A College Park Animal Hospital Vet Receives a Formal Letter of Censure

[N Kramer A Gittelson]

The College Park Animal Hospital who missed our cat's Congestive Heart Failure on an X-ray received a formal letter of censure concerning his "failure to recognize cardiomegaly and increased pulmonary interstitial pattern on the thoracic radiographs taken of "Smokey" on January 8, 2008."
The above excerpt is from an October 29, 2009 letter from the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, addressed to us. The letter goes on to state that prior to accepting censure, this veterinarian "participated in classes offered at a regional conference as a means of improving his ability to read readiographs and ultrasounds." The letter from the State Board also stated that a letter of censure is a matter of public record.
Clients of CPAH should take some comfort in knowing that additional training was completed by the veterinarian who missed Smokey's heart failure on an X-ray, but they are still urged to BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS, especially with elderly pets, who may be exhibiting signs of a heart disease. Even though one of the veterinarians at hospital received this additional training, we were not notified of any such training completed by the others, particularly the owner and the head vet of the hospital, Thomas McMichael, DVM, who apparently believes that congestive heart failure cannot be seen on an X-ray, as per his statement to one of us when we questioned Smokey's treatment. The fact that the primary diagnostic tool for Congestive Heart Failure is an X-ray is a very basic medical fact, and any veterinarian who does not know this basic fact cannot adequately ensure the safety of a pet at risk for heart disease.

[N Kramer A Gittelson]

Correction: One of the vets at College Park Animal Hospital received a formal letter of censure, not the hospital itself. The State Veterinary Board issues letters of censure (and other actions) to veterinarians, not facilities.