StemCell Therapy

Q: My veterinarian sent me a letter saying that she would not see my pet anymore. Is this legal?

A: As long as shes not withholding your pets medical records, divorce is perfectly legal in medicine, whether in human healthcare or veterinary medicine. But lets be clear: In a veterinary context divorce is never about the pet. Its always about the human.

When clients add stress to our lives above and beyond what we consider fair, veterinarians sometimes initiate divorce proceedings. This message typically arrives in the guise of a nice letter explaining that were sorry to see your pet go.

Though it may seem harsh, you can bet that if youre receiving that kind of notice youve done something to deserve it. After all, we feel for your pet. And we dont reject paying customers for no good reason. Here are a few reasons why you mightve been cut off:

Behavior problems. Sometimes a pets misbehavior leads us to part ways. In my experience, however, its usually because of the owners approach to the pets unruliness. This is especially true if the owners permissiveness and denial of the problem lead to safety issues.

Financial issues. Some owners will dispute their bills after theyve agreed to them. Though we typically try to work it out, its not always doable.

Unfair demands. Chances are youve met people who can be demanding about their pets. We respect that they care so much for their pets, but when their demands repeatedly interfere with the normal course of our work, we sometimes have to part ways.

Unrealistic expectations. Sometimes owners expect their pet to be healed immediately. Though we work hard to manage expectations, some owners remain convinced that a cure should occur instantaneously and can even become irate should we fail to meet these lofty goals.

Shady behavior. Every once in a while well be confronted with pet people who will ask us to engage in fraudulent behavior on their behalf (on an insurance form or in a government document, for example). These clients are often terminated.

Verbal abuse. If youre having a bad day I can put up with a lot. But make my receptionist cry and youre getting one of those letters. As to why you received one I cannot say, but if youre unsure, Im sure your veterinarian will be happy to explain.

Dr. Patty Khuly has a veterinary practice at Sunset Animal Clinic in South Miami. Her website is drpattykhuly.com.

Send questions to khulyp@bellsouth.net.

See the rest here:
Veterinarian told you to stop bringing your pet in? It's probably your fault - Miami Herald

This entry was posted on September 6, 2017 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |