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Ophthalmology Referrals

Profile	The Ophthalmology service sees referrals for a variety of ocular disorders. Although the primary caseload consists of canine and feline patients, the ophthalmology service also consults on equine and food animal cases at the Auburn University Large Animal Teaching Hospital.
Initiating a Referral	Referring veterinarians should contact us at 334-844-4690 for available appointments, or use the online referral form provided.
Making an Emergency Referral	An attending clinician will attempt to accommodate same day emergency referrals of true ophthalmic emergencies. Referring veterinarians should contact the reception desk and indicate that consultation on an urgent case is requested. Please ask to speak with the resident or intern on ophthalmology emergency duty. You will be put into contact with an attending clinician as soon as possible.
What about work completed prior to referral?	A completed referral form and case summary is essential to documenting an accurate history on referral cases. We request that you include a detailed history of clinical signs, progression of disease, treatments prescribed, and response to treatment. Please also include background health history on the animal such as vaccination history, results of recent heartworm testing, and information on the overall health. Many of our patients are referred for evaluation for possible cataract surgery. If recent bloodwork (namely witin the past two months) has been performed at your clinic, please include it with your referral information. We also recommend starting topical prednisolone acetate (1%) in the affected eye(s) two times a day for a minimum of three weeks prior to the first exam at Auburn.
Important Owner Information About Referral	We are a teaching hospital and every attempt is made to coordinate optimal patient care and maximal teaching exposure for our students. Veterinary students play an integral role in the care of each patient seen by the Ophthalmology service. The students will maintain telephone contact with owners on a daily basis. Diagnostics and therapeutics on each case, however, are managed by a veterinarian. Therapeutic options are more specifically addressed after assessment during the initial ophthalmic exam. Obviously, the ultimate costs to the owner will depend on the extent of the pet’s problems and the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures conducted. At the initial visit, we will make every attempt to provide an estimate of the diagnostic work-up and owners will be asked to leave a deposit of 50% of the estimate. The remainder of the accrued charges will be collected upon discharge from the hospital. Please remind your clients to restrict food after midnight the night prior to their appointment. There is no need to restrict water.