I spend half my life writing up, reading, or moving medical records so I thought I would write about why these documents are so important to doctors.

Medical records are the documents created during or after your consultation with the vet (or doctor, dentist, chiropractor, physio etc). They include the pertinent information about your pet’s visit such as findings of the physical exam, diagnosis, (what may be potentially wrong) prognosis (what is likely to happen in the future) and medications prescribed. They also include the next planned course of action if the treatment given does not solve the issue. They are written in a way that any professional in the field could read and understand them (vet speak).

The medical records contain the reminders for preventive treatments such as vaccinations, deworming, blood testing etc, so that they are not missed. They contain alerts, such as “this animal is allergic to penicillin”, which prevents the wrong medications being used in that patient.

Often the vet who sees the animal in the visit may not be the vet who operates on him to remove say, the lump that has been found. In these cases, the medical record is the vital link between doctors, which describes the exact location, size, shape, and consistency of the lump to be removed. The owner may know the lump is on the left hind leg, but the doctor will describe it in the records as a 3cm, well circumscribed, smooth, sub cuticular mass on the lateral aspect of the left tarsus. (Vet speak is like another language but it is vital to the clarity of descriptions between doctors.) It will also allow the surgeon to plan for the surgery carefully in advance so there are no surprises.

If an owner is wanting a second opinion on their animal’s condition, the medical record provides the first opinion of the referring vet. The second opinion vet reads the detailed first opinion, examines the animal, and can then tell the owner if they agree with the first opinion, or if they would like more testing to be done.

The medical record saves the client from spending money on repeated tests as all the test results are contained in the medical records. It also tells the second vet what medications have been prescribed so they don’t give something else that may clash with medications already being used. There may be reasons why certain medications cannot be used, such as with renal disease. Many medications are metabolised through the kidneys so if the kidneys are not working properly, you want to avoid these medications in that patient.

The final, and possibly most important role of the medical record in the veterinary world, is that it defines who has the “duty of care”. This means, who is responsible for providing treatment for that animal in an emergency situation. The vet who has the records also has the duty of care and must provide 24/7 emergency cover for that animal. If you as an owner ask for the records to be sent to another vet, the duty of care goes with them. This is to ensure that your animal is never without emergency veterinary cover, which you will be grateful for should an emergency situation arise.

Nowadays most medical records are digital, so it is easy to send them between vets, and we are happy to do so to keep your animal’s medical record intact and to keep your precious pet safe from harm.

• Lucy Richardson graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005. She started CedarTree Vets in August 2012 with her husband, Mark. They live at the practice with their two children, Ray and Stella, and their dog, two cats and two guinea pigs. Dr Lucy is also the FEI national head veterinarian for Bermuda