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Vets Fees With No Warning?


Shakti
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My 13 yo girl recently spent the day & overnight at the Werribee University animal hospital to get some work done.

I wanted to post a break down of the bill...but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

Because of her age & the fact that the Vet had detected that Jessie has a heart murmur we did get the bloods done as well as the fluids.

Our bill included:

-Pre op Blood work profile

- anaesthetic

- flushing out & cleaning both ears

- Iv fluids

- Removal of 2 decayed teeth

- Full clean of remaining teeth

- chest x-ray to find out grade of heart murmur ( thank god we have found out she has only a grade 1 )

- day & overnight hospital boarding

- medication...including anibiotics, cortisone & ear drops

All of this cost us $765.00

I was just wondering if this amount seems fair, or where we ripped off.

I have to say that the vets at Werribee have been fantastic for our old girl & have done more for her than our regular vet has done for her in 5 years. :laugh:

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That seems a more than fair price to me going on what I've seen charged around here, although saying that a lot depends on your area and also on exactly what was included in the anaesthetic.

If you think it's a lot, call up a human dentist and private hospital and see how much they'd charge you for tooth removal, GA, thoracic radiographs, take home medicines, and an overnight stay. :grouphug:

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When we got our puppy desexed we were given the same list of extras - but at a lot more reasonable price! That being said, when I questioned the vet nurse about the real need for them so to speak (it would have tripled the expected cost) , she said that if the dog did end up needing fluids, they'd give him to him anyway; it wasn't like he was going to go without any emergency treatment etc. Turned out he was fine - he recovered perfectly. That being said, I was amazed at the whole fries with that spiel I got from the vet nurse at the start ; I understand why they offer the things ; but it was a strange experience the way it was presented...

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That seems a more than fair price to me going on what I've seen charged around here, although saying that a lot depends on your area and also on exactly what was included in the anaesthetic.

If you think it's a lot, call up a human dentist and private hospital and see how much they'd charge you for tooth removal, GA, thoracic radiographs, take home medicines, and an overnight stay. ;)

Thanks Staranais, I personally thought it was fair price & we did seem to get alot for our money, but after reading this thread I thought there would be no harm in posting & seeing what other Dolers thought of the price. :grouphug:

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that there's no such thing as a bad anaesthetic, only a bad anaesthetist. They agreed that the best anaesthetic is the one that the anaesthetist is most familiar with. Obviously there are times when a different drug may be preferred, but I'm speaking for routine surgery in healthy animals.

The best anaesthetic is actually one that is given by someone who is knowledgeable with the latest drugs and techniques. Anaesthesia is becoming safer and more minimalist every day in humans.

IF you own a sighthound don't let a vet get anywhere near your dog with any kind of barbituate.

Absolutely! Our Greyhound had an extreme reaction to Thio including seizures. Propofol all the way now for him. The vets I have since taken him to for anaesthetics have said the they haven't used Thio in 15 years.

I think we usually pay about $70 extra for fluids.

:grouphug:

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I go to one of the more expensive vets in Canberra and they always offer blood tests as an extra but strongly recommend them for older dogs. I have always had them done. I had a rescue speyed two weeks ago and paid $90 for the blood test. They never ask about extra pain relief or fluids and when I have they just say anything the animal needs they consider essential is covered in the price.

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my brother and his partner just went through this with there pup. He is a resuce pup she was quizzed why his birthday was not on the vax records. and alot more everything was like an add on sale. get this flee treatment this bla bla. puppy preschool (he is 16 weeks so is too old) bla bla bla she walked out very upset and felt like a bad owner.

I said the same thing dont go back to that vet. its not a business where add on sales are not needed.

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Sorry for dragging up an old thread - but this just happened to me today! A clinic I've used for the last 10 years (quite frequently!) sprung this 'would you like x, y and z' form on me as well. It was not mentioned on the phone when I made the appointment last Friday. Had I wanted all three options it was another $120 on the bill (not as much as the OP but still). It feels horrible to be ambushed like that, which is why I came home and dug this thread up.

Is this standard practice now? They've been great for so long, so this just made me a bit uncomfortable.

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Sorry for dragging up an old thread - but this just happened to me today! A clinic I've used for the last 10 years (quite frequently!) sprung this 'would you like x, y and z' form on me as well. It was not mentioned on the phone when I made the appointment last Friday. Had I wanted all three options it was another $120 on the bill (not as much as the OP but still). It feels horrible to be ambushed like that, which is why I came home and dug this thread up.

Is this standard practice now? They've been great for so long, so this just made me a bit uncomfortable.

I think it is becoming more & more common for things like pre-anaesthetic blood tests, IV surgical fluids, and take-home pain relief to be offered to clients as "extras". Not all practices do it this way, but many do.

