Diagnostics

Paris Veterinary Associates has taken a unique approach to diagnostic laboratory services that you may not be used to. Many traditional veterinary practices use in-house laboratory equipment while advantageous in providing same-day results may not always provide the most accurate results at the best value. If you have made the decision with your veterinarian that your pet needs diagnostic laboratory results don't you want to ensure that those results are accurate, and a great value?

We know you work hard for your money and we want to ensure that your pet has everything that it needs not only an accurate diagnosis but that we have enough left over to administer the best treatment available. Our partnership with Idexx laboratories allows us to do just that. Here's how.

Let's say for example you have brought your dog in for an annual dental cleaning and in order to help ensure a safe anesthetic episode we perform preanesthetic blood work which includes a complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry panel (Chem. Panel). We also notice that your pet is due for their annual heartworm test. Wouldn't it be nice to know that by combining these test you actually save money? It's true. It's just like fast food, when you buy the meal it's cheaper than buying the entrée + side dishes + drinks. To put a fictitious dollar amount to the above example let's say that a complete blood count cost $50, the chemistry panel costs $75 in a heartworm test costs $45 (again, these are fictitious, our prices are much lower :-)). The total cost of these three tests ordered separately would be $170 however, when you combine these test together it could get as low as $110.

Let me expand upon the previous example.

The traditional approach to a heartworm test is to use in-house testing. This is nice because, we live in a society of instant gratification and it makes us feel better as pet owners to have the results before we leave and before we pay. We feel like we have paid for something and we have received something in return, in this case a test result. Now how good would you feel about that result if I told you that there are many different manufacturers of in-house heartworm test, with a long list of variables that affect the accuracy of the results, and that the American Heartworm Society states "In cases of minimal exposure, it is recommended to confirm all positive antigen tests in asymptomatic dogs prior to any adulticide therapy."? Now what if I told you that just by waiting overnight for a test result the accuracy of the test result both positive or negative is increased, and if that test result happens to be positive, then the test result is repeated using a different method to further verify the accuracy of the results... at no cost to you (FREE), would you be willing to wait? We sure would.