In-App Video Calling for Pet Businesses (Clinics, Groomers, Trainers) ↔ Pet Owners (OS: PMS and Mobile app)

[aupyay]

Context

Pet businesses increasingly need a secure way to talk face-to-face with clients without relying on external tools. Adding native video calls to Yosemite Crew would let clinics and other pet businesses run teleconsults, quick triage, post-op check-ins, behavior/training sessions, and follow-ups all tied to the pet’s record, schedule, and billing. For each user, there are different reasons:

Clinics: remote triage, medication follow-ups, wound checks, post-op check-ins, second opinions, nurse consults.

Groomers/Trainers/Sitters: pre-appointment assessments, behavior coaching, progress reviews.

Internal consults: clinic ↔ specialist/vet-to-vet consult (optional multi-party).

Guiding questions for community discussion

Scope first: What’s most valuable for v1: scheduled video visits, or “instant call” from a chat thread?

Participants: Should we support multi-party (owner + vet + nurse) from the start, or begin with 1:1?

Pre-visit flow: Do you want intake forms (reason, symptoms, photos) and prepaid booking before the call?

During call: Must-have tools: screen share, photo/video upload, draw/annotate, switch camera?

Recording & consent: Should recording be allowed? If yes, who can enable it, where is it stored, and how is consent captured?

Compliance: Any jurisdiction limits (telemedicine regulations, client-patient-veterinarian relationship) we should reflect in product guardrails?

Billing: Flat fee, per-minute, or included in memberships? Should we integrate payments (e.g., Stripe) before v1?

Documentation: What should be auto-attached to the pet’s record (call metadata, notes, snapshots)?

Fallbacks: If bandwidth is poor, should we auto-downgrade to audio, or offer “call me back” phone handoff?

Call to Action

• Pet businesses: how do you expect to use video consults day-to-day? What’s a must-have vs nice-to-have for v1?
• Pet owners: would you use in-app video for quick questions or only booked visits?
• Developers: anything here that you’d push to a later phase?

Detailed overview

Design

• Scheduling & waiting room
  Book from the business calendar or chat → owner gets invitation + reminders.
  Branded virtual waiting room (reason for visit, device test, consent checkbox).

• In-call UI
  Controls: mute, disable camera, device switch, chat, file/image upload, screen share.
  Clinical tools: time counter, note pad, quick codes/tags (e.g., “triage,” “post-op”), snapshot capture (stores to record).
  Multi-party: invite staff/specialist, role badges (Vet, Nurse, Owner).

• Post-call
  Save notes to SOAP/visit, attach call metadata (date, duration, participants).
  send owner a summary via in-app message.

Development

• Media tech: WebRTC (end-to-end encrypted media), adaptive bitrate; TURN/STUN for NAT traversal.

• Platforms:
  Clinic web (desktop/laptop browser).
  Owner mobile (iOS/Android app; support picture-in-picture, background mode).

• Scheduling & reminders: Integrated with Yosemite Crew calendar + push/email reminders; link to visit/appointment entity.

• Chat integration: Start video from an existing chat thread; auto-post missed-call notes.

• File handling: Secure upload of photos/videos during call; attach to pet record.

• Payments (optional v1/v2): Stripe session before joining; refunds/cancellation rules.

• Audit & logs: Join/leave events, consent status, recording flags (if enabled).

• Recording (optional, off by default):

• Server-side recording (if allowed); explicit, logged consent; retention policy configurable per business.

• Watermarked downloads; access control by role.

Backend/API

• Sessions API: create/join/end video sessions; handle invites and tokens.
• Attachments API: store call snapshots/files to the pet’s record.
• Calendar API: link session to appointment; handle rescheduling & no-shows.
• Billing API (optional): create invoice, capture payment, mark as paid/refunded.
• Security, privacy, compliance
• Consent flows: explicit consent for teleconsult; optional consent for recording.
  E2E media encryption (WebRTC); transport-layer encryption for signaling; secure tokenization.
  Data residency & retention: configurable; recordings (if any) encrypted at rest; access logs.
  Policy guardrails: warnings where telemedicine is restricted; disclaimers that video consults don’t replace emergency care.

Testing

• Cross-device scenarios (iOS/Android/desktop), network variability, headset/camera permutations.
• Multi-party sync, screen share stability, file uploads during calls.
• Payment & scheduling edge cases: late join, reschedule, no-show, refund.
• Accessibility: captions (Phase 2), keyboard navigation, high-contrast UI.

User benefits

• Pet businesses: Reduce unnecessary in-person visits; monetize follow-ups; save staff coordination time.
• Pet owners: Faster access to advice, convenient post-op checks, remote coaching.
• Platform: Keeps communication, billing, scheduling, and records in one place.

Potential deliverables

• 1:1 scheduled video calls (WebRTC) with waiting room + consent.
• Start from calendar or chat; push/email reminders.
• In-call chat + photo upload; call notes saved to record.
• Audio fallback; basic analytics (count, duration, no-shows).
• Multi-party calls (owner + vet + nurse/specialist).
• Screen share; snapshots saved to record; quick tags to auto-populate notes.
• Payments integration (prepay) + refund rules.
• Basic captions / live transcripts (where supported).
• Recording with explicit consent + retention policies.
• Templated post-call summaries; auto-create follow-up reminders/tasks.
• Queue/instant-call mode (drop-in triage) and SLA timers.
• Deeper analytics: conversion, revenue, repeat consultations.