How veterinary practices can sell data to AI companies

A veterinary case record is a complete clinical story: presenting signs, history, examination, diagnostics, treatment and outcome, often with radiographs and lab results attached. For developers of veterinary and clinical AI, linked records like these are hard to build any other way.

Veterinary records sit outside HIPAA, which protects health information about people. That does not make them free to sell. State practice laws make them confidential, and the client file is personal information.

What veterinary data do AI companies buy?

AI companies buy veterinary data that links findings to decisions and outcomes. Case notes with the diagnosis and result recorded, and imaging with the report attached, carry the most value.

Imaging with reports fits buyers of image datasets, and protocols and case reasoning fit expert domain data.

Who buys veterinary data?

No buyer whose terms are public names veterinary practices or publishes a veterinary price. Buyers of operational records with general briefs are the realistic route for larger groups. micro1 asks for 30 or more full-time staff and mainly English records, and Appen licenses operational documentation and decision and escalation records from support, CRM and messaging tools.

Smaller single-site practices may fall below micro1's 30-staff minimum, so multi-hospital groups with several years of records are the closer fit. A free data valuation tells you which parts of your records are in demand.

Does HIPAA apply to veterinary records?

HIPAA does not apply to veterinary records about animals. The Privacy Rule protects individually identifiable health information, which 45 CFR 160.103 defines by reference to the health of an individual, the person who is the subject of the information.

The client side of the file is a different matter. Names, addresses, phone numbers and payment details are personal information under state privacy laws. For businesses the CCPA covers, California Civil Code section 1798.140(ad) treats making personal information available to a third party for valuable consideration as a sale.

State veterinary laws make patient and client information confidential. California Business and Professions Code section 4857(a) bars a licensed veterinarian from disclosing information about an animal patient, the responsible client or the care provided, except with the client's knowing and informed consent, given in writing, by witnessed verbal authorization or by electronic transmission, or under other listed exceptions such as a court order.

Section 4857(c) makes a violation subject to the code's criminal penalties and makes a veterinarian who negligently releases confidential information liable in a civil action for damages. In Texas, Occupations Code section 801.353(a) says a veterinarian may not violate the confidential relationship between the veterinarian and the veterinarian's client.

These laws do not set a de-identification standard like HIPAA's. The safer routes are client consent for any identifiable record, or removing everything that could identify a client, including names, addresses, phone numbers, account numbers and distinctive pet names, before any buyer sees a sample. Check the law of every state where your hospitals operate.

Do software and lab contracts limit what you can license?

Software and laboratory contracts can limit what you license, so read them before exporting. Practice management systems, cloud imaging platforms and reference laboratories each have terms covering the data they host or produce, and a group's management agreement may decide who controls the records.

Daniel Goldberg of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz points out that holding a record does not give you the right to sell it where other companies' confidential information is involved. Specialist referral reports and laboratory reports fall into that category, so clear them separately or leave them out.

If you hold UK or EU data

UK practices follow the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct. Its supporting guidance on client confidentiality, at paragraph 14.1, says vets and vet nurses should not, in normal circumstances, disclose to any third party any information about a client or their animal, and paragraph 14.50 says permission to disclose personal data must be express, specific and informed.

Paragraph 14.3 notes that animal data falls outside the scope of the GDPR while client personal data must be handled in line with it. The professional duty covers both, so UK records need client consent or full removal of client details.

How do you sell veterinary data through Sell My Data To AI?

You start with a consultation about your practice management system, imaging archive, hospitals and the states they operate in. Sellers pay nothing to be assessed. We charge a success fee only when a deal completes, agreed in writing before we introduce you to any buyer.

Every dataset passes our eight-point vetting standard before a buyer sees it, including the de-identification method and a re-identification test on a sample. You approve every buyer, every sample and every license term. Book a consultation to start.