fabel Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 so we had our dog x rayed a few months ago cause I have always been a worrier and his hips concerned me. I also suspected his hock. so anyway when we are at the vet we say xray all joints, may as well while he is sedated, partner remembers this well and backs me up. Over $200 later vets says all look good in xrays and stop worrying. That was 3 months ago. the other day things go from bad to worse as poor digby cant even put any weight on his hind leg, so back we go to the vets. Vet now also suspects hock issues so goes to look at xrays to see if there's anything he missed, and yeah well they didnt even take xrays of the hocks, just hips and knees. So now I'm peeved off, may cost me more $$$ to get the hock x rayed, in my opinion they should do it for free as we did ask for all 3 joints to be done in the 1st place. Also would it be possible to get just the hock done without sedation? my dog is extremely a relaxed, cruisy boy. Its my understanding that most of the cost involved is the sedation rather than the xrays themselves,does that sound right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Sounds typical of many vets, I would demand they do it for free and only use a light injectable sedation rather than an anaesthetic or heavy sedation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Sounds typical of many vets, I would demand they do it for free and only use a light injectable sedation rather than an anaesthetic or heavy sedation. Vets way over charge for sedation it doesn't cost them much at all, same with fluids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranga Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Couldn't they use gas instead? It wears off very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denali Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I would definitely insist on it being done free of charge. Thats very bad of them to ignore your request in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 It will depends on what you paid for in the first place. If you only paid for as many views as were taken, then you may be asked to pay for the extra X-rays but as 'additional views'. There is normally a tiered pricing where there is for example a base set of 2 views includng set upmetc, and then a much reduced charge for each extra view after this. Sedation is a different negotiation point and will depend on what was done the first time - whether it was a general anaesthetic or sedation. It may be done at no charge (out food will) or perhaps charged as an extension of time on the first procedure. Unless a critical situation demands it, I do not manually restrain animals for radiographs (even when I'm not pregnant) and I don't allow other staff or owners to do it either. The rare animal may lay in position for an X-ray but not normally in the positions required for joint or spinal views. Other vets may have different rules in their work environments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) I would have been annoyed to. I had a similar incident with a specialist centre. Was assured the dog was x-rayed 12 months later I pushed the point as we still had no answers and was told yes she had been x-rayed before surgery and everything was fine. A few months down the track when her case got handed to another specialist as the first one was leaving they went through and couldn't locate the x-rays . In the end they agreed to pick up the x-rays at their cost if she needed to be sedated for any other reason but there was no good reason to sedate her in their view so it never happened. Clinic eventually closed down towards the end of last year. The dog finally ended up having full x-rays last week through a normal vet last week but luckily for me at no charge since its part of a study. My issue now is the x-rays actually showed something and whether the specialists should have taken them when I was told they did and whether we might have saved 3 years of unnecessary specialist consults is up for discussion. Edited January 18, 2015 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOLO Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) A couple of issues: Firstly, you should have been more proactive in ensuring that the correct x-rays were taken and hocks checked. That said, I would certainly be insisting they do it for free, or at the very least at a discount. If they refuse, I would complain to the relevant body and look for another vet. Also, I am often appalled by the lazy attitude of some vets when it comes to sedation. It seems that for the simplest procedure they want to put the poor animal to sleep. I had a vet who wanted to put my dog under to remove a burr from his ear, so I went home and did it ourselves. (He was an extremely placid dog who barely moved whilst I held his head and dad fished it out. Had he been more prone to agitation I would have agreed to the sedation.) In the past, I have worn a protective (lead?) apron and held my dogs limb whilst it was x-rayed. Edited January 18, 2015 by Big D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Also, I am often appalled by the lazy attitude of some vets when it comes to sedation. It seems that for the simplest procedure they want to put the poor animal to sleep. I had a vet who wanted to put my dog under to