rDVM Resources

Before making an appointment, many family veterinarians will contact us to discuss the reason for referral and the results of any completed diagnostic procedures or tests. Click the links below for more information.

• MVA referral
• MVUCS referral
• Hickory referral

Please remember to make medical records, laboratory results, and/or radiographs available to your client for their initial consultation.

If you would like to refer a patient to the emergency service, please call us at 610-666-1050 for MVA or 610-880-3534 for Hickory. One of our emergency clinicians will answer your call in order to review some initial information. This will give us the opportunity to prepare for the animal’s arrival and care based on your information. In addition, this call can be essential to allow us to ensure that we have the care that you are seeking (for example, we can make sure the specialty service you are seeking is available, and the diagnostics and treatment required are available). Finally, our emergency doctors will be able to give you an estimate for the cost of anticipated care which can be helpful information to relay to your clients if necessary.

Our hospitals work as one team to make sure your pet gets the fastest access to the care they need, when and where they need it. If a location is at capacity or a patient needs specialized equipment like a CT or MRI, we coordinate between hospitals to keep care moving quickly and smoothly. When tests or treatments happen at another location, your pet’s veterinarian stays connected and involved every step of the way.

With the owner’s permission, you will receive a digital admission notice outlining why the pet was admitted to MVA or Hickory. If the client requests that we speak with the referring veterinarian regarding a specific issue, or if our medical team feels a doctor-to-doctor discussion is indicated, we are happy to arrange that communication. Otherwise, you may call for updates as desired. Every patient receives discharge instructions, and a completed visit summary will be emailed to you at the time of discharge.

Owners will often call to ask your opinion of our care because of the existing relationship they have with you and the trust they place in your opinion. We’ve discovered that in many cases owners may not communicate fully what we have explained to them. This is understandable considering the amount and complexity of information that we try to pass along. Owners may also feel more comfortable disclosing their true feelings to you as opposed to a MVA or Hickory doctor whom they just met. Feel free to call our doctors to get detailed information and to provide your insight on the owner’s needs. For complex questions it is best to encourage owners to direct these to the MVA or Hickory doctors in charge of the patient.

Many veterinarians have their transfer preferences on file with our facility in order to provide the best service to our clients. If it is your preference, the emergency doctor will give pet owners the options to return the pet to your hospital for continued care or to continue care at MVA or Hickory. We stress to the pet owner that they need to contact you before the transfer so you are aware of their wishes and expectations.

The best thing you can do is have the client make an appointment so that one of our doctors can do a complete review of the case. Different options can be given to the owner based on their wishes and the amount of money they want to spend. In some cases, diagnostics or treatment can be staged rather than happening all at one time. This type of back-and-forth conversation is difficult without our doctors dealing directly with the pet owner.

For owners who need some time to repay a bill, we offer interest-free and low-interest financing through third-party agencies such as CareCredit and Scratchpay. Owners can visit the “How to Pay Your Bill” section of our website to learn more, and they can apply for CareCredit or Scratchpay online prior to arrival.

We try to use all of the information you send with the owner. Some tests will be repeated due to changing conditions in the patient or because of the time elapsed since the tests were originally performed. Radiographs may be repeated to obtain more detail within a particular region of the previous films. Preparing the owner for the possibility of repeated tests will make it easier for them to understand when they reach our hospital.

Our emergency doctors will handle most minor procedures. Our Surgery team is on call 24/7 for emergency surgeries.

Our speciality schedule for MVA, MVUCS, and Hickory can be found here.