You scheduled your pet’s appointment a month ago. You arrive early and call into the hospital, following all the correct curbside protocols. The staff take your information. They tell you that someone will be out shortly to collect your pet. Then you wait. Finally, a masked person receives the hand off, and brings your pet inside the building. Then you wait. Eventually you receive a telephone call from the doctor. The doctor may discuss additional diagnostic testing or medications. They state they will call you in a bit with the test results, or that someone else will call you soon to help you check out. And then you wait yet again. What is taking so long?
We Know From Personal Experience That Curbside Can Be Time Consuming
Some of us have also sat in our cars curbside for several hours while our pets were examined at our local emergency and critical care facilities or at a specialty practice. And even though we understand what is happening behind those closed doors, the wait can be exasperating and worrisome. It may help you to understand what is going on inside a hospital while you sit in your car, catching up with reading, emails, or just taking that nap. So here we go….
The Slow Down on the Outside for Pet Owners Becomes Almost Overwhelmingly Busy on the Inside for Veterinary Staff.
While you wait curbside, there is a lot going on inside the hospital. Staff members are spending a lot more time on the telephone. Not only are they speaking with you about your pet, they are simultaneously fielding a myriad of questions and requests from other pet owners. More often than not, every phone line in the hospital is busy. Doctors need to examine your pet. Often doctors need another pair of hands to keep your pet from wiggling off the exam table. Frequently the doctor needs to wait for a staff member for this assist. Support staff transport pets, answer questions in the parking lot, answer the phones, schedule appointments, fill doctor approved on-line and telephone prescription requests, as well as your pet’s medications. They complete new client and patient records, take medical histories, or check out patients and review care instructions with owners, AND help the doctors with patient care.
Everyone in the hospital is extremely busy. It can take a few minutes for someone to become available to assist in the examination. Everyone is working as quickly as they can, while still working to provide the best care possible to each of our patients.
Each Pet Still Deserves Special Care and Attention
Some patients have special needs. Some have a myriad of problems that need addressing. Doctors often need to go back and reexamine the patient for specific concerns after a second conversation by telephone with the pet owner. If we cannot reach an owner by phone immediately after the examination, the whole process slows down. It was so much easier when we could talk with owners in the exam room as we examined your pet, identifying specific concerns and addressing them all at the same time.
We understand that curbside care may be disconcerting to your pet. After all, you are handing them off to a masked stranger. Your pet has every right to be nervous. We respect that and try to reassure them every step of the way. You not being there with them can slow down the process as we take the extra time, care (and treats) to let them know they are going to be okay.
Doctors Also Have Many Tasks That Are Not Hands On Patient Care
Doctors need to record all exam findings in the computerized medical record. In all medical fields, doctors are becoming “data entry experts”. Again, this is time away from hands on patient care. Why don’t doctors have assistants enter the information while we do the exam? The doctor is legally responsible for the complete accuracy of the record. Only doctors are licensed to diagnose, give prognoses and write up treatment orders. We are learning to type faster with fewer mistakes.
After the initial examination is completed and recorded, the doctor attempts to speak with the pet owner by telephone. That is not always as easy as it sounds. Clients are using their phone to pass the time and do not always answer the call. After several failed attempts, the doctor has to find a staff member to go back outside and flag the owner down and ask them to call in. All this is time lost and prolongs wait times. Communication was so much easier for all of us when we could be together in the room with the pet.
In the meantime, there have likely been numerous calls, faxes and emails needing the doctor’s attention, some more urgent than others. Each and every on-line request for a prescription food or medication requires a doctor’s review of the patient’s medical record and written approval or disapproval. Each time an owner calls requesting that a doctor call them back, our doctors take the time to make that call. Doctors are trying to squeak responses to all these remote requests into their already overbooked appointment and surgery schedules.
What We Can All Do To Speed Up the Curbside Process
At present, with more pets being adopted and and more people at home noticing their pet’s declining health, the demand for appointments and procedures has been dramatically increasing. Our doctors and support staff are doing their best to keep up with the case load. Our plight is not unique. In a recent survey 84% of veterinary hospitals report being significantly busier during these past 6 months. We are hiring more support staff, but complete training is a 6 month long process in the best of times. We are gradually expanding our hospital hours to accommodate more pet owners and their needs.
Pet owners can help us out by downloading and completing registration forms off our website, AnimalClinicAtThorndale.com. If coming from another hospital, bring your pet’s vaccination history with you. If you do not have that information at home, call that hospital as far in advance as possible. A number of area hospitals now have very limited hours and access to medical records.
Wait in our parking lot while your pet is being examined. When you drive off to do an errand, your pet is occupying an exam room that another patient could be using. Housing pets in cages while you shop takes time, staff, and uses up our disinfecting supplies. Have your pet on a leash or in a carrier. Remove your pet from your vehicle when our staff come out to collect him or her. Keep your phone on and available to answer. Write down your list of concerns. Don’t wait until your pet is really sick before calling to schedule. Most illness and injuries are more easily treated in the early stages.
Let our staff know that you appreciate them. These days, most people are rightfully feeling upset and stressed. We try to not take things personally when you direct your frustration at us. We want you to know that we too are doing the best we can. All of us can benefit from a little patience and understanding.