Vedi, a Perth-based veterinary tech startup, has raised $3 million as it looks set to become the pet version of the federal government’s My Health Record medical database.

The money came from two international investors, with MSD Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., again backing Vedi, along with the pet-focused New York VC Companion Fund, and will be used to develop Vedi’s pet health records technology. to expand in Australia and to the UK.

Vedi was founded in 2017 and renamed VetDB in August last year. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Steve Joslyn, a specialist veterinary radiologist, was inspired to launch the tech start-up after growing tired of data swapping and manual registration processes for the pets he saw.

The result is a universal medical record platform, accessible via smartphone, with smart data collection tools, allowing veterinarians to access pet health records through the animal’s microchip. Vedi is used by industry leaders such as Vetpath, Central Animal Records, Vetwest and Petstock, and supports 78,600 animal patients, including more than 54,000 dogs, 12,000 cats and nearly 3,000 horses.

Veterinarians can use Vedi to easily record health data, including taking a photo of a vaccine vial with a smartphone, then lock the data onto the animal’s microchip for others to access, share and update through the platform throughout the life of the animal.

Dr. Joslyn said Vedi’s medical records save time for busy vets.

“Vedi is radically improving the quality and accessibility of veterinary health data and creating a smarter, connected healthcare system,” he said.

“Veterinarians have been anticipating the transition to modern, digitized veterinary care for so long. We have taken it upon ourselves to become the trusted medical record that connects different veterinary care providers so that animals have access to the best quality anytime, anywhere.”

Better data also has the potential to transform pet care, Dr. Joslyn said.

“Gathering better quality health data over an animal’s life will open the doors to research opportunities, biosecurity programs and new life-saving treatments,” he said.

“Vedi means that animals and veterinarians will soon have a more connected, streamlined health care system than the human world.”

Oleksiy Nagornyy, head of technology solutions for companion animals at MSD Animal Health, said the company had supported this Vedi from the early stages of its development.

“We look forward to the growth and development of Vedi’s microchip-enabled medical record technology, which can provide greater efficiency and accuracy in medical record management for the veterinary community, while positively impacting the health and well-being of pets ,” he said

“These types of processes used to require time-consuming administration such as filling out forms, writing samples or calling a courier – with Vedi this can be done at the touch of a button.”