Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / February 2006

.......I've never gotten records that included prices, because what I'm
after are lab tests and the written clinic records.  Accounting stuff is
separate.  They fill out a sheet with those stupid medical codes on them
with prices attached.

.........And quite frankly I think it's silly to mask the prices from other
vets.  Does this mean if I called and asked the price for a certain
procedure no one at the clinic would tell me without an appointment unless I
was a current client?   Your clientele comes to you for a reason.  For some,
it's the price, others the expertise.  The lowest price in town doesn't
always mean best care as they're either running it like a human medical
factory (you talk to 2 or 3 people first, then the Dr. doesn't even look at
you or spend any time with you other than looking at your chart) or they
don't have high end equipment to pay for.  Being without fancy equipment
BTW, doesn't necessarily mean there's no expertise.  Sometimes the priciest
clinic in town is a worse bet than the vet who's been in business for years
and doesn't own an ultrasound.  I really think that all those volume clients
they try to get with low prices for basic procedures, who don't even know
what shots the vet just gave will be the first to desert when something goes
wrong because they haven't the faintest idea of what is going on with their
pet in the first place.  And they'll be the loudest at spreading ill will
among the community.  Loyalty is a funny thing, and isn't necessarily tied
to the lowest price.

.........Vets have a chance to get it right instead of following the totally
broken human medical model.  They should be acting like a community, sharing
expertise and even equipment if it is needed.  That way everyone gets a
piece of the pie and the clientele are treated the same.

I've heard some horror stores about prices in Cal though, particularly WRT
euthanasia and cremation.  Dr. Deb (who posts here frequently) mentioned
once that euthanasia at the clinic where she works is ridiculously cheap.
The clinic's thinking on this is that this is a time in particular that you
don't want to be making it harder for those who don't have much cash to
release their pet from misery.  THAT is the kind of thing that buys client
loyalty - caring about the critters.

buglady
take out the dog  before replying

Woah, I think we're taking what I said a little out of context.  I
would never expect a client to pay for anything without an estimate
that has a complete breakdown of all the services.  Nor would I expect
them to sign it without having a full understanding of exactly what
they are signing.  Which is why it constantly baffles me that we do
have more than a few clients that will sign such estimates without
reading them first.  I would never tell a client they couldn't have any
part of their animal's record, and that's not the original question
asked.

.........kudos to you for that.  There's a lot of corporate clinics
sprouting up though that are operated more like a factory than a medical
office.  I just don't understand masking prices.  It makes no sense to me.

.....no what you said was this:
Because the records belong to the clinic, it's not illegal

......if you meant to say that it is not illegal to block parts that are NOT
part of the medical  record such as accounting/financial, then OK.  It's not
really clear from what you said above, which makes it sound like they can
block out anything they want.

..........BTW, there's a way to reply to a message on Google groups that
will include the reply, which you can then snip down.  Since I don't post
from there I don't remember what it is, but I think you hit options, then
reply to.

buglady
take out the dog before replying