BAD VET! Another Negative BluePearl Review

Feline Care at BluePearl?
In the last year, our two 18-year-old cats, Fireball and Chef, began developing the usual maladies expected for felines at that age. In Fireball's case, we were informed by our regular vet that she apparently had terminal stomach cancer and would likely need to be euthanized in a few weeks’ time. When pressed for other options, she could only suggest that we seek more aggressive (and more expensive) treatment methods at BluePearl Pet Hospital, a premium care 24-hour “Center for Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Care” (sometimes incorrectly spelled as "Blue Pearl"). We decided to work with BluePearl, and despite their (and our) efforts, Fireball passed away roughly 6 months later. There was no evidence of malpractice so we simply accepted Fireball’s passing due to her advanced age. Half a year later, Fireball’s litter-mate brother Chef began developing signs of illness as well, which BluePearl diagnosed as either kidney failure, bladder cancer, liver dysfunction or anemia, depending who we spoke to at BluePearl at any given time. In any case, after a couple of overnight stays, Chef passed as well. Again, there was no apparent evidence of malfeasance on the part of the medical staff. However, in retrospect it is clear that there were many unpleasant “fumbles” during Fireball and Chef’s treatments at BluePearl which now make us call into question the quality of their services, and even the reason for their very existence.

What Is BluePearl?
On BluePearl’s website, it is stated that BluePearl Veterinary Partners is a "national network of specialty and emergency pet hospitals.” The site also claims that BluePearl hospitals are usually open 24 hours, staffed with “many” board-certified specialists and emergency vets who use “innovative techniques” and “advanced diagnostics” (with some facilities employing CT scanners, MRIs and ultrasound machines). They also frequently participate in “clinical trials” (i.e., test out new drugs on client patients so that pharmaceutical companies can gather research data for free).

Forcing Pet Owners to Pay Exorbitant Fees
BluePearl's service fees are extremely high, and are comparable to those found in human hospitals. From a pet-owner perspective, BluePearl's emergency and advanced treatment options amount to a form of ransom: either gamble thousands of dollars in order to try and save your beloved pet’s life, or accept a lifetime’s worth of guilt for placing the value of your bank account over that of your loved one. This problematic choice between exorbitant fees and a loved one’s life also exists in the human healthcare system, but at least for some of the human population healthcare costs are subsidized by insurance plans, and the insurance marketplace probably helps to reign in out-of-control rate schedules (somewhat). Unfortunately, veterinary costs have no such insurance cushion (or at least nothing meaningful), and naturally there is also no marketplace pressure to cap fees. Neither is there any form of oversight regulating the quality of their “premium” services. 

Essentially, BluePearl is a self-acknowledged “for-profit” company. Although BluePearl hospitals do try to attract veterinary specialists to fill their staff, its primary objective is to make a profit.

Premium Fees Fail to Deliver a Premium Service
Now, if we set aside the price-gouging aspect described above and allow the exorbitant costs associated with BluePearl’s services, it should be expected that clients should receive a premium service commensurate with the premium fees charged. Obviously BluePearl can't guarantee a positive outcome, but if a client is paying premium prices going into thousands of dollars, BluePearl should be responsible for delivering the highest quality care and efficiency that money can buy. Unfortunately, even in this arena BluePearl has had a disappointing history in our experience (and in those of many others).

BluePearl’s Reputation
Although there are other emergency care veterinary hospitals in existence, since 2016 or so BluePearl seems to have established a nationwide footprint, and to all appearances maintains a healthy daily volume of clients seeking specialty and emergency care. However, this positive reputation stands in contrast to largely negative reviews found online (which far outweigh positive reviews). For various reasons, online reviews cannot replace a dedicated regulatory agency, and so a "grain of salt" must be taken with some of these complaints. However, it is meaningful that the number of BluePearl’s “horror stories” greatly outweighs the number of negative reviews found for comparable veterinary facilities (even on a percentage basis). 

