We know how difficult it can be to have a sick pet. These animals are beloved family and friends, and the process of working through the diagnosis and treatment of their illness involves not only medical and financial concerns, but also significant emotional energy. We understand this and hope to make this process as easy as we can for you and your pet. At every step we will keep you informed and aware of your options and include you in all medical decisions. We hope this section will answer some of your questions as you prepare for your visit to South Carolina Veterinary Internal Medicine. We look forward to meeting you and your pet.
Prior to being referred to South Carolina Veterinary Internal Medicine, your pet will first need to be evaluated by your veterinarian. We also work with the local emergency clinics to take direct patient transfers when necessary. Your veterinarian will make a referral to our receptionist. Once this has been done, you can then call to schedule your appointment. Your veterinarian cannot schedule an appointment for you as we need to talk with you and go over what you need to know for your visit. To provide optimal individual patient care and client services, especially with the nature of the illnesses that we treat, we limit our new appointments to a small number per day. In this light, we will work with you to schedule a convenient and timely visit during our normal receiving hours. We see appointments Monday through Friday, but do not have evening or weekend appointments.
When you make the appointment, our staff will review preparations for the visit:
- No food after 10 p.m. the night before the visit (except with certain medical conditions such as diabetes). If your pet was fed that day, we may be unable to do certain procedures (especially any requiring sedations or anesthesia).
- Provide fresh water at all times.
- Please bring your pet’s complete medical records (including all radiographs, laboratory tests, and progress notes) with you at the time of the visit. This is extremely important as we cannot make appropriate decisions without this information. Trying to call your veterinarian and assemble this information at the time of the visit will usually not be feasible, requiring us to reschedule your visit.
- We require that the client (or an authorized agent) that is responsible for making all medical and financial decisions be at the appointment. The consultation with the specialist is often detailed and lengthy, so if additional family members need to hear this information in order to help make decisions, it is best that they be present at the appointment as well.
- At the time of scheduling an appointment, we can also provide driving directions from wherever you are coming.
When you arrive at our hospital you will need to fill out a brief form providing some basic information. After taking your pet’s weight and temperature, a technician will take you into an exam room where you will meet with the doctor. After a discussion of the medical history and examination of your pet, we will talk with you about our medical concerns and recommend a diagnostic and treatment plan. Of course, we will answer any of your questions and review the estimated costs.
While you should be prepared to leave your pet for at least the day, we will discuss the specifics of how long your pet may need to stay with us at the time of the visit. We often see pets with complex and serious illnesses. Based on this we may recommend staged diagnostics and treatment, overnight hospitalization (especially those requiring anesthesia), or in-patient treatment and monitoring. We understand that this may be the first time you and your pet have been separated. We will do everything possible to make this as pleasant and easy as we
can. We do encourage visiting, and the doctors will speak with you regularly about your pet’s progress.
After the testing and/or treatments have been completed, we will meet with you to discuss our findings and recommendations. While certain tests (such as radiographs, ultrasound and certain in-house lab tests) provide immediate results, other tests (such as specialized blood tests and pathology or culture samples) require several days or longer for analysis. Of course, we will keep you posted as we receive results and adjust the medical plan as needed.
We pride ourselves on the level of care we provide and look forward to working with you to optimize the quality of life that you and your pet have together. Integral in that is your understanding of the disease process, prognosis and medical options. We encourage you to voice any questions or concerns that you may have so that we can best serve your needs and those of your pet.
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