Do I Need an Appointment for…?
The “dot-dot-dot” above can be followed by all kinds of interesting things, from having some chronic medication filled, to advice for some particular medical condition. But without your even completing that sentence there are many times when we already have the answer for you… “Yes.” If we have never seen you as a client before, the default answer is always “Yes.” If we have seen you but not this particular pet of yours before, the answer again is “Yes.” If we’ve seen you and this pet before but it has been over a year since the pet has been seen with us, the answer is once again “Yes.” The state board of veterinary medicine strictly imposes and enforces upon us as part of our licensure that we do not dispense medical advice or prescriptions without a “valid client patient relationship” (VCPR). The basic premise of the VCPR is fulfilled when we’ve seen you and the particular pet in question within a year’s time. Without those criteria met, as you see above, the answer as to whether you “need to make an appointment for…” is always “Yes.”
Other than passing the first criteria of the VCPR, the answer on whether your pet needs an appointment is most commonly “Yes” anyway. We strive to do the best in providing healthcare for your pet. A one-on-one conversation directly with the doctor during an appointment helps avoid miscommunications that may happen through “whisper down the lane” phone messages. An examination performed by the doctor may yield information important for a diagnosis that an owner may have overlooked or underestimated. Without seeing both you and your pet then the advice we give over the phone about an issue might be improper. We do not wish to make errors, both for the sake of your pet’s health, and for the sake of your own time and finances.
Given all the above considerations, we’re sure you’ll understand when our knee-jerk answer will be “Yes, you should make an appointment for…” The times when we might say “No” are usually in circumstances where we’ve seen you and your pet recently, dealing with either the same issue for which you’re calling, or some new development resultant from that problem. In those times the answer will usually come in the form of leaving a message that will be brought to the doctor’s attention. If when you call you feel your pet’s issue is of great urgency, or a true emergency, then of course it should be seen. We will attempt to accommodate your pet’s health emergency during our regular business hours when appropriate, or give you contact information for nearby facilities that can attend to your pet’s needs if we are unable.