ComplaintsforHill Country Veterinary Hospital

• Initial Complaint

  08/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My complaint is about the sub-standard care of ******************************* at Hill Country Veterinary Hospital. ********************** sub-standard vet care included changing the treatment plan without authorization/approval from the pet parent, sending a dog with multiple stitches home without an e-collar and lack of standard record keeping and post op care which resulted in further injury and trauma to my dog ****** On 8-8-22 ******************** made the decision to place sutures on *****s wounds instead of a bandage change. I was never given an updated estimate, nor given a heads up about the change in plan; and I was never informed about the recommendation of an e-collar. It is the job of the Veterinarian to provide a standard of care to the patient; ******************** clearly failed to provide adequate care. Their lack of post op care resulted in *****s leg stitches coming out in under 24 hours. Their failure resulted in ***** undergoing additional sedation, pain, and trauma that was very easily avoidable. Additional financial burden of more vet fees were also incurred. As ******************** said to me on 8-10-22 it is a standard of care that all animals with stitches go home with e-collars. She failed in her duty as a Veterinarian and I do not want other animals to suffer under her care. I also learned they have not been recording *****s weight, not even before her surgery and sedations. I believe that weight recording factors into medication dosage calculations and the wrong dosage could result in a catastrophic outcome. I am sure ***** is not the only patient to receive such poor care. Thankfully ***** is a bigger dog, but what if they miscalculated medication dosages on a smaller dog - that dog could die on their table. I am shocked at the indifference and sub-standard care of ******************** and this vet office. A more detailed statement is attached.

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  
  I have owned veterinary practices for 17 years and have personally hired over 10 amazing, caring, compassionate, professional veterinarians for these practices.  ******************************* is one of these incredible veterinarians.  The description of the events described by ************************* saddens me, as we pride ourselves in the standard of care we provide, and have provided for over 25 years, here at Hill Country Veterinary Hospital.  After reviewing the events from 8/1 to 8/13, I have a different opinion of ********************* care, which was neither sub-standard nor lacking. 

  Not only did ******************** speak with **************** about an e-collar before sending home her pet, ****** the recommendation of an ****************** was sent home on written discharge instructions both on 8/8 and 8/10.  ***** was kept in an e-collar here to prevent her from licking her stitches.  ***** was brought to our lobby for discharge that afternoon, but someone else was there to pick up ***** (not ****************).  The technician took our e-collar off of ***** and told the pick up person to use the one they had at home.  The pick up person said ok and we handed her the discharge instructions that included the e-collar recommendation.  ********************** care did not allow *****s stitches to come out.  The lack of an e-collar did, which was recommended by ******************** pre-sedation and written on both discharge instructions sent home on 8/8 and 8/10.  The e-collar was not on an estimate before 8/10 because after the ** visit on 8/1 and several conversations with ******************** that included at least one recommendation for an e-collar verbally, we understood she had one, and **************** did not say she didnt have one.  **************** did not even indicate she did not know what an e-collar was and that she knew what a cone was until a verbal conversation with ****************** on 8/13 at *****s suture removal. 

  
  ***** did well under sedation and anesthesia and did not suffer. 

  
  The amount **************** paid for the 8/8 procedure was actually $106 LESS than the estimate she signed the morning of the 8/8 procedure, which is why we did not give her another estimate to sign.  ******************** did not come out of the surgical procedure to let **************** know about the 5 sutures placed in the superficial wound on her leg instead of a bandage change because she was addressing the patient under anesthesia.   This medical decision also saved ***** from more bandage change visits and **************** more charges in the long run. 

  
  We followed up with a phone call to check on ***** on 8/9 after her procedure on 8/8 and no issues were reported by *****************  The stitches were reported as coming out on 8/10, where we re-sutured the wound and sent home an e-collar. Again, the e-collar was a written recommendation also on discharge instructions sent home on 8/8 and 8/10. 

  
  As far as the weight history goes, I reviewed the records and her weight was recorded each time on her anesthesia monitoring sheet but not transcribed to the signalment in her history.  That is a transcription error on our part and I have implemented procedural corrections so this does not happen again.  We did weigh her each time, however, and correct dosages of medications were given based on those current weights.  We weigh each patient, just like we did ******each time they come in so records are current.  In 24 years of practice, I have not experienced a catastrophic outcome from a dosage calculation of medication as we carefully calculate the dose based on current weight.  We cannot calculate these doses without a current weight.  Also, multiple sets of eyes are on most things in our hospital such as medication dosing, xrays, and medications to go home. 

  
  Again, I am saddened by Ms. ******* perception of our hospital.  I feel I have been extremely communicative with multiple conversations and emails and accommodating with negotiations of pricing and a complete refund as requested here.  This is not the indifference **************** is speaking of.  I dont recall ever negotiating price with any other medical professional in my lifetime.  I wouldnt dream of it. Yet I feel our profession is extremely open when it comes to discussing cost and medical care of pets.  We want nothing more than our patients to get the care they need and deserve.  We want nothing more than our clients to be extremely pleased with our service and fair cost of veterinary care. 

  
  I have attached my last email to ****************.  I received no response to it until I received this complaint.  I, as the practice owner, am thankful for Ms. ******* communication up to this point as I cannot fix something unless I know about it, such as the weight transcription error.  I have remedied this situation and we have learned from it with no suffering.  Our oath is First Do No Harm.  I feel we have fulfilled this oath for ***** and taken care of her with excellent standard of care. 

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