The Team Approach for Integrating Your Pet’s Care
At OVRS, we believe that a team approach works best for pet care, especially when more than one speciality is involved. You and your pet benefit from our team’s combined knowledge and skills for a more integrated care experience.
Frustrations of uncoordinated care
There is nothing more frustrating than having to bounce from doctor to doctor or to specialist and back in hopes of resolving a health issue. If they aren’t communicating with each other, and often they are not, you can end up confused, frustrated and with less than optimal care.
Your general practitioner needs to know what your endocrinologist recommended. He or she needs to know which medications your allergist put you on in order to be able to treat you safely and effectively. Your pet’s health is no different. That’s why an integrated team approach is so important.
Pets need coordinated care too
Many of the pets who come to us for emergency and specialty care need treatment or consultation by more than one vet or specialist within our practice. For instance, a pet may visit us for evaluation of a growth that turns out to be cancerous.
A veterinary surgeon removes the mass and an oncologist may perform chemotherapy. The alternative medicine specialist may also be involved using techniques to minimize pain after surgery and complement chemotherapy. And of course your primary care veterinarian needs to know what is going on so that they can continue to work with you!
Our team approach to integrated care
That is a lot of people who need to know what is going on with your pet. At Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, it is very important to us that this process occur as smoothly as possible. We find that it all comes down to one important factor: communication through teamwork.
Good record keeping helps each veterinarian to clearly see what has been done and recommended, as well as outlines a clear course of action. This ensures that each doctor can easily and seamlessly coordinate each decision or treatment.
We communicate face-to-face within the clinic or through phone calls to facilitate treatment and care. Having so many doctors and specialists under one roof, we have the advantage of answering a question or getting a consult simply by walking down the hall.
Our team includes your family vet
We also consider your family vet as part of the team. We get input from them on your pet’s medical history. We keep them in the loop with reports and communication so that they know everything that is being done and the results of any tests run here.
Teamwork is important to us in providing your pet with the best care possible, and we take that goal very seriously!
