vets and £?

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ThePony

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ahem, this is a rant, sorry, just would like to vent somewhere!
Does anyone else's vets practise seem more about the money than the horses? My mare needs some treatment (as yet am unaware of what treatment is required and the effects and expected outcomes for my mare are), all I get is a message left telling me the cost and to call if I want to go ahead. My mare means the world to me, am I odd for wanting to know what is going on before just chucking over my insurance details. Also, does the knowledge that I have insurance affect the process? As I have insurance then tbh what it costs is obviously not as important as if I had to find the £ myself, this doesn't mean that I want to blindly follow the care suggested. I would like to know a bit about what the drugs used are, the effects there will be on her and the prob they are treating, and what I might expect from the treatment. I just want to understand what is going on!
Am I being precious or is this a reasonable expectation?
phew, have a hot choc for getting this far!
 
Many people want to know the cost of a procedure before consenting to it going ahead.

And I'm sure that for many, yes the fact that someone has insurance does affect the process - because it means there is more money at your disposal to throw everything at treating the horse.

I'm not sure what you're ranting about really.

If you want to know more about the procedure and drugs etc. phone your vet for a chat. :o
 
sorry, just letting off steam!
Just seems odd that although I get a message telling me the cost, my request for a call from my vet hasn't happened yet, so all I know is the cost not the treatment - this seems rather the wrong way around? Although the cost is important, but especially with the advantage of insurance, it really isn't the be all and end all?
... and breath!
 
Hmmm, I feel for you and understand you rant:)
I have to say that in case of my horses (not insured) the cost of any treatment is rarely discussed, I kind of have a rough idea what costs what, but more importantly, my vet discusses the treatments themselves with me, the options and possible outcomes, if I want to ask 'how much' it is left up to me... I rarely do:)
 
glosgirl said:
sorry, just letting off steam!
Just seems odd that although I get a message telling me the cost, my request for a call from my vet hasn't happened yet, so all I know is the cost not the treatment - this seems rather the wrong way around? Although the cost is important, but especially with the advantage of insurance, it really isn't the be all and end all?
... and breath!
Click to expand...

I would have expected to be told about the proposed treatment at the time the vet visited my horse - did you not discuss it then? If not, then I agree it's possibly the wrong way around. But your poor equine vet may well not have had time to call you yet.

And for many (if not most of us) yes, cost is the be all and end all.
 
I will be going to vet school in September and the whole money aspect does concern me. I can see it from both sides. For example, people do get annoyed about the first question always being 'is the horse insured?'.

However, as AM says, this has a huge impact on treatment options. For example, if Zoom broke a leg but it was fixable with £5k treatment I would go ahead since she is insured, however if she wasn't insured - I simply could not afford it.

Also, when Monty was ill, his age meant that the insurance would not cover treatment. I still had every test required as I wanted to give him a chance, however my vet and I had a VERY frank conversation about cost since we both needed to know my position before proceeding.

Also, I did work experience with a vet who is a one-vet equine practice. They now demand payment on the day of the visit/treatment since, sadly the have lost a HUGE amount of money in the past due to people not coughing up/not realising the cost of treatment so i think unscupulous horse-owners are partly to blame.

On the other hand, I cannot stand vets who do not explain the treatment options/implications adequately. Although I appreciate vets are very busy, you need to have total transparency when it comes to treatment options and prognosis. I was in constant contact with my vet when Monty was poorly and he even called me after work to have an hour long conversation about the course of action we were going to take. This is VITAL imo and I wouldn't employ a vet who didn't understand just how important this aspect of the job is.
 
The vet wasn't sure of the prob and the best treatment at the visit so pics had to be sent off, I assume that some info that has helped towards a diagnosis has now come back and so a cost has been worked out. I agree it is very important to know the cost before going ahead, but so is an understanding of the treatment and possible outcomes! I have to admit though, like Martlin, I would rather ask for the cost during a conversation about potential treatments, rather than just being told without further info. Shall stop being a stress head and just wait for my vet to get back to me (have waited a week so far though so don't think I am hassling my poor busy vet!)!
 
If the first question my vet asked was is your horse insured I would say no. I had a horse that coliced badly but was insured but there was no way he would have done well after surgery due to his nature. I know damm well if I had told the vet yes he would have tried to get me to ship him to hospital. I told him he wasn't insured and he was treated at home and made a full recovery. Through my work I deal with people who are making claims on their insurance and the levels of treatment some vets go to in some cases is horrendous. I find it amazing that insurers pay out vast amounts in vets fees for long term treatment often for conditions that have a poor prognosis for complete recovery rather than being subjective and if people have it pay out loss of use rather than drag things out for months before then settling the claim and spending even more money pushing up premiums. I have long held the belief that there is a 2 tier pricing scale for treatment, one for those insured and one for those who aren't. After all you don't see many vets on a bike do you.
 
Insurance affects the position in 2 ways, so best to ask early.

1. Treatment costs - the horse can be treated in the most suitable way, regardless of cost (within the limit). If there is no insurance, or a limited budget, compromises need to be made (E.g. for a tendon issue, Stem Cell vs Irap vs something else vs Dr Green).

2. Timing - if a horse is insured, the clock for claiming starts on injury - so it is probably worth working it up sooner rather than later to give time for treatment to start, and for its results to be observed during the year limit. Maybe if insurance companies didn't have the year limit, there would be less of a rush to work things up... But if you need a treatment that takes time, and maybe needs a follow up, after 3 and 6 months, best bet would be to start that treatment pretty quickly.

I'd like to see an equine vet carrying an X-ray machine on a bike! Might take a while to get to calls as well...

OH's kit fills his car, others manage to fill LWB Defenders and HiLux type covered back pick ups! Every time we go to a car event (we go to a few as payback for the horsy things I drag him to!) we end up measuring the ground clearance and practical boot capacity of every non-premium family estate or small soft roader to try and work out what would do the job as well or better than the current (nearly dead) car.
 
Wishful said:
Insurance affects the position in 2 ways, so best to ask early.

1. Treatment costs - the horse can be treated in the most suitable way, regardless of cost (within the limit). If there is no insurance, or a limited budget, compromises need to be made (E.g. for a tendon issue, Stem Cell vs Irap vs something else vs Dr Green).

2. Timing - if a horse is insured, the clock for claiming starts on injury - so it is probably worth working it up sooner rather than later to give time for treatment to start, and for its results to be observed during the year limit. Maybe if insurance companies didn't have the year limit, there would be less of a rush to work things up... But if you need a treatment that takes time, and maybe needs a follow up, after 3 and 6 months, best bet would be to start that treatment pretty quickly.

I'd like to see an equine vet carrying an X-ray machine on a bike! Might take a while to get to calls as well...

OH's kit fills his car, others manage to fill LWB Defenders and HiLux type covered back pick ups! Every time we go to a car event (we go to a few as payback for the horsy things I drag him to!) we end up measuring the ground clearance and practical boot capacity of every non-premium family estate or small soft roader to try and work out what would do the job as well or better than the current (nearly dead) car.
Click to expand...

lol my vet drives an evo VIII !!!!!!!!
 
My equine vet has never asked if my animals are Insured. It does make a difference to some vets, but the majority genuinely want to do what is best for the horse.
It is up to the owner to question the treatment and the cost prior to proceeding with treatment. It is very likely that your vet has simply not had time to phone you yet. I really can't understand why you are ranting I'm afraid.
 
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