Forms
- VMTH Referral Form
- Critical Care Nutrition Consultation Request Form
- Owner Diet History Form
- Telemedicine Consent Form
* Note: The referral forms are completed by the veterinarian or veterinary team and the diet history and telemedicine form are completed by the owner.
We also request at least a CBC, chemistry, Urinalysis from within the last 6 months plus any additional diagnostics or labs completed that are pertinent to the case
Resources
- https://www.purinainstitute.com/
- https://aavnutrition.org/
- https://www.nutritioncare.org/
- Royal Canin Academy
FAQs
Who are the members of the Veterinary Nutrition Service (VNS) team?
— Katie Tolbert, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Nutrition, SAIM), Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® – Director & Associate Professor of Veterinary Nutrition
— Ashley Self, MS, LVT, VTS (Nutrition) – Assistant Director of Veterinary Nutrition
— Learn more about our team.
What days is the VNS available for consultations with referring veterinary practice team members or clients?
— New consultations with either a referring veterinary practice team member or a client are available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
— Recheck and follow-up appointments are available on Mondays and Thursdays.
— Note: This schedule may be adjusted for extended periods of leave, such as holidays or continuing education.
What type of consultation services does the Veterinary Nutrition Service offer to referring veterinarians?
— Consultations with referring veterinary practice team members by scheduled appointment for commercial diet recommendations
— Consultations with clients by scheduled appointment for homemade or commercial diet recommendations
— Consultations and follow-ups for critical care patients (pertaining to feeding tubes and parenteral support, for example)
How can a referring veterinary practice team member reach the VNS if they have questions not covered by this FAQ?
— You may email us at vetnutrition@tamu.edu.
— You may call us at 979.862.2861 and request to speak with a VNS team member. Pending our team’s availability, you may be asked to leave a voicemail and receive a callback.
—You may also visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu/nutrition.
Does the VNS see only remote cases?
— The majority of our external consult requests are remote and completed via phone or Zoom with either a referring veterinary practice team member or a client, depending on the type of consultation requested.
— If a client is local to the Bryan/College Station area and would like to be seen in person, we do offer in-person consultations. However, time slots are based on team availability, so the wait may be extended for an in-person appointment. Please be sure to note that an in-person consultation is requested in your referral communications.
I’m a referring veterinary practice team member (a veterinarian or a licensed veterinary technician) and would like to speak directly with a VNS team member about how to support a patient with a commercial diet recommendation. What is the process for this?
— Step 1: Complete the VMTH Referral Form and request a nutrition consultation with a referring veterinary practice team member.
— Step 2: Include, at minimum, a CBC, chemistry, and UA from within the last 6 months, as well as any additional pertinent medical records.
— Step 3: A client liaison will reach out to the referring veterinary practice team member to schedule a time to discuss the case and provide nutrition recommendations (with the referring veterinary practice team member, NOT the client). The appointment will not be scheduled without having received the following: referral form and minimum lab documentation (see step 2).
— Step 4: After your discussion with a member of the VNS team, the referring veterinary practice will be charged a consultation fee, depending on the case’s complexity. Please note that we charge the clinic and the clinic is responsible for charging these fees to the owner as appropriate.
We have a patient who would benefit from a homemade diet, and/or the client would like to provide a homemade diet for their pet. What is the process for requesting an appointment for the client with the VNS?
— Step 1: Complete the VMTH Referral Form and request a nutrition consultation with a client for homemade diet recommendations.
— Step 2: Include, at minimum, a CBC, chemistry, and UA from within the last 6 months, as well as any additional pertinent medical records.
— Step 3: The client must complete BOTH the Diet History Form and the VNS Telemedicine Consent Form and email them to vetnutrition@tamu.edu before receiving a phone call from a client liaison to schedule an appointment.
— Step 4: Once all documents and medical records have been received (referral form, pertinent and required medical records, diet history form, and telemedicine consent form), a client liaison will call the client directly to schedule an appointment with the VNS.
— Step 5: At the time of booking with our client liaison, the client’s email will be confirmed, and a Zoom link will be sent to the owner if they have selected a Zoom consultation (versus phone or in-person). No charges will be incurred until after the formal appointment has taken place. If the client schedules an appointment and does not show up, they will be charged a no-show fee. They must call to cancel or reschedule the appointment to avoid the no-show fee.
— Step 6: The VNS requires a mandatory recheck appointment with the client 4–6 weeks after starting homemade diet recommendations. This recheck ensures that the diet is being followed as outlined in the initial plan and allows us to assess the progress, make any necessary adjustments, and address any questions or challenges the client and/or patient might be facing. This recheck will be scheduled by the client liaison at the time of booking the initial appointment. There is a minimum fee for recheck appointments.
If we have a client who would like to provide a homemade diet for their pet and/or the pet would benefit from a homemade diet, can the consultation be with the referring veterinary practice team member (NOT the client) to provide the recommendations?