It is also worth noting that BluePearl’s “mistakes” have resulted in a several “activist” movements online which seek to gain “justice” for an apparently mistreated patient (https://www.facebook.com/Justiceforjasperpage/). Perhaps the most high-profile dent in BluePearl’s reputation came when a pet “Instagram star” was the victim of a bungled “routine precautionary procedure” and died for no reason (in this case BluePearl publicly owned up to their failure and promised to take steps to prevent future mistakes of this nature, https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/10/27/chloe-the-mini-frenchie-dies/). Another incident in 2018 resulted in a 5 million dollar lawsuit (https://pagesix.com/2018/02/05/power-couple-sues-nyc-animal-hospital-for-5-million/). Even more recently in 2020, a BluePearl clinic has been accused of delinquency when it refused to admit a shot police dog in a timely manner (the dog subsequently died, https://www.odmp.org/k9/1767-k9-ronja). BluePearl’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/BluePearlPetHospital/community/) also contains no shortage of horror stories in its Community section. Another interesting page exists at https://www.facebook.com/bluepearlvethorrorstories/.

Despite a groundswell of complaints and stories of mistreatment at BluePearl facilities around the nation, BluePearl somehow continues to be held in high regard by many regular vets. One can only assume that they have a full-time public relations staff. Their website is well-designed and their client-facing offices have excellent lighting and shiny floors. Its likely that these surface details induce a sense of confidence in potential clients and veterinary partners. However, as described earlier, a simple search on the web and on social media reveals an unusually high number of angry and distraught pet owners, frequently accusing BluePearl of directly or indirectly causing their loved ones’ death.

Our Experience
Based on earlier emergency visits to Manhattan's downtown BluePearl hospital, we have known that they are prohibitively expensive (although we were unaware of the many negative reviews which exist for BluePearl online). Nonetheless, based on our vet's recommendation we began working with BluePearl for Fireball's treatment. Ultimately, we spent $13,000 at BluePearl before Fireball’s passing. When our male cat Chef also fell ill, we were again directed to BluePearl. Chef’s care (2 overnight visits) cost $7,000 before we were instructed to euthanize him. 

Although our beloved pets passed away while being treated by BluePearl, but we think it’s a stretch to claim that BluePearl “killed them”, simply because our pets were already in their senior years. However we did experience enough "red flag" incidents while working with BluePearl which prevent us from recommending BluePearl as a premium care animal hospital. These problems are in addition to the problematic "ransom syndrome" which forces clients to satisfy the exorbitant fees they demand. The issues described below are mostly related to “quality of service” issues which, based on dozens of interactions with BluePearl’s staff, is frankly on par with that of a city-funded low-income dental clinic. The difference of course, is that clients of these lower-rung municipal clinics are not forced to pay $10,000 for a tooth extraction.

Fireball’s Case History (Sept 2019-Feb 2020)
In Sept of 2019, a mass in Fireball’s stomach was detected (through palpitation and by ultrasound) by our vet. BluePearl proceeded to try and determine if the mass was a carcinoma, a lymphoma, or merely an irritated bowel. Tissue samples were obtained through various methods (needle aspiration and endoscopic biopsies) but BluePearl was unable to define the nature of Fireball’s malady (due to inconsistent values obtained from the examination of different test samples). BluePearl’s oncologist, "Dr X", explained that they could also try an invasive surgical procedure to get more definitive results, but this would cost 10 thousand dollars more than the 4 thousand we’d already spent, and have its own set of health risks, especially due to Fireball’s advanced age. Dr X agreed with our choice to pass on the surgical procedure and first treat Fireball for irritable bowel syndrome as a best case scenario. After several weeks Fireball’s mass only increased in size, so a program of chemotherapy was then instituted. Although Dr X still did not know the exact nature of the mass, it was hoped that through trial and error some form of treatment could produce results. Unfortunately, after a few months of chemo Fireball expired, apparently from an internal rupture caused by the mass in her stomach. At this point we have no strong reason to fault Dr X for Fireball’s death. However, during this experience we encountered other troublesome issues with BluePearl’s quality of service which are described below.

