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Veterinary Practice News Editorial Blog:
Friday, March 6, 2009
Is Listening to Clients Too Much to Ask?
By Jessica Tremayne
Contributing editor for Veterinary Practice News
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As a journalist, I listen to and write about veterinarians’ thoughts, concerns and interests as part of my job. I rarely hear a veterinarian considering obstacles the client faces when bringing a pet to an emergency visit.
I do hear about client-compliance obstacles and of the many techniques to improve this rate. But do veterinarians ever consider the client’s experience and use that information to better serve the patient—and client?
I hope veterinarians take a moment to listen to their clients before taking action to avoid my experience. On Sunday morning I took my 15-year-old cat, Zack, to the local animal emergency clinic fearing he had a urinary blockage.
Zack had not vomited, dripped bloody urine or shown any building problems such as trouble urinating, so I thought the potential blockage was very recent. He periodically meowed in a distressed way. I presented all of the information about Zack to the on-call doctor. She confirmed a blockage and told me he would need to stay at the clinic for two days, and she told me to call in a couple of hours to check on him. Then she turned to leave the room.
But I had questions. I wanted to know how she would treat him and I wanted a cost estimate. I had already filled out forms giving my credit card number and signed documents that exonerated the clinic should something go wrong. And I should not have had to ask for an estimate–that should be protocol. I also didn’t appreciate the attempt to whisk my pet away without telling me what treatment would consist of.
The vet said he would be anesthetized, and I told her he didn’t do well under anesthesia. She told me, “I have to fully sedate him to be catheterized because it is very painful–there’s no way around that.” I told her I had seen a cat catheterized without anesthesia, and she said, “Not when they are fully blocked.”
I was skeptical, but admitted my memory could be fuzzy on the fully-blocked or not part, and my options were limited. So I told myself that the veterinarian knew what she was doing. I left my 15-year-old cat, with a known history of anesthesia problems, in her hands.
A half hour after I left, I received a call that Zack had died under anesthesia.
Why didn’t this veterinarian at least try to catheterize him without anesthesia? Did she think I was a bad owner because I wanted an estimate? Did she want to rush through the procedure?
Experiences like this are why clients have difficulty adhering to every veterinary recommendation made. I am a client who will always do what the veterinarian tells me is best for my pet–but if this veterinarian’s bedside manner is common, think about the clients that were turned off and limited their pets’ care because of the curt tone and dismissal of the owner’s concerns … although my compliance didn’t help Zack. He was the first and only cat I’ve ever had.
I don’t know if the veterinarian still feels just in her actions, but I certainly don’t feel that she considered my concern over anesthesia.
This is worse than just losing a pet. Losing a pet possibly because of error, or because the veterinarian couldn’t be bothered to listen, is far more unsettling to the client.
Jessica Tremayne is a contributing editor to Veterinary Practice News.
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