Coventry Animal Hospital

Service Provider Response

Thank you for your review of our veterinary hospital. We are aware that there are a number of medications that can be gotten from sources other than our hospital pharmacy. Some of these medications are more expensive and some are less expensive depending upon where you look. As much as we try to keep prices competitive, we acknowledge that we are often unable to beat the big box stores pricing. Their business model is to sell medications inexpensively ( sometimes at a loss ) knowing that you will come in for medication, but leave with much more in your cart. Our focus is to provide the best veterinary medicine, the most knowledgable doctors & staff, and the very best care for your pet. To that end, we offer a full pharmacy for client convenience and for speed of treatment. We also write written prescriptions for any client interested in purchasing their medication from an outside source. We hope that this response addresses your concern and we thank you for the opportunity to care your your pets medical needs.

Service Provider Response

[member name removed] Thank you for your candid review of our practice. We were pleased to hear that your experience at our hospital from a medical standpoint was a positive one. I would like to take the opportunity to offer some explanation concerning the other issues raised in your review. The first issue mentioned is wait time. We acknowledge that wait times can be extended at times, but this is because we accommodate everyone needing emergent medical assistance whether an appointment is available or not. I think you would agree that 30 minute wait times are no longer than one would experience in any other physicians office. Price. We have received other reviews in the past concerning the perceived high cost of our services. Our answer is simple - it's all about expectations. We know that locally ( as well as nationally ) our prices are lower than average. We also know that you can call any practice at any time and find a particular test or service that is less expensive. For those clients who feel that $150 is expensive for "just a blood test for a cat" we admittedly may not be the best fit. We strive to provide optimal medical care for our patients. That said, we are always willing to work with clients with financial constraints. Your review even mentions our offer to waive the office visit by allowing you so see a nurse for the blood draw as well as a less expensive ( and admittedly less ideal ) monitoring option. Up charging. This is where it gets personal. We do not up charge anyone. Ever. When you reference the switching of your medication from a tablet to a more expensive chewable, it was offered in an effort to help you administer the medication more easily - an issue that you yourself had raised. There was certainly no ulterior motive other than trying to give you the tools you needed to successfully medicate your cat. As for the $8 up charge for lab work, there is a simple answer. You were quoted $70 in December of 2013. The commercial labs increase their prices every year in the first quarter. By the time you had called for repeat blood work in June 2014, the lab had raised their prices. In summary, we will never be the cheapest hospital - it is impossible to provide optimal medical care at bargain prices. We will never up sell or up charge - both are unethical. What we will do is to continue to offer the best medical care possible at competitive prices. Your cats were a pleasure to work with and we are sad to see them go. We wish you the best, and we hope that you find what you are looking for at your new hospital.

Service Provider Response

[Member Name], I was very disappointed to read your most recent review of our hospital. I would embrace the opportunity to discuss the details of this matter further. Clearly there must be more to the story for you to feel compelled to make such strong comments. Perhaps you would be willing to discuss the issues at hand so that we can work toward some sort of resolution? I hope to hear from you soon. Richard D. Marchetti VMD

Service Provider Response

To the family. We all were very saddened to hear about the passing of Jethro. You gave him a great 14 years. Thank you for the kind words that you were able to write about our hospital and our veterinarians. We all work extremely hard to provide the best medical care for our patients. Thank you also for the frank feedback regarding your experience at our hospital over the years. You are correct that since our purchase of Peterman Road Animal Hospital in 2006 we have undertaken the huge task of rebuilding a failing practice from the ground up. Since that time the practice has recovered and grown beyond our expectations. With that growth has come many challenges. Appointment availability is one such area. While emergency appointments are always available during normal business hours, you are correct that there is more of a wait for those less emergent visits than in years prior. I am unsure what happened on the evening you called about Jethro. You should have been offered either an appointment with us, or directed to one of the referral services if our team determined that his issues were too emergent to handle in house. From what you have said, neither of these options were offered - and for that, I sincerely apologize. I have advised the staff of your specific case and we have used it as a learning experience in how to better handle situations such as this in the future. We very much appreciate your patronage over the last six years and we wish you all the best in the future.