MVA operates as a referral facility during the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I refer a patient to Metropolitan Veterinary Associates?
• Emergency Referrals
• What type of communication should I expect?
• What should I tell an owner who calls to ask my opinion of the diagnostics or treatment plan at MVA?
• What if your medical conclusions are different than mine?
• Does MVA have interns seeing emergencies?
• If a patient is admitted by the emergency service, will they have the option of transferring to my hospital?
• I want to refer my client, but they have concerns about costs. What should I tell them?
• Why do you repeat some laboratory tests or radiographs?
• Who performs surgery at night and on the weekends?
• Does MVA offer routine care to clients?

How do I refer a patient to Metropolitan Veterinary Associates?

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. You may make an appointment for your client at that time or the owner can call us to make an appointment. Some veterinarians also download and complete a "Veterinarian Referral".

Fax completed forms to 610-666-1199.

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

In an Emergency

When transferring a case to the Emergency Service please call 610-666-0914 to advise the MES doctors and staff of the impending arrival. The staff will be able to prepare for your patient's arrival and care based on the information you provide.

What type of communication should I expect?

With the owners permission, you will receive an update by telephone once daily while your patient is hospitalized with the Metropolitan Emergency Service. You can expect these updates to occur Monday through Friday. Every patient that receives treatment at MVA/MES has discharge instructions which are reviewed with the owner. These discharge instructions are faxed to your office at the time of discharge. The discharge instructions may also include a summary of the case or of the disease process present in the patient. A fax will be sent to you and/or a phone call will be placed to your office when any animal dies or is euthanized at MVA/MES to let you know of this fact and if any further information should be forthcoming.

What should I tell an owner who calls to ask my opinion of the diagnostics or treatment plan at MVA?

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/MES 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/MES doctors in charge of the patient.

What if your medical conclusions are different than mine?

Our goal is to work with you and the pet owner to meet the medical needs of the pet. We tell the owner that our conclusions are based on the information we have at the time that we see the pet. The information that you had may be different than ours or the pet's condition may have changed since you last saw the patient. In some cases an honest difference of opinion exists which may be hard for the owner to understand. We are not here to judge your medical management but to assess the patient and treat any problems noted. We encourage owners to speak directly with you if they have questions we can't answer about the specifics of care at your hospital.

Does MVA have interns seeing emergencies?

We currently do not have an internship program. All of our emergency doctors have either completed an internship at a university or private specialty practice or they have prior emergency experience at a specialty hospital.

If a patient is admitted by the emergency service, will they have the option of transferring to my hospital?

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 MES. We stress to the pet owner that they need to contact you before the transfer so you are aware of their wishes and expectations.

I want to refer my client, but they have concerns about costs. What should I tell them?

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 that they want to spend. In some cases diagnostics or treatment can be staged rather than happening all at one time. This 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 a third party agency called Care Credit. Owners can visit the "Our Policies" section of this website to apply for Care Credit prior to arrival.

Why do you repeat some laboratory tests or radiographs?

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.

Who performs surgery at night and on the weekends?

Our emergency doctors will handle most surgeries such as repair of minor traumatic injuries, GDVs, and splenectomies. MVA surgeons may be called in to do surgery on the more complicated cases.

Does MVA offer routine care to clients?

We concentrate on specialty and emergency cases. Our daytime referral facility has a veterinary staff that specializes in behavior services, cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology, ophthalmology, radiology, and surgery. Emergency and critical care services are always available.