South Side Animal Hospital

On June 16, the client with
the above
noted complaint came into my office with her 13-year old female catThe
owner stated that her cat had her tail amputated previously at another
veterinarians office due to cancer, but she was not happy with him and did not
wish to continue taking her there, thus bringing her to our clinic
The owner stated that her cat was having
trouble breathing, was hiding under the bed, and had not been wanting to eat
for daysWhen questioned about previous medical history the owner was unsure
of what type of cancer the cat had previously relating to the tailA physical
exam was performed in which nothing remarkable was foundI recommended
radiographs be taken to rule out underlying disease of the lungs and blood work
to rule out underlying metabolic disease that might interfere with the
treatment of underlying pulmonary disease in a year old catThe owner
agreed to both the radiographs and the blood workThe radiographs did not
reveal issues with the heart/lungs and I informed the owner we would hold off
on medications for possible asthma, etcuntil we got the results of the blood
work the following morningI then verified a number I could reach her at with
blood work results the next morningShe confirmed the number, never once
saying she did not want blood work submittedI also gave an injection of
vitamin Bto help with appetite stimulation until a further treatment plan
was devised
On 6/17/my technician phoned the client
to inform her the blood work was except for a thyroid value that was at
the high end of the rangeWe suggested the thyroid level be rechecked
in 4-6weeks, but let her know that this was not contributing to the current
clinical signs the owner was describing at homeThe client never complained or
questioned the blood work at the time of bill payment the previous day, nor when the technician spoke directly to her about results the following morning she simply stated when informed of results, that the cat was still hiding but she would let us know if she didn't stat to show signs of improvementOn 6/20/the client called our office and
stated that there hadn't been any real improvment and that now the cat was
sneezing with foamy discharge coming from the noseI recommended that we
recheck the cat with a new clinical sign of nasal discharge now having
developed and no real improvmentI also informed the owner that if she could
not bring her in I would be happy to send a trial of antibiotics to rule out an
upper airway infectionThe owner scheduled an appointment for a recheck that
morning, but then called back a few minutes later to ask if there would be a
recheck feeI told my receptionist to let her know there probably would be a
recheck fee of $At this point in time, was the first time we heard
anything about her not giving
permission for the blood work to be performed that had been submitted days
priorIn summary, on June 16th the client agreed to
blood work and radiographs being performedShe never mentioned the charges
listed on her bill that day to myself or the front office staffWhen she was
phoned the following morning with lab results she once again never mentioned
any concernsIt was not until days following the initial visit, when the
owner was informed there would likely be a recheck charge, that she stated that
she had never authorized the blood work and vitamin Binjection and demanded reimbursement
I personally phoned this client on 6/and left a message on her voicemail
stating I understood she had issues/concerns about the blood work that had been
submitted, but never heard a response or received a return phone callIf you have any further questions concerning
this matter please do not hesitate to phone me at (317) 783-*** I would be
happy to address any further questions you may haveSincerely,
*** * *** DVM