A Typical Day with Mobile Vet Housecall Service
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This is the story of mobile vet. The receptionists begin each day at 8 am, answering incoming calls, and contacting clients regarding ongoing cases. Many times in the mornings they will be on a call with a client and will have to ask another incoming call for their name and number in order to return their call. No need to worry, they always call them back. |
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The receptionist organizes the schedule of appointments each day. Although we cover the entire Greater Los Angeles Area, we try to group appointments in a single area each day. Then, we arrange the route to be the most efficient path for us to travel. This helps to cut down on the drive time between housecalls, and this provides us with more time to see patients in one day. Emergencies always take priority with us. We schedule all of our appointments on an all day basis, with no specific appointment times. This way we can accommodate the emergencies that come in and need to be seen as soon as possible. Regular appointments are moved around to allow for animals in need of urgent care. |
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Today, although the doctor and his assistant are scheduled to be in San Fernando Valley our receptionist knows this patient who lives in Pasadena needs to be seen today. She is able to offer the client an emergency appointment that will allow the doctor use the time he has set aside for his lunch hour to accommodate the extra time spent traveling to and from her housecall. The client understands that the additional charge to her Housecall Drive Fee is due to the extra travel, but she knows it is worth it because her cat is not stable enough to travel to the local vet. The client accepts the appointment offered to her, and the receptionist writes the appointment in the book. She takes down as much information as possible about the patient’s current condition and records it in the medical history, and then briefs the assistant on the details of the emergency appointment. |
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While the receptionist is making final changes to the day’s schedules by adding appointments, the assistant is preparing lab results for the doctor to read. The tech also reviews the files and driving directions. |
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Before Dr. Cauble leaves for the day he likes to review the updates on critical patients. He likes to stay current with all of his patients, and appreciates the progress reports. Although he does not have a lot of time in the office in the morning he does take a moment to go over the files that cannot wait. |
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Each day the receptionist receives updates for many clients. Each of these updates is carefully detailed in the patient’s file. The next day all of those files are sent on the road with the doctor and his assistant to review while traveling between housecalls. The assistant is also stocking the truck, and deciding the order of the housecalls. The assistant listens to the details of the emergency housecall reception has set. He knows the emergency has priority and will be the first housecall of the day, and rearranges the order with the remaining housecalls scheduling them in geographical order. Once the order has been decided he lets the receptionist know. |
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With the order of the day she is able to look at the schedule and estimate the doctors arrival time at each housecall, but she also knows another emergency may arise in the meantime. Each housecall is different, and some cases take longer then others. She also knows that traffic is unpredictable in the greater Los Angeles area. Taking all of this into account she gives each client a four to five hour window of time of when the doctor will be there, but because of all these factors, our clients must remain available and flexible on the doctor’s arrival time. |
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The receptionist always reminds our clients this is an estimated time, giving emergencies priority, which may push us later into the day. This is why it is so important for us to schedule our clients on the days they know they will be available all day. We know most people live very busy lives and may need to run local errands, and we do offer to call them when the doctor is on his way. This gives our clients 10-15 minutes to make it home to meet the doctor. |
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Now that the order of the housecalls for the day has been decided, the truck is stocked and ready, and the doctor has read the lab samples, the doctor and his assistant are ready to leave. The assistant using the all the information provided, GPS, map book, and the directions provided by the client, navigates the doctor to each housecall. |
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While giving direction the assistant must also brief the doctor on the patients medical history and the current condition. Now that the doctor knows what is going on the next housecall the assistant is able to move on to the updates from clients on their pets. Although there is not very much time between the housecall the assistant and the doctor go through the files and often stay late at the office in order to complete the replies. |
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When the doctor arrives at the housecall, if it is a new client, our blue form is given to the client asking for information about themselves and their pets. Our Mobile Vet truck is fully stocked. We are able to perform minor surgeries in home and our patients do much better when they are treated at home rather than a hospital where they are exposed to germs and diseases, often coming home with a problem different from what they went in for. Our patients are also much more comfortable being treated in their own home and often look at the doctor as their friend. If a patient requires major surgery that does require hospitalization, Mobile Vet can transport the patient to the hospital of your choice or a hospital recommended by Dr. Cauble. |
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Mobile Vet charges a drive fee, which is dependent on where you live and is comparable to the cost of most office visits in a hospital. Once the doctor is at the housecall we charge by time. Most everything the doctor does is included in time rather than charging for procedures separately such as ear cleaning, toenail trimming, etc. In many cases this becomes more cost efficient, especially when multiple animals are seen at the housecall. Vaccines, medications, and lab work are an additional charge. If the client has a budget or cost concerns this can be discussed with the doctor and technician as they can often tailor treatment around your budget. |
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The doctor likes to work with the patients in a place in the home where the pet is most comfortable. This can be a kitchen floor, or a bedroom corner. The doctor prefers to handle the pets himself, often with the assistant's help. It is best if the owners don't directly handle their pets during the examinations and treatments. However, we do like to have the owners present, to provide additional comfort for their pets. |
