Record what changed after a vet visit

After an anesthesia or surgery visit, AAHA guidance specifically supports keeping the supplied discharge instructions, possible complications, and directions for contacting the veterinary team. For other visits, use the instructions your clinic provided.

• Where the veterinary team’s written instructions are stored.
• Any medication that started, stopped, or changed, copied from the supplied instructions.
• What the team asked you to observe or record at home.
• Any test, referral, refill, result, or follow-up still expected.
• One owner and one due date for every next action.

Sources for this section: American Animal Hospital Association

• What the medication is for and how long it should be used.
• How and when to give it, including supplied storage instructions.
• What the clinic wants you to do after a missed or spit-out dose.
• When a recheck or follow-up is expected and who should initiate it.

Sources for this section: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

This example keeps the clinic’s instructions separate while making the household’s next steps clear.

Fill this in from the clinic’s written instructions. Do not recreate medication directions from memory.

PET:
VISIT DATE:
CLINIC:
VISIT REASON:

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Where they are saved:
Medication changes copied from supplied instructions:

WATCH AND RECORD
What the clinic asked us to observe:
How we will record it:
Who is responsible:

NEXT ACTIONS
Action:
Owner:
Due date:
Status:

FOLLOW-UP
Recheck date:
Expected result or callback:
Clinic contact method:
Open question:

• Give each action one owner and one due date.
• Mark expected results and callbacks when they arrive.
• Archive an older schedule when medication instructions change.
• Add new questions to the same visit record for the next clinic contact.