Table of Contents

Contributors xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction: Why a Book on Decision-Making in Veterinary Practice? xvii

Section 1 Fundamental Concepts in Making Clinical Decisions 1

1 How to Define Your Success as a Clinician 3
Barry Kipperman

2 How to Obtain a Patient History 17
Barry Kipperman

3 Informed Consent 25
Barry Kipperman

4 Risks, Benefits, and Ageism 37
Barry Kipperman

5 Client Education Beyond Informed Consent: The Most Important Thing an Owner Needs to Know 47
Barry Kipperman

6 Euthanasia 53
Barry Kipperman and Kathleen Cooney

7 Referrals 67
Barry Kipperman

8 The Influence of Economics on Decision-Making 77
Barry Kipperman

9 How to Optimize Patient Outcomes 91
Barry Kipperman

10 Medical Errors 107
Barry Kipperman and Jim Clark

Section 2 Principles of Diagnosis 121

11 The Influence of Patient Weight on Decision-Making 123
Barry Kipperman

12 The Influence of Age and Aging on Decision-Making 129
Barry Kipperman

13 The Day of the Week Matters 135
Barry Kipperman

14 The Time of Day Matters 141
Barry Kipperman

15 Serial Monitoring of Laboratory Results 147
Barry Kipperman

16 Overdiagnosis and Useful Diagnosis 155
Barry Kipperman

17 The Minimum Database 167
Barry Kipperman

18 In What Order Should Tests Be Performed? 173
Barry Kipperman

19 Diagnostic Errors 179
Barry Kipperman

20 Providing a Prognosis 189
Barry Kipperman

Section 3 Principles of Treatment 199

21 Inpatient or Outpatient? 201
Barry Kipperman

22 The Therapeutic Trial 207
Barry Kipperman

23 Interpreting Therapeutic Outcomes 217
Barry Kipperman

24 Setting Goals and Therapeutic Endpoints 227
Barry Kipperman

25 Pain Management 235
Barry Kipperman

Index 245

About the Author

Barry Kipperman, DVM, DACVIM, MSc, DACAW, is a specialist in small animal internal medicine and animal welfare. Dr. Kipperman founded a small animal specialist and emergency hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent 33 years in practice before transitioning to teaching and writing. He is a Lecturer in Veterinary Ethics at the University of California at Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, CA, USA and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.