In short
- An open pet health record format is a structured, portable file that lets you export and share your pet's full health history with any vet, ER, or app — no screenshots, no phone calls, no begging your old clinic for PDFs.
- Voocie uses voocie-record-v1, an open format anyone can read and build on. Your data is never locked in.
- Data portability matters because pets outlive apps, clinics change software, and emergencies don't wait for fax machines.
What is an open pet health record format?
An open pet health record format is a way of storing your pet's medical information in a file that isn't locked to one company's software. Think of it like a PDF versus a proprietary file that only one program can open. The record includes:
- Identity: species, breed, date of birth, microchip number, weight history
- Vaccination history: vaccine name, date administered, date due, lot number, administering vet
- Lab results: complete blood counts, chemistry panels, urinalysis, thyroid — each value with reference ranges and the date drawn
- Diagnoses and treatments: clinical findings, prescribed medications (drug, dose, frequency, duration), surgical notes
- Visit history: date, clinic, reason for visit, provider notes, discharge instructions
- Documents: attached PDFs, imaging reports, referral letters
When the format is open, any developer can write software to read it, display it, and import it — without asking the original app for permission.
Why does data portability matter for pet owners?
Most pet health apps store your data inside their own system, and when you want to leave, you get nothing — or a PDF that strips out all the structure. Here's why that's a problem:
Pets outlive apps
The average dog lives 10–13 years. The average startup? Less than five. If the app holding your pet's records shuts down, your data disappears unless the format is open and you've exported it. An open format means your pet's health story survives any app that holds it.
You switch vets more than you think
About 15% of U.S. households move every year (U.S. Census Bureau, accessed Sep 2026). Each move often means a new vet. Without a portable record, you're calling old clinics, waiting for faxes, and hoping nothing gets lost in the transfer. With an open format, your new vet has everything before the first appointment.
Emergencies don't wait
When your pet is at the emergency clinic at 2 a.m., the ER vet needs the full picture: current medications, allergies, recent lab results, vaccination status. If that data is trapped in an app that can't export, the ER vet starts from zero. An open, shareable record changes the outcome. (AVMA: What to expect at the emergency vet, accessed Sep 2026)
Insurance claims require documentation
Pet insurance reimbursement depends on complete documentation: visit dates, diagnoses, invoices, prior conditions. When your records are scattered across three clinics and two apps, assembling a claim is a project. An exportable record gives you everything in one file. (How to export vet records for a pet insurance claim →)
How voocie-record-v1 works
Voocie's open record format — voocie-record-v1 — is a structured file that captures a pet's entire health story in a format designed for both humans and machines. It includes:
- Pet identity and profile: name, species, breed, date of birth, microchip, weight log
- Complete timeline: every vet visit, vaccine, lab result, medication, and procedure — with dates, providers, and source documents attached
- Source provenance: each entry tracks where the information came from (which clinic's email, which uploaded document, which manual entry) so you know what's verified and what's self-reported
- Family tree: for breeders using Voocie, the record includes lineage — dam, sire, litter siblings — with links to their own records
- Sharing permissions: who has been given access (your vet, your sitter, your ER clinic) and when access was granted
The full specification is published at voocie.com/record-format. Anyone can read it, build tools for it, or import records from it.
How Voocie builds the record automatically
Most open formats still require you to manually enter data. Voocie takes a different approach: every pet gets a private email address at @pets.voocie.com. Give that address to your vet, and when they email a visit summary, lab result, or vaccine certificate, Voocie reads the content and files it into the structured record automatically.
You don't upload anything. You don't type anything. The vet doesn't learn any new software — they CC an email address they already know how to use. The record builds itself from the clinic's own communications, visit by visit.
And because the record is in an open format, you can export it anytime. Move to a different app. Hand the file to a new vet. Print it for a boarding facility. The data is yours.
What to look for in any pet health app's export feature
If you're evaluating pet health apps, ask these questions about data portability:
- Can I export my full record? Not just a summary — every visit, every lab value, every vaccine with its date and lot number.
- Is the export structured or just a PDF? A PDF looks nice but can't be imported into another system. A structured file (JSON, CSV, or an open schema) preserves the data for reuse.
- Can I export at any time, or only when I cancel? You shouldn't have to threaten to leave before getting your own data.
- Is the format documented? If the export schema is published and open, any developer can build an importer. If it's proprietary, you're trusting that one company to exist forever.
- Does the export include attached documents? Lab PDFs, imaging reports, referral letters — these are part of the record. An export without them is incomplete.
Comparing open vs. closed record formats
| Open format (e.g., voocie-record-v1) | Closed / proprietary format | |
|---|---|---|
| Export anytime | Yes — full record, structured data | Often limited to PDF or summary |
| Import into another app | Yes — any developer can build a reader | No — locked to the original app |
| Survives app shutdown | Yes — the file is self-contained | No — data may be lost |
| Share with any vet | Yes — standard file any clinic can open | Depends on vet having the same app |
| Schema is published | Yes — anyone can read and build on it | No — undocumented internal format |
| Includes source documents | Yes — attached PDFs, reports | Varies — often stripped out |
FAQ
Is voocie-record-v1 a government standard?
No. There is currently no government-mandated standard for pet health records in the United States, unlike human health records (which use HL7 FHIR and C-CDA formats). Voocie-record-v1 is a published, open specification created by Voocie to fill that gap. Anyone can use, extend, or adapt it.
Can I import records from other apps into Voocie?
Yes. If you have records as PDFs, email attachments, or documents from other apps, you can forward them to your pet's private Voocie address. Voocie reads the content and files it into the record. You can also upload files directly through the app.
What happens to my data if Voocie shuts down?
Because voocie-record-v1 is an open format, you can export your complete record at any time. The exported file is self-contained and doesn't need Voocie to be readable. Any developer could build a viewer or importer for it. Your pet's health story is yours — always.
Do vets need special software to read a voocie-record-v1 file?
No. Voocie provides a shareable link that any vet can open in a web browser — no software, no login, no account. For structured data exchange, the format is documented and importable by any practice management system that supports it. For most vets, the shareable link is all they need.
How is this different from just keeping PDFs in a folder?
PDFs are static documents — you can read them, but software can't easily extract the data. A structured open format like voocie-record-v1 stores each vaccine date, lab value, and diagnosis as discrete data points. That means an app can chart your pet's weight over time, flag an overdue vaccine, or surface a drug interaction — things a folder of PDFs can't do.