ABSTRACT
Veterinary emergency hospitals must be full-service hospitals. They must provide professional diagnostic and emergency treatment during hours when local veterinary facilities are normally closed. Monitoring parameters such as clinical observation, routine vital sign measurement, and electrocardiographic monitoring are basic requirements in the practice of emergency/critical care medicine. Personnel in an emergency hospital will be thoroughly familiar with emergency equipment, interpretation of results, troubleshooting, and limitations. To maintain professional collegiality the veterinary staff and personnel at the emergency hospital must cooperate to accomplish a successful transfer of the emergency patient to the client’s home or to another veterinary hospital. Veterinary emergency hospitals will provide for storage, safekeeping, and use of drugs in accordance with federal, state, and provincial regulations. Pathology services are an essential component to the practice of quality veterinary medicine and must be readily available. Reference range values must be available for all laboratory tests performed by both in-house and external laboratories.
