Tenth Street Animal Hospital, P.C.

10th Street Animal Hospital has refused to release pet's shot records on two separate occasions to the pet owner.
I have used the services of 10th Street Animal Hospital for almost 10 years. Over the past year I was unable to take my pets in for shots due to being laid off. A few weeks ago I went into 10th Street Animal Hospital to schedule an appointment and to purchase shampoo. I was told at that time that I could not schedule an appointment due to a past due balance. I offered to pay the balance at that time and was told that my payment could not be accepted because [redacted] was not in on Saturdays. I then asked for a copy of my pet's shot records and was told at that time that I could not receive a copy of the records because I had a $55.00 balance on my account nor could I purchase shampoo. I was perplexed as to why the cashier could not simply take the money, hold it for [redacted] when she returned to work, and release my pet's records at the very least.
Today while attempting to get my pet's shots updated at another vet it became apparent that the shot records were necessary. I called 10th Street Animal Hospital to request the records again and was told by [redacted] that the records would be faxed within minutes. After waiting an hour I called back and [redacted] informed me that she could not release the records due to the balance on the account. I explained to her then that I had already tried to pay the balance and it was refused. I offered to provide her a credit card number over the phone so the matter could be resolved and my pet's records could be released and she stated that she could not take the payment and there was nothing that could be done; meaning I could never get my pet's records from the practice. I then asked to speak with a supervisor or someone with the authority to resolve the situation. Another person came to the phone and stated that I would need to come in and talk to the vet (Dr. [redacted]) on Monday. I then asked her why would they waste their practice's time and mine (since I work 45 minutes away from the practice during the time when Dr. [redacted] is in the office) over a nonissue since I had and continued to offer to pay the balance and that I only wanted my pet's records. She remained adamant that this is their practice and my account would need to be "reinstated" before my pet's records could be released.
I feel that it is highly inappropriate for a veterinarian to hold treatment records hostage when treatment is being sought from a different veterinarian especially in the instance when the current practice refuses to treat the animals which is the case in this instance. I can only cringe at the thought that I would not be able to get access to my personal medical records from my doctor because I had a balance that I had offered to pay multiple times and had been refused. How would my doctor treat me appropriately and avoid providing unnecessary tests and treatment without knowing my past medical history. In my opinion this is the same in the case of my pets.
I also feel that this situation highlights the incompetence of the practice to have procedures and protocols in place to handle a situation of this nature which is most likely common. I have been subjected to unnecessary stress trying to simply obtain a copy of my pets records due to the fact that this practice did not address the issue the first time I tried to resolve it and had no system in place other than try to get a vet to stop treating animals and come out and physically accept a past due payment. I work in healthcare finance and would never refuse a patient's payment; this is why we have a method to hold unapplied payments until they can be accurately posted to the correct account. This practice needs to consult with an experienced person regarding this matter in order to develop a procedure that will allow owner's to obtain their pet's records in similar situations.