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Most pets are most comfortable at the floor level, and don't like to be propped up onto a table. The doctor can provide comfort and restraint while sitting on the floor with pets. Sometimes we use a towel to help relax nervous cats and birds, and we may use gloves to handle wildlife or fractious animals. Some dogs may need a muzzle if they may bite. We use only the minimum restraint necessary, and always have the patient's best interests in mind. |
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The assistant usually handles the paperwork at the housecalls, while the doctor is handling the animals. We keep meticulous notes on each patient, and take a client's entire file on the road to each preset housecall. |
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We provide thorough physical examinations on all patients, even when they appear healthy to their owners. We do not have additional fees for physical examinations, nail trims, and many other procedures. This is why Mobile Vet is often a better choice for multiple pet households. |
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The assistant is able to make notes and complete invoicing at the housecall. We accept cash, checks and most major credit cards. We can even process credit card payments at the home. |
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Diagnostic samples and treatments are administered in the home. Our truck is fully stocked with laboratory equipment, medications and supplies. These items are brought into the home for application. Our goal is to provide the least stressful care in the disease free environment of pets own home. We do not try to care for pets in our truck. |
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At the conclusion of a housecall, we clean up and prepare prescriptions. The doctor reviews our treatment plans and instructions with the owners. We make sure all questions are answered before we leave a housecall. Payment is due when services are rendered. We offer a 5% discount for cash. We accept personal checks, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. |
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We enjoy the friendship we have with our clients, and feel working together on all phases of medical treatment is the best plan for the care of animals. The doctor is happy to answer any and all questions. After the housecall, if questions arise, you can contact us by phone, email or by dropping by our office. Our office is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm. The doctor and assistant work these hours and beyond. |
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Most client questions received by email and phone call are recorded in the patient file, and sent on the road with the doctor the next day. At the doctor and assistant drive, the doctor answers the questions. These files are returned to the office at the end of the day, usually after the office has already closed. Clients call the following day to get the answers. The doctor is usually not able to take direct phone calls, for we do not interrupt housecalls. On urgent matters, we do contact the doctor between housecalls to get quick answers. |
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We usually park in a client's driveway or on the street. Clients should let us know any special parking restrictions or advice when setting an appointment. We are happy to accommodate any special requests. |
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Since our fees are based on time and materials used, the client can largely control the cost of a housecall. We appreciate knowing any financial limitations, and can adjust accordingly. For instance, a healthy dog just needing a rabies shot can be serviced very quickly. Or, the client may have many questions and the patient may have many problems. |
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We care for friendly socialize animals, and feral animals and wildlife. No matter the disposition, we are happy to provide the same friendly service. Many clients are impressed at how well behaved their pets are at home, in the familiar environment with friendly people. |
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We use only top quality products and supplies for important procedures. We do not skimp on brands or quality levels. For instance, there are a huge variety of vaccines on the market. We avoid cheap brands that cause more adverse reactions. When is comes to choices of vaccines, sedatives, anesthetics, we use the best available. Keep this in mind when considering low cost vaccine clinics, sedations, euthanasia and other very important procedures. With other supplies, where top quality is less critical, we help you save expense. We hold the pet's comfort and well being as our most important concern, while always keeping a client's expenses in mind. |
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We use a navigational system to help us find new client's homes. We also appreciate directions from our clients at the time housecalls are set. Each day is different. We try to schedule appointments that are close to each other on the same days. |
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Emergency appointments are given higher priority, and may cause adjustments to a day's schedule. Normal appointments are scheduled with clients being available all day. If you have time constraints, please let us know of such when setting your appointment. We are happy to make special trips out of most logical driving order to accommodate clients with special needs. |
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Many pets are most comfortable in their own backyard. Our doctor and assistant hare happy to work indoors or outdoors. We have found ourselves crawling under houses, rooftops, and quite commonly, pulling cats out from under beds. We are happy when our patient's are happy. |
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We care for all species of animals including dogs, cats, pigs, rabbits, reptiles, rodents, birds, wildlife and exotic animals. We have vaccinated lions, drawn blood from elephants, trimmed the feet of wild boars, and transported deer by helicopter back into the wild. Our clients have included Circuses, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, SPCA's and humane societies. We bring our supplies from the truck close to our patients, setting us a small base to work from. Our truck carries a huge supply of medications. We have our own online pharmacy available through our website, and we are happy to work with local pharmacies. The quality of the products and service of other out of state pharmacies are below our requirements, so we do not deal with them. |
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The doctor and assistant return at the end of the day to process the lab work and restock supplies. Sometimes they return to the office during the day to pick up extra supplies, client files or for other purposes. |
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With computerized files and Internet access, our entire staff benefits from our computer system. We are happy to communicate through email and enjoy receiving interesting articles and web references from our clients. We also appreciate clients who leave feedback about our service on websites like Google, Yelp, Yellowpages.com and other referral sites. |
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Many activities occur behind the scenes at the Mobile Vet office. We have a full staff to handle phone calls, computer entry, purchasing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, laboratory procedures and other office and medical procedures.
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