine, educate owners, and still make it home for family dinners—providing an alternative to the challenging work culture that has pushed many colleagues out of the profession.
For pet parents, the advantages are also clear. Real-time communication means there’s no more uncertainty about whether a post-op cough is normal at midnight. The ability to screen pets remotely can direct non-urgent concerns away from crowded ERs, freeing up critical care resources for emergencies. And because all interactions are integrated into a single system, the veterinary team can spot emerging patterns and intervene earlier.
A Vision for Expansion, Starting in Boston
Sharma’s team recently secured a significant amount in pre-seed funding, deployed mobile clinics across Greater Boston neighborhoods, and gained the trust of member families. What’s next? Tandem Vet Care plans to expand, taking its blend of neighborhood vans and flagship clinics to new metro areas. The aim is to demonstrate that tech-enabled, whole-pet care built on empathy can scale effectively without sacrificing price transparency or veterinarians’ well-being. In doing so, Tandem Vet Care hopes to provide the industry with a model for addressing the talent shortage and transforming veterinary visits into smoother, more sustainable experiences.
The veterinary shortage crisis stems largely from outdated systems, not a lack of skilled professionals. That’s exactly why, in an industry wary of superficial fixes, Tandem is offering carefully crafted, comprehensive care where it’s needed—at the intersection of technology and compassion.
Published by Steven S.
