Veternarian Dilemma

[Franny]

We noticed a few weeks ago that our Lily had blood in her urine. I made the vet appt and took her in immediately. The vet did urine anaylsis, xrays and then put her on antibiotics. Lily doesn't do well at the vet, shivers and is very uncomfortable. An appt is scheduled for the next week for another urine sample. I call before the appt and ask if she needs to be examined or are they just checking the urine. yes they are only checking the urine and I can obtain it at home but will still be charged a consultation fee. (??). Ok so I bring the urine in and never spoke to the vet, only gave the receptionist the sample and left...but charged for a vet visit on top of running test. Now they call and Lily needs to come back in for another urine sample because the infection is still a problem based on the last urine test. Maybe I am stressting too much over this but I don't see why I have to be charged for another consultation fee when I am only dropping off urine samples. When I question them they look at me like I am an alien from Mars. What's your take on this.

 

[sunspotbaby]

Sounds like Bull Butter to me. Do you mind posting who it is? Maybe it's time to change vets.

 

[ClintClint]

I pray for your pooch!!! I'm sure she will be OK with you looking out for her. As a retired Doc (not a vet) I can assure you that the fee is justified. There is so much in the doctor-patient expectations and fees areas that is opaque, partially by design but mostly because Docs are caregivers and not very good businessmen. If you trust your Vet with your dog's life, then trust his business ethics.
Alternatively, find another Vet if you are uncomfortable.

It's not much of a stretch to ask the question if the real estate agent earned their fee if they list a house and it sells quickly by another agent with that listing agent doing nothing but the listing paperwork.

 

[rapunzel]

There is a big difference between an office visit and a consult. Seriously, a urinalysis doesn't require expert opinion...if the dog has to go back, I would certainly think that two follow up fees would be overkill.

There is a vet here who charges insane rates, but most are very good and fairly priced. I changed to Dr. Fountain at Gulf Winds after being charged $250 for a follow up (after an initial $400) for a dog who scratched his eye at a slightly closer vet, and have never questioned her charges.

Good luck!

 

[Minnie]

Did they put her on antiobiotics after the first test? I can understand your questioning the charge but as Clint pointed out, if you truly like this vet and trust their medical judgements you have to take the billing with it.

If you are not completely satisfied with the billing procedure and the treatment I would agree a change is needed.

Good luck, mine recently had a UTI and the meds they gave her were expensive but worked very quickly.

 

[30A Skunkape]

We noticed a few weeks ago that our Lily had blood in her urine. I made the vet appt and took her in immediately. The vet did urine anaylsis, xrays and then put her on antibiotics. Lily doesn't do well at the vet, shivers and is very uncomfortable. An appt is scheduled for the next week for another urine sample. I call before the appt and ask if she needs to be examined or are they just checking the urine. yes they are only checking the urine and I can obtain it at home but will still be charged a consultation fee. (??). Ok so I bring the urine in and never spoke to the vet, only gave the receptionist the sample and left...but charged for a vet visit on top of running test. Now they call and Lily needs to come back in for another urine sample because the infection is still a problem based on the last urine test. Maybe I am stressting too much over this but I don't see why I have to be charged for another consultation fee when I am only dropping off urine samples. When I question them they look at me like I am an alien from Mars. What's your take on this.

I don't know what the fee is, but remember, running a urinalysis is an expense for the office. I think a fee of no more than $20 would be fair to process the specimen and interpret the results. It could actually be more expensive if the analysis is done outside the office.

 

[2bohemians]

Sorry to hear your baby is having issues. Hopefully she is feeling better today. Not sure we know the answers to your questions but like others have said, if you feel uncomfortable, perhaps a trip to another vet might be a real consideration.

We have always taken Miss Smoothie to Parkway Animal Hospital in Niceville. It's a bit of a drive for us, but Smoothie likes it there. We like the fact that for years, we've seen the same people working there. And there have been several times when other doctors have wanted to operate on Smoothie, but this doc refuses to do it unless he feels there is a real problem. It's always made us feel like he does what he does because he is genuinely compassionate and not just wanting to raise the bill!

At this point, we have switched over to holistic care. If you are interested, these gals are giving Miss Smoothie so much love. They come to your house, yes it's rather pricey, but they always try to make the appointments on days when other animals in our area need to see them. If they can see several of us on the same day, then they split the cost of the appointment between us. It helps.

Here is the contact info. It might be worth just giving them a call to see what they have to say.

Margaret Fowler, DVM
Certified TCVM Practitioner
Certified Acupuncturist
Chinese Herbology
Tui-Na Massage / Manipulation

Phone: 850.249.4372

Sending much love to Lily from Smoothie

 

[Jdarg]

Ridiculous. Change vets.

 

[scooterbug44]

As I read your post, you were charged a fee for the urinalysis and a separate fee for consultation (even though the dog was not seen by anyone on staff and you collected the sample for analysis).

IMO the fee for the urinalysis should be the only charge for that visit.

That is excessive, especially since you are already seeing the vet 2x as part of the process and were charged a fee for the analysis, so it's not like you are trying to avoid paying anything for the vet's services.

 

[Matt J]

Switch vets, that sounds goofy to me.

Hope Lily feels better.