| Complaint: | Complaint 21-41 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Christopher Paige |
| Premises: | Valley Veterinary Cardiology |
The complainant says that Paige failed to provide proper after-care instructions after her visit with him. She says that she only received a document which she describes as having an eyeball drawn on it (if only we could see this) and her vet at VCA only received the same one; she tells us she only received a detailed report on her dog after requesting it nearly two months later, representing two wasted months in her dog's care. She says she followed Paige's instructions exactly; the dog was put on sildenafil and taken off Keppra (it appears that another vet, apparently a neurologist according to the Findings of Fact, misdiagnosed the syncope as seizures and put this dog on some good stuff).
The dog began to improve but then suffered three episodes within a week; she contacted Paige and he allegedly referred to his original report and said he would send an email (that never came through). She says she forwarded the report with questions and he never acknowledged the alleged missing information or that the wrong report had been sent. She was so flustered she misreported her dog's medication dosage and claims Paige didn't notice that either, leading her to conclude that Paige wasn't really paying attention or cared all that much about it. She claims that even the follow-up times are inconsistent, ranging from 6 months at the visit to 4-6 months on one report and 6-8 months on another report. She says that all she asks for is a refund for the visit with Paige but that he just tries to talk his way around it.
Paige relates that he only saw the complainant and her dog once during a single scheduled appointment. (We don't know where, was this at Higley Road Pet Clinic, VCA Apache Junction, or somewhere else?) He claims the dog had a total of 10 episodes and had been evaluated by a neurologist who diagnosed seizures rather than fainting, leading to the dog being placed on anti-seizure medications. (Who was the neurologist?) He diagnosed the dog with valve disease and pulmonary hypertension and put the dog on sildenafil. He says that he put the report together and sent it off to the vets; the complainant was also very happy. His staff was supposed to call and check that the reports were received, but it appears somehow the report was never sent to VCA Apache Junction. He says he didn't hear from the complainant for two months until she tried to get in touch with his office while he was away; when he got back he told her to bump up the sildenafil dose. He relates that she said she couldn't find an email with dosing instructions and that she misreported the dose as 20mg every 8 hours rather than the initial 10mg every 8 hours; he says he didn't think anything of it as his instructions said that the dosage could be adjusted to taste.
He then recounts several other instances when she contacted his office. In one case the dog fainted again and he reminded her that phone calls are better than emails; he also told her if the dog really had a problem to just take the dog to an emergency room. He says that contrary to the complainant's concerns he did in fact provide alternative treatment options to the dog, namely adjusting the sildenafil dosage for the dog if the original dose didn't work. He also said that the discharge instructions aren't intended to have information on what could possibly occur (that seems odd to a casual observer); he also tells us that the difference in recommended follow up times wasn't a big deal because the median was still six months. He tried calling her at one point but she was apparently in the middle of moving her parents; after that his next contact with her was when she wanted a refund and he told her no. He's since discussed with his staff member the importance of making sure everybody gets a copy of the report.
The Investigative Committee said that they couldn't understand why the complainant even filed a complaint other than the difference regarding recheck timeframes. They said that the complainant was apparently upset that two months were wasted in the dog's diagnosis and treatment, but the complainant never called to say there were any actual problems with the dog.
Christopher Paige likely isn't going to get in trouble with the state veterinary board unless he vivisects a cat on live television so none of this really matters anyway. He's one of the many mobile specialists in the area, one of the only cardiologists, and has ties or affiliations all over the place: VetMed, VCA, Midwestern University, the Animal Medical and Surgical Center, 1st Pet, and a variety of side hustles and consultancy jobs in the veterinary sector. In effect, he is the standard of care incarnate—veterinary cardiology's personal Jesus.
| Source: | April 4, 2021 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Christopher Paige | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Recused |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | May 5, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | J Greg Byrne |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Absent |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.