remove a burr from his ear, so I went home and did it ourselves. (He was an extremely placid dog who barely moved whilst I held his head and dad fished it out. Had he been more prone to agitation I would have agreed to the sedation.) It's nothing to do with being lazy (perhaps in the burr sitation)... but for x rays it's for staff safety (reduces x ray exposure which in busy clinics can be quite high) and for many dogs to get very good xrays of most of the joints mentioned in an unsedated and often stressed dog it is very difficult to get good x-rays. A quick sedation makes the process less stressful for the animal and actually makes the procedure much quicker. Again it depends on what you are looking at but for all those joints mentioned it is better to have a sedated animal to get a good x ray. To the original poster I would ask to speak to the practice manager and discuss your concerns... I'm really surprised you weren't shown all the xrays as even if its all okay its normal practice for my clinic to show x-rays taken at discharge. Perhaps that should be implemented at the clinic to prevent this from happening again? And perhaps together you can work out something reasonable to get the hock x-rays done. And as for the mention of overcharging.. vets have a business to run. For IV fluids.. its not just the cost of IV fluid bag but it's also the IV pump, IV giving set, extension set, IV catheter, clippers, tape, vet wrap, swabs, alcohol, chlorhex, wages of vet and nurse! All this has to be covered in the fee you pay and some of this stuff costs a lot more $$ than you'd guess. Yes vets make money off it... they have too it's their job and most vets I know work very long hours and very hard at their job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I have seen many vets way overcharge, why can the exact same surgery cost hundreds of dollars difference depending on the clinic. I have seen vets charge rip off prices for dentals that nurses have done but they've told the client it was done by a vet. Why do vets charge huge dispensing fees on drugs just to print out a label. If any of my customers needed a reversible sedation for grooming when I was in the vet clinic they were only charged an extra $10 yet if they were a vet client they were charged a fortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm88 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Different clinics have different overheads to pay. Some may make most of their money off quantity of procedures performed, others may make it through quality service to a smaller volume, some may charge more for medication. In the end, vets are a business. If you choose to have pets, you need to understand this and plan for how to pay in the event a large amount is needed, or you need to accept euthanasia may be the more realistic outcome. Pets are a luxury, not a right, more people need to remember that when moaning about vet costs. No one is forced to own a pet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I have seen many vets way overcharge, why can the exact same surgery cost hundreds of dollars difference depending on the clinic. I have seen vets charge rip off prices for dentals that nurses have done but they've told the client it was done by a vet. Why do vets charge huge dispensing fees on drugs just to print out a label. If any of my customers needed a reversible sedation for grooming when I was in the vet clinic they were only charged an extra $10 yet if they were a vet client they were charged a fortune. Every clinic has different overheads to pay... it's never the exact same surgery, every clinic is also different and there is a HUGE range in service provided. There are clinics with NO equipment monitoring for your pet whilst it undergoes anaesthetic, no surgery nurse monitoring the anaesthetic, no warming during or afterwards, likewise you can also have a very skilled experienced vets versus others which take on a lot of undergraduates (and not saying these places are bad as I've worked with some great newly graduated vets but I've also worked with some terrible ones!). Sure there are bad vet clinics which do overcharge, but coming from a clinic that has high standards it all costs. The dispensing fee covers not just the label, but the packaging (pill bottles etc), the ordering, the unpacking and the packing of the order, the vets time and experience etc. Clinics do have to make money otherwise they won't be sustainable. If you want a cheap vet there are plenty around and they generally work on volume but cannot provide the same standard of care at a cut price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Karly101 thank you for your reply, I am lucky enough to have worked in the industry for so long I have rarely paid full price for any vet work but I have seen a lot of customers very upset about paying high prices without getting good service, especially when on many occasions I have found problems with dogs the vets have missed. I would never deny my own animals medical care due to costs but I expect 110% from the vets and nurses handling them and I also expect them to do everything asked. I guess working in a clinic for so long I have very little tolerance for incompetence and overcharging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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