5 Tips for Getting the Most out of an Urgent Care Visit
December 14, 2021
- The Veterinary Urgent Care team will work with you and your regular veterinarian to provide comprehensive care for your dog or cat. If you have recently seen your family vet for the same medical condition, or if your pet has other medical conditions, or is on medication, please ask your doctor to forward your pet’s medical record. This step is not required but it might save time, money and reduce the need to duplicate diagnostic tests.
- We treat patients who are between 3 – 5 on the Patient Severity Index excluding those that require surgical intervention. Veterinary emergency rooms work just like their human counterparts; patients of all levels of illness and injury require care and our teams must help them in order of need. The Patient Severity Index (PSI) shows how we make those decisions.
- Call ahead and describe your pet’s symptoms if you are not sure of his or her condition. A member of the urgent care team will give you an estimated arrival time based on capacity, remaining appointment slots, and your pet’s condition. In some cases, you may be diverted to a local ER.
- If a pet arrives at a Veterinary Urgent Care clinic that is in need of medical attention that the urgent care team cannot provide, the medical team will stabilize the pet so you can transfer him or her to a veterinary emergency hospital.
- Veterinary urgent care medical teams are comprised of experienced veterinarians and technicians with extensive training in emergency and urgent veterinary care. The clinics have reduced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, often only radiography (x-rays) and point-of-care ultrasounds. Most veterinary urgent care clinics do not have a surgical suite or surgical equipment on-site, so they cannot perform surgery in the clinic. Skip the urgent care if you think your pet needs surgery urgently.
Patient Severity Index
We treat dogs and cats who are between 3 – 5 on the Patient Severity Index excluding those that require surgical intervention.
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