Veterinarian Medicine has made huge strides in some arenas and huge failings in others. Many vet hospitals have gone corporate and even those that aren’t corporate are overflowing with patients and the vet to patient ratio is gigantic.
When faced with an ill dog or worse yet an emergency, many pet owners are so overwhelmed with concern for their pet they can’t even think of which questions to ask, nor do some of us know what questions to ask. Navigating through the terminology, tests and results, drug names and not to mention options sometimes presented in 5 minutes or less can leave even the most savvy pet owner dizzy.
As managed care sweeps into the veterinarian industry changing the way veterinarians are paid and the way many are expected to practice a small but growing number of pet owners and veterinarians are beginning to notice what many in the human field of medicine have known for years; Managed care often equates to loss of personalized care.
A recent study found that “One in four (pet owners) felt that vets acted in their pets’ best interests. But 26 percent believed that vets were motivated by their own benefit. About 31 percent (one in three) thought that vets did not have sufficient time to attend the issues correctly. And one in four felt they were forced to go through a variety of often overwhelming exams and procedures at the end of their pets’ lives” .
The above study was a small study but speaks volumes and is most likely an underestimate of how many pet owners feel about the current state of veterinarian medicine.
The answer in human medicine is the Patient Advocate and the answer in vet medicine is the Vet Care Advocate.
Just like a human patient advocate a Vet Care Advocate will collaborate with the general practice veterinarian, pharmacy, specialists, laboratories, facilitate the relationship between individuals and their veterinarian clinic but more specifically your vet care advocate will be specifically focused on your pets case, every aspect and detail of your pet’s history, condition, diagnosis, treatment and plan.
A vet care advocate is similar to a consulting vet but a consulting vet usually only looks at one particular aspect of your pets case where as a vet care advocate is interested in every aspect. You can utilize a vet care advocate in numerous ways, a total case review or to answer those questions you don’t think of until you leave the clinic, locating the best doctors and specialists to researching treatment options.
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