Top Veterinary Articles of the Week: Vetmed Communication, Another Take on Grass Eating, and more ...

My dog hasn’t pooped since discharge! (5 min ago)

Dr. Mark Troxel/VetBloom

This is a well thought out article on client poor recall of medical information and "non compliance'. It makes several great points.

But there is one important point, and incredibly simple solution, missing there. All else being equal, I'm at the vet with a sick dog. I'm worried about my dog, distressed. I don't understand half of what the vet is saying. I'm simply overwhelmed. Is it a surprise that I either don't register or easily forget what I was were told? I don't think so.

Here is a crazy idea - how you, the vet, write it down for your client? Giving them a copy of what you've typed in the file. You've typed something in the file, didn't you? Not necessarily? I see. It happened to me on more than one occasion when I asked for a copy of the file update and veterinarian's notes from an exam or treatment and didn't receive anything. "I can only give you something, if there is something in the file," was the technician's answer. Which I can appreciate. But WHY is there nothing in the file if there was an exam?

Even easier solution yet are web-based records. They are no different from in-house digital records but they reside on the web. Which means that they can be accessed anywhere, any time. Jasmine's vet keeps those. Nobody has to remember anything. It's all written right there. Provided that somebody actually typed something in. But if you, the vet, don't make any appointment notes on your patient, are YOU going to remember everything a week, month or a year later? Seriously?

Related articles:
Emailing With Your Vet And The Miracle Of Web-Based Medical Records
Access To Your Dog’s Medical Information: To Whom Do Your Dog’s Records Belong?

What does an emergency critical care veterinary specialist do?

Dr. Justine Lee

Why Dogs Eat Grass

Dr. Andy Roark

Dr. Roark's take on the age-old question. Our guys typically indeed eat grass probably because they enjoy it. Fortunately, they are very specific about which grass they seek. If they have a choice at all, they will go after Timothy grass. I my experience, they indeed do tend to eat more of it and more urgently when their tummy is upset.