10.3.1. Exam Vet

Pre-Surgical Exam: Ensuring Patient Readiness and Safety Before Surgery

The exam veterinarian can be entered from the Exam & Premed tab in Patient Flow.

Purpose of the Pre-Surgical Exam

The purpose of the pre surgical exam is to determine if the patient is healthy enough for anesthesia, detect any causes for increased anesthetic risk, and for spay/neuter surgeries, to ensure they are not already sterilized.

To begin entering an exam, follow these steps:

1. Once a patient is checked in, they will be pushed over into Patient Flow.
2. Click the Normal/Abnormal box under the exam column.
3. Here you can select the exam vet if it’s different from the surgical vet.
4. The default exam can have everything set to normal to speed up this process.
5. When finished, click the green Done button.
   

The Essential Checkpoints for an Exam

1. Weight: Obtain an accurate weight for the patient.
2. Sex: Verify the sex of the animal, if possible.
3. Sterilization Status: Check for obvious signs of previous sterilization such as ear-tipping, a tattoo, or a scar is present.
4. Reproductive Cycle: Is the animal in-heat, lactating, or pregnant?
5. Health: Check for signs of health ailments such as URI, distemper, parvo, skin issues, etc.
6. Abnormalities: Check for signs of abnormalities such as cryptorchidism, hernia, or a heart murmur.
7. Vitals: Record the temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate of the animal.
   

The exam vet is often different from the surgical vet, so it’s important to know who performed the exam in case anything was overlooked. To record the exam vet’s information, simply click the button for the exam vet.

Note: Not seeing the veterinarian in the exam popup? Make sure the vet is set up in Settings.