Point of care medicine:
So what does practicing point of care medicine mean? And more importantly why does it matter to you and your pets? Well we sure are glad you asked (okay so maybe you didn’t ask but we are going to elaborate on the topic anyway).
Point of care medicine refers to utilizing testing that is directly available in office rather than having to go to an outside lab or facility. By using in house lab machines we will be able to run the majority of our patients lab testing at the time of their visit. In addition to that we will have digital radiology (x-ray) which means your pets x-rays will be immediately available for viewing.
How does this enrich the experience for you and your pet, let me list the ways:
- Lab results and x-rays will be available for the doctor to review at the time of your pet’s exam. No playing phone tag to receive your pet’s lab results!
- The doctor will be able to make follow up testing and/or treatment recommendations then and there. This is especially useful for those pets who are a real challange to get in to the office.
- Minimizes stress for you and your pet by decreasing visits for additional sample collection and/or treatments. Have you read our posts about Fear Free yet- if not we highly recommend it!
- Indicated treatment can be started without delay!
Awesome right? The goal is to maximize the use of everyone’s time and minimize stress of handling for patients. Does this mean we will never recommend sending a test to an outside lab or a follow up exam? Of course not. There will still be select tests that will require specialized laboratories and many medical conditions require rechecks with the doctor. Have questions about how point of care medicine can be useful to you and your pet email us at staff@CAVAvet.com.
