Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology

  808 Bestgate Rd Annapolis, MD 21401

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  Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology

  1209 Cromwell Bridge Road Towson, MD 21286

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  Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology

  10000 Old Columbia Road Columbia, MD 21046

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  There is a cardiac veterinarian, a Pet ER and an Internal Medicine practice all located at the same address. They are clearly feeding off of each other and playing to pet owners' emotions. We went in for a routine/update cardiac visit (our dog has a slight heart murmur). During the ultrasound, the doctor took a quick look at the abdominal area and thought she saw something 'questionable' on his spleen. Of course, not be the abdominal specialist, she sent us to the 'correct' person (her husband) to have a second ultrasound of his abdomin. Well of course, still no 'verdict' but there was a strong recommendation to come in a month and re-do the imaging to make sure it hadn't changed. So, thousands of dollars later, we try to make the appt. for the follow up ultrasound of the abdominal area.
  
  Funny thing, apparently, the husband was not the correct specialist. We were told that we'd need to pay $275 for an initial consultation with the correct person (didn't we already have that??) and then maybe they might want to do a second ultrasound after reviewing the initial imaging. Ok, I made the appointment. In filling out the forms the day prior, I noticed that they mentioned he shouldn't eat in the morning. So I called to check on that -
  Come to find out, they plan on doing the ultra sound - no matter what. And not at our scheduled appt. time either. I realized that they were going to play the same game that they had played before. Come in and we'll find something wrong, ask you to leave your dog - because they do the ultra sounds when the doctor can get to it - and do whatever tests and run up whatever costs they can. What a run around and what a scam. I cancelled and do not trust them to take care of my dog - or give me honest feedback as to any real issues. I think their main deal is to get as much money out of you as they can while you are there - which is truly a sad thing.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/15/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/08/25) */
  Re: We received a complaint # ******** on your business
  External
  Inbox
  
  Keri *******
  Aug 23, 2022, 2:04 PM (2 days ago)
  to baltimore.**@bbb-email.org
  
  Hi Heather,
  
  
  
  My name is **** ******* and I am the ******** ******** for ***** - Columbia. I received the complaint from Lincoln Pino's owners and below is my response to her concerns.
  
  
  
  Thank-you,
  
  
  
  Keri********
  Practice ********
  
  Pet+E.R. and AVIM&O of Columbia
  
  10000 Old Columbia Rd
  
  Columbia, Maryland 21046
  
  410.441.3304
  
  
  
  
  
  
  CVRC (Chesapeake Veterinary Referral Center) is an affiliation of specialty veterinary practices that operates out of shared facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region. CVRC serves as an extension of primary care veterinarian's practice for patients that require specialized diagnostics or treatment. Having multiple specialty practices in the same building allows for a collaborative process to take place in caring for the pets that walk through the door. However, each practice operates independently from the others.
  
  
  
  CVCA (Cardiology) and AVIMO (Internal Medicine) are separate practices that operate in the same building in Columbia, MD. On 6/27/22, CVCA requested an abdominal ultrasound (AUS) for a one of their patients, ******* ****. AVIMO accepts ultrasound requests from multiple services in the CVRC building and accommodates these requests between their scheduled appointments and procedures. There are two board-certified veterinary internists at this location who perform ultrasounds. *** Frederic ***** is the veterinary internist who performed the AUS on Lincoln **** on 6/27/22 provided an ultrasound report to Dr. Kristin ***** at CVCA. Based on the findings, Dr. Kristin ***** (CVCA) recommended that ******* have a recheck AUS by AVIMO in one month.
  
  
  
  Per hospital policy, AVIMO does not perform outpatient ultrasounds for patients that are not established internal medicine patients. Since ********* care was managed by CVCA, he was not an established patient - this requires a referral, medical history review, exam and consultation with an internist. If someone needs an AUS for their pet, they first need an initial consult with the veterinary internist to establish the client-patient relationship. Along with understanding the pet's medical history, the internist also performs a physical examination, reviews medications, and discusses concerns with the client. The internist then will propose a plan to the client and decide what medical tests are required or recommended.
  
  
  
  If testing (including AUS) is needed, the clients are provided with an itemized estimate for review and approval. If the estimate is approved, the pet is admitted to receive testing. The clients are called when testing is complete and their pet can be picked up. The internists see appointments in the morning hours and perform procedures in the afternoon, which include abdominal ultrasounds.
  
  
  
  Dr. Frederic****** is a board-certified veterinary internist who specializes in interventional radiology and Dr. Nikita ***** is a board-certified veterinary internist whose practice is not limited. Both internists perform AUS, however, Dr. Kakar accepts all patients in need of an internal medicine consult if indicated. Dr. Frederic ***** does not manage internal medicine cases. For this reason, ******* was scheduled for an initial consult with Dr.******. We ask that all initial consults be fasted with no food provided after midnight. This is requested just in case fasted diagnostics are needed and provides the option of performing the same day. Most imaging (radiographs and ultrasounds) is done without sedation, but every now and then, some patients need sedation to prevent injury and stress. Again, to have the option of getting imaging done the same day as the initial consult, we ask that all patients fast unless there is a medical reason not to.
  
  
  
  It is policy that half the cost of the initial consult is used as a deposit when an initial consult appointment is made. This deposit is used towards the final bill. Due to the high demand of our services and limited availability, the deposit is forfeited if a cancellation is made less than 48 hours before the appointment. Providing 48 hours or more notice of a cancellation allows time for appointments to get moved up/scheduled in the time slot that was canceled.
  
  We hope this provides a clearer picture of how AVIMO Columbia operates and above all else, we hope ******* is doing well.