Veterinarians Need Patients

The other night I fielded a complaint from a woman who had dropped off a smelly poop pile for a fecal test. The test results came back positive for gastrointestinal parasites. The woman wanted medications to treat the parasites and when I explained that I needed to meet her dog, not just it’s poop, to prescribe the medications, she complained. “He is fine,” she insisted. “He just has diarrhea and needs medication. Why do I have to pay for an exam if I know he is fine?”

There are two issues with this. One, sometimes dogs with diarrhea have other things wrong with them that a vet is trained to discover. Subtle hints of dehydration, a painful area within the stomach, feeling for impacted stool or rectal abnormalities, for example. Sometimes another health issue is detected during an exam, which may influence which medications are chosen.

Secondly, the law requires veterinary hospitals to have a current patient relationship before prescribing any medications. Legally, I can’t just prescribe something to a patient I have never met or haven’t seen recently. This makes it inconvenient sometimes, for sure! But this law helps protect our pets.

The woman was ultimately understanding with my explanations and agreed to bring him in for an exam. He was a very handsome dog so I was glad to meet him. As it turns out, the woman’s dog was otherwise fine. But she was kind enough not to say I told you so!

--Dr. Olson
---------------------
Dr. Olson practices small animal medicine in Denver, CO and is a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.

Disclaimer Regarding Veterinary Information

Comments

[Stoneburner on April 17, 2009 at 10:31 AM]

Those are fair points, but you forgot the third one: Your own bottom line.

[joesen on December 19, 2010 at 09:27 PM]

He just has diarrhea and needs medication. Why do I have to pay for an exam if I know he is fine?”