August 18, 2016 Blog

Six Characteristics of Clients that Improve Their Pet’s Healthcare

Six Characteristics of Clients that Improve Their Pet’s Healthcare

Dr. Phil Fox with a patientVeterinarians spend as much time working with their patient’s human as much as they do with their animal patients. Sometimes, pet families can help increase the quality of their pet’s medical care by modifying their uniquely human behavior. Here are six traits which you can modify to improve your pet’s healthcare.
1. Patience
Your pet is the sickest pet you have, but it may not be the sickest pet on your veterinarian’s patient list. Trust your veterinarian if she says today is busy and tomorrow I have time to take care of your Fluffy. You want her to have adequate time to assess and diagnose, not do a slap-dash job because you are a noodge.
2. Talking
Don’t get me wrong, veterinarians need you to speak for your pet, but occasionally take a breath so we can ask a question based on your description of your pet’s condition. Remember to ask us if we have anything to tell you and give us a chance to talk about test results, new prescriptions and ongoing care.
3. Ask the right person
Most veterinarians are jacks-of-all trades and can splint a broken leg or treat heart failure. But when it comes to scheduling appointments that job is better left for the receptionist. Certain other tasks, like nail trims and mat removal will be assigned to a well-trained veterinary assistant. Your veterinarian’s time is best spent providing medical care.
4. Stick with the SOP
Veterinary hospitals have standard operating procedures. These procedure ensure all pets have a temperature taken, are weighed for accurate medication dosing and the blood samples are drawn and submitted correctly to the lab. Allowing the veterinary technician to draw blood or have the aide take the pet to be weighed, prevents these critical steps of the examination from being missed and optimizing your pet’s healthcare.
5. Allow shaving
Allowing hair clipping is a variation on the theme “Stick with the SOP” because for many procedures, shaving is an SOP. Hair can be the enemy of high quality medical care. Hair lowers the resolution of ultrasound and may obscure accurate interpretation of the ultrasound images. Hair collects dirt and bacteria. Shaving and cleaning the skin is necessary to visual a blood vessel and cleanse the skin prior to IV catheter placement. If your pet is sick enough to need an IV catheter, you certainly want him to have the best chance of getting better.
6. Timeliness
Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment to allow the receptionist to confirm you contact information. If you are running behind, call ahead and give the office a heads up on your ETA. I am sure your veterinarian will try his best to accommodate traffic and other unforeseen delays, but he is not a magician and a thorough examination takes a set amount of time. Don’t let your tardiness give your pet the short-shrift.
Sometimes your behavior needs to be less than optimal. For example, you have the top show Poodle in the country and the big dog show is next week, if your veterinarian can, she will work around the need to shave. If you forget and ask your veterinarian about a non-medical issue, listen when he recommends asking the veterinary technician, receptionist or kennel aide about that issue. That request is so all patients can receive our full attention and optimal healthcare.

Tags: amcny, animal medical center, animals, ann hohenhaus, healthcare, NYC, pets, sick pet, veterinary, vets,

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