Joe
Vancouver,#2Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 31, 2007
Banfield has been fine for all the people I've ever seen go to them (Vancouver, WA, Seattle, WA, Antioch, CA, Los Angeles, CA). I come from a strong medical background and have this suggestion: If you're not a medical professional in the field you're talking about, don't intend to give your own diagnosis of the problem. Animals are tough to diagnose at times. Humans are tough to diagnose, let alone an anatomy of a foreign being. Ever had a person who died of a disease even though the doctors did everything they could? How about a family member who believed the doctors really didn't because "they died anyway". Watch an episode of "House" on Fox and you'll see what I'm talking about. The bottom line is that you don't know what went on and why the doctor missed the diagnosis. Each suggestion they gave you (by your words, which are already hearsay because you're interpreting their directions in your own words) sounds correct: step-by-step, take down the dose and then try something else. If the pet deteriorated over the course of 2 weeks, and what was being done was not working to your standards, you have the right to get a second opinion, just like you would as a patient at a hospital. But you didn't do that. You trusted the vet at Banfield and stuck with it. It sounds like you're just bitter because that trust didn't work and you're beating yourself up about it, in turn lashing out at anyone else you can blame for the pet's death. Don't be so hard on yourself. You did what you could. Let her and the situation go and don't drag a professional's name in the mud if all that happened was an unfortunate situation that didn't work out. Health is not a computer program. It's not like punching in a code and making something happen. It's a game, and sometimes people (and pets) lose, despite the cause. On another note, the release of personal info concerning pet owners is dependent on your state laws. I know in Texas my aunt couldn't get info on a pet she found because the state forbids giving owner info, even for lost dogs that are found. I don't know about your state, but, again, in terms of medical info, if they talked about any care given by the hospital or your address/phone number/bank info/etc, it is illegal under HIPPA law. If it was just, "Yeah, the dog seemed happy," that's questionable if it's personal info. Most states say if it's not proven to be recorded info that is identified as covered by law or policy, it's just conversation between two people and perfectly legal. If you didn't want information to be given to that lady and you knew she would try, you should have had the office manager put a note in the file somewhere and let the team members know to look out for her. That's what normal hospitals would do. Even then, get the facts before you make an accusation that they're "releasing information". If it's illegal, then you have a case. Hope that helps. Sorry to be so blunt. It's just that I hate the negativity in the healthcare field.