To be fair, it's hard for vets to win, no matter how they structure their fees for anaesthesia & surgery. If you practice "gold standard" medicine and automatically include all these things in the regular price of an anaesthetic to make it as safe and comfortable as humanly possible, then you will inevitably lose clients to the cheaper practice down the road (that doesn't include all these things in their price but assures clients that they're just as good as you) or the animal sometimes ends up not getting the surgery it needs as the owner can't afford it. If you don't offer these things at all, then you're not even giving your clients the chance to do the very best for their pet, which is IMO wrong. Or if you include these things as options, then apparently you can confuse your clients or make them feel guilty for not accepting the options.

So, I'm not sure what the ideal solution is.

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Next dog I get will be having it's dew claws removed when it's getting desexed for sure, they aren't worth the pain I have seen one of my current dogs endure.

What a difficult position your vet put you both in, if they had have told you when you booked the dog in at least you would have had time to think about it and sort out finances if you decided to go ahead with the extras.

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Next dog I get will be having it's dew claws removed when it's getting desexed for sure, they aren't worth the pain I have seen one of my current dogs endure.

What a difficult position your vet put you both in, if they had have told you when you booked the dog in at least you would have had time to think about it and sort out finances if you decided to go ahead with the extras.

Im on the fence with dew claws!

At had nothing but trouble with his, and had them removed when i was in WA, it was horrific :( and after that i always said all future dogs will have theirs removed

but then look at kaos... she has never had a problem with hers... i guess i would just have to wait to see the dog and make my choice then.

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Can I ask why? I did a training day with Colin Dunlop recently on Advanced Anaesthesia and he happily uses Thio. My Boss went to a continuing education night held by Colin and an Anaesthetist from USA who also happily used it (and actually I believe preferred it).

Both of them teach that there's no such thing as a bad anaesthetic, only a bad anaesthetist. They agreed that the best anaesthetic is the one that the anaesthetist is most familiar with. Obviously there are times when a different drug may be preferred, but I'm speaking for routine surgery in healthy animals.

Thiopentone is a barbituate that's use results in a very slow recovery time, and it's also very outdated and if accidentally given external to the vein it can cause tissue necrosis. Propofol has a very fast recovery time. Thio has not been routinely used in hospitals for a good fifteen years.

Not sure where you got the information Thio isn't used in our hospitals it certainly is, I counted it this morning in our durg count.

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Fair enough Staranais - you make some good points. I think in my situation, I'd have appreciated them mentioning it when I made the appointment - so the op will be x dollars and these extras would be z dollars and tell why I should consider each extra option. Then allow me to give it some thought over the weekend etc. Its the asking me without warning that feels like pressure, IFYKWIM? Especially considering I asked for an approx. quote when making the appointment - oh and it would have been $200 for all three, not the $120 I posted before.

Anyway, I know now and will be prepared in future!

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Thank you for everyone for your comments - might see if I can find a better vet!

Brooke if you are happy with the Vet why not ask them why they didn't ask these questions before when you booked in for the surgery and why isn't it routine?

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Sorry for dragging up an old thread - but this just happened to me today! A clinic I've used for the last 10 years (quite frequently!) sprung this 'would you like x, y and z' form on me as well. It was not mentioned on the phone when I made the appointment last Friday. Had I wanted all three options it was another $120 on the bill (not as much as the OP but still). It feels horrible to be ambushed like that, which is why I came home and dug this thread up.

Is this standard practice now? They've been great for so long, so this just made me a bit uncomfortable.

I would say it's becoming standard practice and for legal reasons they have to offer it.

In human surgery you just don't get a choice- it's done as a matter of course but it's either covered under medicare or private health so they are 'hidden' costs.

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Fair enough Staranais - you make some good points. I think in my situation, I'd have appreciated them mentioning it when I made the appointment - so the op will be x dollars and these extras would be z dollars and tell why I should consider each extra option. Then allow me to give it some thought over the weekend etc.

Yes, that's fair enough too - I guess you're right that it would be better for them to bring it up earlier and not spring it on you when you turn up. It could be tricky for them to explain the medical details over the phone, especially if you're talking to a receptionist who isn't a vet nurse, but they could have quoted you a range of possible prices over the phone instead of just telling you the one price.

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To be fair, it's hard for vets to win, no matter how they structure their fees for anaesthesia & surgery. If you practice "gold standard" medicine and automatically include all these things in the regular price of an anaesthetic to make it as safe and comfortable as humanly possible, then you will inevitably lose clients to the cheaper practice down the road (that doesn't include all these things in their price but assures clients that they're just as good as you) or the animal sometimes ends up not getting the surgery it needs as the owner can't afford it. If you don't offer these things at all, then you're not even giving your clients the chance to do the very best for their pet, which is IMO wrong. Or if you include these things as options, then apparently you can confuse your clients or make them feel guilty for not accepting the options.

Well said.

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Next dog I get will be having it's dew claws removed when it's getting desexed for sure, they aren't worth the pain I have seen one of my current dogs endure.

Be careful with removing dew claws if you ever wish to do a dog sport. Dew claws actually help the dog and ones that are correctly set on the leg should never be a problem.

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