A word of warning about Insurance/vets...

[Astridx]

I would just like to point out an error I made at the vets and hope others don't make the same mistake.

Lottie was at the vets for her booster and general check up (she's 2yrs) and I was struggling to make conversation with my vets.  When he said her heart was ok I just mentioned that when she was sat on my knee the previous night I thought I felt her heartbeat but as it was irregular it must have been my pulse and her heartbeat together.  I ramble a lot! 

Anyway, the vet proceeded to write in her notes that she might have had an irregular heart beat but it seemed ok now.  However, now I won't be able to change insurance providers because of this 'clinical condition'.  I have a perfectly healthy dog but am paying Petplan over £22pm for Budget cover.  I just wish I kept my mouth shut.  While this maybe obvious to others please be careful what small talk you make with your vet, as my little chit chat has been taken out of context.

[t1gg3er]

Hi,

Could you not ask your vet to amend the record in view of the fact that you did say it must have been a combination of both your pulses & that at the exam he confirmed her heart was fine?  Seems unfair that he's noted it without even discussing it or investigating properly. 

[Astridx]

At the time when I saw him typing I was quick to point out that I was sure it was my pulse but he then went on about once something is 'disclosed' in the surgery that it would be 'fraudulant' of them not to make notes officially.  I've raised the question with them again but they just went down the route that once it's raised they can not ignore it. 

I'm quite concerned that something mentioned so casually can be dealt with in this manner - maybe it's my naivity but I just wanted to let others know in case they experience a similar thing.  I'm annoyed with myself really...

[minimoo]

im sorry i think your vet sounds unreasonable, are you qualified to say if your dog has an irregular heartbeat   , so hes saying he was wrong when he said her heart is ok then , i would ask to see the practice manager or the head vet and say you are not happy and insist it is taken off her records as it was just a comment , she could have been excited or hot for gods sake  

[theshrew]

The guy isnt doing his job correctly.

How can he write in his notes about something he didnt notice. I presume you are not a Vet yourself so how can you tell if something is wrong ( if you no what i mean ) heart beats change all the time. It could of been because she was thinking about what Santa was gonna bring her or something silly like that.

I would demand him to take that out of the notes unles something is actually wrong with her and he has seen it for himself. Then id change my Vet he sounds about as bright as a 40w bulb in a 60w world.

If you told him that Lottie could jump 100ft in the air, do 17 forward rolls, catch a bird in her mouth and then land on her feet again. Would he write in your notes you are the owner of 'Super Dog' mmmmm - Now that would make the insurance payments go up    

[theshrew]

ooooopppssss i just read the post above mine great minds must think alike

[dizzymare]

In addition to the above - surely insurance exclusions etc refers to pre-existing conditions and no such condition has been recorded. For example, If my pulse is racing, it could be because I am nervous, or excited, have been exercising, have been drinking, smoking or have a problem with heart or blood pressure - therefore further tests would be warranted to show the cause and rule out any abnormality.  In your case, The vet did some exploratory tests and found all to be in order so surely this rules out any abnormality?  It all seems very unjust to me although I must stress that I have no experience at all of these issues

[Astridx]

Thank you for your responses.

I mentioned to the vet that surely a normal heart rate as was observed during the consultation would give her a clean bill of health but the vet then went on to say that dogs can have normal heart rates during certain times but can have abnormailities during other occasions and hence he couldn't discount my comments.

Your responses have spurred me on to take this further with my vet face to face.  I do think Lottie is a very healthy and fit young dog but I would hate to be in a position further down the line that her little heart wouldn't be covered by my insurance provider because of my rambling and my vet being over enthusiastic!

[supergirl]

What a "jobsworth"  - he won't keep many customers if thats he's attitude, all he's doing is making it more expensive for you - whats the point in doing that, you're insured which is what is important to vets.

[Cob-Web]

I had a similar experience with Molo when I was concerned about his eyes 

He had a dry-eye test, which was within the normal range, and subsequently, the problem was established to be a grass pollen allergy. But, because the suspicion of dry-eye is in his notes, dry-eye (and in some cases, other auto-immune conditions) are excluded by other insurance companies   

To be honest, I assumed it was normal practice - I have been advised that the same thing applies to medical insurance........

[LisaB]

Your vet sounds like an arrogant inflexible know it all who was having a bad day - dump him.

[LurcherGirl]

But perfectly healthy dogs do have irregular heartbeats... your vet should know that. I mentioned the same thing to my vet a few years ago about my lurcher! He smiled and said that the fitter a dog is the more irregular their heart beats (within reason of course...  ). It is nothing to worry about! If your vet can't detect anything at the time of the examination, then there is no reason why an insurance company should prevent you from getting insurance... particularly if you can prove to them that some irregularity is perfectly normal and that what you heard was nothing beyond that.

Vera

[Tasha]

your vets a moron, sorry but rude as it sounds he's talking nonsense the only time that the insurers need to know is if a condition has been verified and you are making a claim.  Personally I would be making a complaint to the practise manager, if your vet owns the practise write him a letter of complaint asking him to verify his diagnosis asking for proof of a heart complaint and that if he is unable to provide MEDICAL proof to remove and amend his comment with a letter to the insurance company.  If he won't do it contact the veterinary board because he is behaving fraudulently.

You can phone them to ask for advice on what to write in your letter and send them a copy. 

If that doesn't sort the problem there is also a blood test that you can have done that picks up minut chemical changes that will indicate if there is a heart problem.  I had this test done for my dogs prior to breeding its very useful although still in the early stages of use by the veterinary community it has had some good write ups in the scientific community.  The test I did was the vetsign cardiogram you can read about it on the net.