Emergency vs. Urgent vs General Care
Having pets is arguably one of the best decisions you can make. According to the CDC: “Studies have shown that the bond between people and their pets is linked to several health benefits, including decreased blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD.” They can also be a massive cause of stress, especially if and when something happens to them. Knowing where to go in an emergency can save you time, money, and perhaps even your pet’s life.
ER -
Pros: 24/7 care, staff are trained specifically for emergency protocols and procedures, and are equipped with specialty equipment such as oxygen cages. Many will also have a board-certified surgeon on staff to help with any complicated procedures. Have the staff and doctors to go into an emergency procedure if needed.
Cons: Expensive (60-80% higher than general practice), may have limited contact with a doctor or the same staff, potentially very long (8+ hours even) wait time, limited follow-up care.
ER doctors and staff are crazy (personal opinion). They can handle extreme situations rapidly at all hours of the day or night. Placing a catheter solo on an aggressive patient who is critically ill is just part of their daily routine (and they live for it). They are equipped to handle patients bleeding out from lacerations, emergency bloat surgery, or managing a patient who is having difficulty breathing. The surgeons there are trained to treat intense and potentially fatal surgeries such as gastric dilation volvulus (bloat), foreign bodies, and internal bleeding.
Urgent care -
Pros: Shorter wait time, cheaper than emergency care, can stabilize a patient for further care to be transferred if needed, will see a wider variety of cases than both ER and general practice.
Cons: May not have overnight care, may or may not have overnight care requiring transfer to another facility, challenging to find, 30-40% more expensive than GP, may not see true emergency like bloat or respiratory distress
Urgent care is a new and growing area in veterinary medicine. Since COVID, pet ownership has skyrocketed and has caused increased strain on emergency and general practitioners. Urgent care is the middle ground between the two. They will stabilize your pet and then direct you to an ER or general care doctor for follow-up. Unlike general practice, usually appointments are by arrival rather than scheduled.
General practitioner-
Pros: Likely (hopefully) already have established care, consistent follow-up care, knows your pet's history
Cons: Usually not equipped for drastic emergency procedures, limited after-hours care, staff busy with scheduled appointments, staff may have limited to no training for emergency situations.
General practice is my area. Usually, a few times a week, we hear someone yell for a doctor and rush to help manage an emergency. For many of these cases, we will stabilize the patient and talk with the owner, whether it is a hit by a car, pale gums, seizures, etc. Meanwhile, our scheduled appointments are still coming in. Bringing in your pet to us for an emergency is the equivalent of going to your primary care provider with an emergency. If you bring your pet to your general practice, it is not (usually) because they don’t want to see them, it is because your pet will likely receive better treatment and have a better prognosis at another facility.
I know I know, I didn’t throw a bunch of puns and jokes into this one and I am sorry. I figured someone that googled this page and was in a rush deciding what to do with their pet in distress probably doesn’t want to see a bunch of poop jokes. I will just have to double down on those the next post.
