How we are now handling increasing veterinary expenses....
We've stumbled upon one way to save some money (a lot of money) and still provide our boy with good veterinary care. First, we think the world of our boy's primary Vet. He has taken care of our dogs for more than fifteen years, and we are of similar age with similar interests and an equal number of wrinkles and bald patches (us, not the dog). The Vet is at a clinic where you pay a premium price for "urgent" appointments - - anything booked less than 72 hours in advance. I believe its $100.00 to walk in the Vet's door for an urgent appointment. Emergency appointments are another story. The clinic's emergency department is staffed by Board Certified emergency and critical care specialists. For access to these specialists the clinic charges $125.00 to walk in the door and every fee for a diagnostic study or treatment is at a higher rate than if our primary Veterinarian were to perform the same study or treatment in a non-urgent setting. On a trip to PetSmart one day a few years ago I got to talk with a few of the dog owners who were waiting to see the Vet at the Banfield Animal Hospital in the store. They were by in large very happy with the care that their dogs were receiving. I've read about Banfield before, and although they are bashed by some consumers, I am a Physician Assistant for almost thirty years and I know something about (human) medicine. The Banfield veterinary practice model reminds me of a sophisticated staff-model HMO. Their systems are automated, they are heavy on quality improvement, and they (Banfield) tend to attract young Veterinarian's who are just out of Veterinary school. I've also noticed that the computer software (algorithms) that Banfield uses to guide the way their medical team practices seem very liberal when it comes to diagnostic studies, procedures, and other profitable interventions. Despite the for-profit nature of Banfield's practice, we decided to purchase a Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan, which for about $200.00 annually includes many services that we would use (e.g. injections), and unlimited office visits with their Veterinarian. On the infrequent occasion that our Banfield Vet suggests that we do something that just seems financially motivated (never anything bad for the dog, but to us, maybe not entirely necessary or premature), we just say no thank you. While we still rely upon our primary Veterinarian for our dog's annual physical and anything else that we believe warrants his attention, we use Banfield for all of those visits that require timely access to a Veterinarian. We no longer pay our Vet's urgent care fees or Emergency Department fees. We use Banfield for the ear infection that requires a look, the laceration that we'd feel better about if a Vet looked at it and cleaned it, and the occasional limp, cough, diarrhea or runny nose. I'd say the $200.00 Banfield Optimum Wellness plan has saved us hundreds of dollars in urgent care and emergency fees that we would have otherwise paid our Vet's clinic. We've always been able to see a Banfield Vet on the day that we need to - - often within a few hours of our call - - they don't object if you just drop in with an urgent matter, our local Banfield has two excellent Veterinarian's who have been at the Banfield Animal Hospital for a few years, and previously owned their own practices. The Veterinary Technician’s (Pet Nurses) are excellent, and our dog has received excellent care at Banfield. Recently our dog developed Kennel Cough after being boarded. Because Banfield had given him a Bordatella vaccine about nine months prior, Banfield's guarantee on their injection covered the cost of the antibiotics and cough medicine that our Veterinarian prescribed for our dog's cough under their quality guarantee for the Bordatella injection. We may be driving a nicer car than our Vet's wife now, with the money that we no longer pay our primary Vet's clinic for urgent and emergency care. |
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