— Due to the intricacies of a homemade diet, we currently only consult with the client via a referral and scheduled appointment.
— We do NOT provide homemade diets directly to referring veterinary practice team members.
Following a referral to work directly with a client for a homemade diet recommendation, how will the referring veterinary practice team know what recommendations were provided to the client?
— Once the formal appointment with the client has been completed (we ask for up to 10 business days to complete our written recommendations), the finalized documents will be emailed directly to the client AND the referring veterinary practice.
— If an email is NOT provided on the referral form for the referring veterinary practice, you will NOT receive the final recommendations.
— The email provided on the referral form is the email that will also receive formal updates.
I have a patient who is requesting an appointment with the VNS, but the wait time for their appointment is longer than we, the referring veterinary practice team, are comfortable with. Is there an option to have the patient seen sooner than the first available appointment due to the disease state?
— If you have a patient who would greatly benefit from being seen prior to the first available new consult slot, please email the VNS at vetnutrition@tamu.edu with your request.
— An additional “priority fee” will be added to the client’s overall appointment fees to establish their appointment priority and book them promptly from the time of the request.
What are the fees for direct-to-client consultations?
— Every new appointment with a client will incur, at minimum, the nutrition consultation fee. The nutrition consultation fee covers:
1. time spent reviewing medical records and formulating the best approach and
2. the 45-minute consultation appointment with the client.
— If the client decides to pursue a commercial diet plan or a homemade diet plan, fees for writing those plans are in addition to the consult fee.
— If you have any questions about fees for your client, please contact the VNS for an estimate prior to referring the case.
New Client Appointment Fee Schedule:
— Nutrition consultation: $450
— Written commercial diet plan: $175
— Written commercial weight-loss plan: $175
— Written homemade diet plan: $300
* Every case requires the nutrition consultation fee of $450 plus the fee for any additional written diet plan selected.
Does the VNS provide critical care nutrition consultations?
— Yes! We provide consultations for all enteral feeding tube types as well as parenteral support.
— Step 1: To request support, please complete and submit the Critical Care Nutrition Consultation Request Form via email to vetnutrition@tamu.edu. Critical care consults must be requested by 1 p.m. Central time to receive same-day recommendations. Anything submitted after 1 p.m. Central time will be completed the following business day.
— Step 2: In addition, please provide pertinent medical records with the Critical Care Nutrition Consultation Request Form. Consultations will not be provided without receiving the additional medical record information.
— Note: If additional phone communication is necessary to provide advanced nutrition support and there is difficulty streamlining communication to the referring veterinarian, this may cause a delay in receiving the nutrition recommendations.
Our practice submitted a critical care consult request; how will we receive the final recommendations?
— If you submit the Critical Care Nutrition Consultation Request Form prior to 1 p.m. Central time, you will receive formal recommendations via email to the email address provided on the form by the end of the day.
— If you submit the form after 1 p.m. central time, you will receive recommendations the following business day.
Our practice is discharging a patient with a feeding tube. Are there support services available through the VNS to assist with at-home feeding tube recommendations and management once discharged from our practice?
— Yes! You can request a post-discharge follow-up with the client and patient from the VNS.
— When submitting the initial Critical Care Nutrition Consultation Request Form, please include that you would like the VNS to provide follow-up for the client and patient.
— You must provide an expected discharge date and update us if the date changes. Our client liaison will schedule the follow-up based on your timeline.
— 30-minute critical care follow-up appointments with clients and pets can be in person or via Zoom, and there is a minimum fee.
What are the fees associated with critical care nutrition consultations?
Critical Care Nutrition Fee Schedule:
— Critical Care Nutrition Plan – Nasal Tube (no client communication): $120
— Critical Care Nutrition Plan – E-tube (no client communication, includes written to-go-home plan): $175
— Critical Care Nutrition Plan – G-tube (no client communication, includes written to-go-home plan): $175
— Critical Care Nutrition Plan – Parenteral: $120–300
— Critical Care Nutrition Plan – Parenteral to Enteral Transition: $150
— Client & Pet Critical Care Follow-Up (30-minutes): $125
1. Requires initial Critical Care Nutrition Plan from VNS.
2. VNS assists the client with feeding questions, modifications, etc.
3. To be scheduled 3 days following hospital discharge (no weekends or holidays).
Contact Us
Contact Details
Tel: 979.862.2861
Fax: 979.862.2864
Email: vetnutrition@tamu.edu
Service Area: Worldwide
Our Hours
Monday–Thursday
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Emergency consultations may be provided outside of normal business hours upon specific request and for additional fees.
Mailing Address
Veterinary Nutrition
Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
4474 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-4474
Physical Address
Nutrition Service
Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital
408 Raymond Stotzer Pkwy
College Station, TX 77845
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