1. During one chemotherapy session, Fireball’s distress/discomfort was expressed through frequent meowing in her cage. This reaction was recorded by a staff member on her iPhone and then later played back to me and described as “adorable” when I picked her up from her chemo session. Firstly, it seems that Fireball’s needs were being ignored, and at no time did any of the staff tell me prior to this encounter that Fireball had been anything less than “great” (i.e., not unhappy). Secondly, having technicians record my beloved pet while in distress on their personal mobile devices does not sit well with me. This kind of incident brings to mind comparable personal privacy indiscretions made upon women in human hospitals.

2. One time when picking up Fireball from a chemo appointment, I saw that the door to her cage carrier had not been fully secured. For this cage door to operate correctly, a dial must be turned to lock it in place. The door was closed but the dial had not been turned (and thus the door could easily be opened by a slight push). It’s troubling to know that a staff which must handle dozens of pet carriers a day could not figure out how to secure a common cat carrier.

3. When picking up Fireball from chemo appointments (typically requiring a 5-10 hour stay), a receptionist calls a technician to bring up my pet. The receptionist does this on a PA system. Unfortunately, half the time this announcement is ignored by the back staff. On more than one occasion I waited more than 20 minutes before I was forced to ask the receptionist to prompt the staff (again) for Fireball’s release. The receptionist then made direct phone calls to someone downstairs. He then told me that "they forgot". A premium service should have a much more efficient system for handling such a simple task as bringing a pet up to the reception area.

4. The phone lines at BluePearl are notoriously bad. The sound coming from their end frequently cuts out. This may be due to the construction going on outside their office, which started in the latter part of 2019 and as of this writing (August 2020) is still going on. Now, with the onset of Covid-19, clients are only allowed to speak to staff and doctors by phone as they wait outside the office. The loud construction noise in front of BluePearl’s office frequently makes this a frustrating experience. This kind of potential for miscommunication is annoying when ordering a pizza, but when discussing life and death options for a loved one it is not acceptable, especially at premium prices.

5. At one point during Fireball's chemotherapy (November 2020), BluePearl charged almost double (> $500) the actual service charge that we were informed of ahead of time. This was eventually corrected when I inquired about this issue and attributed to a technician “mix-up” related to containers for chemotherapy agents. The problems with this scenario hardly need to be explained.

6. It is also worth mentioning that pricing for any kind of medication is highly inflated at BluePearl. This was clearly demonstrated when I asked for a refill of Prednisolone to save me a 4-block walk to my regular vet. Little did I know that the fee would be 4x higher than that normally charged by my vet. Being that the medication was of the exact same grade as that obtained at a much lower price, the level of fee inflation is not justified.

7. During chemotherapy, body weight is one measure of a drug's efficacy. Over the last 5 years I have monitored Fireball’s weight at home on a digital scale. My readings are consistent with those obtained by our regular vet during checkups. They were also consistent with BluePearl’s readings during most of our 5-month experience there. One time, the weight value obtained by BluePearl was unexpectedly low,  by an entire pound and a half. Although the values from BluePearl and my own measurements were usually in line, in this case their low measurement was not reflected in my own readings (and my own visual inspection). I mentioned this to the oncologist, Dr X. In any case, BluePearl’s dipping weight measurements were used to inform Fireball’s next treatment. Fireball’s condition soon deteriorated and she died. There is no proof that a mistake made by a technician led to an inaccurate treatment plan. However, I do not feel my concerns were adequately addressed. To my knowledge, Fireball was not re-weighed, and the scale was not rechecked for calibration issues.

8. Finally, a more general problem, which is of a more systemic and value-based nature, rather than one of quality control. The initial diagnostic test phase cost me more than 4 thousand dollars. Unfortunately, all of these fees (as well as the discomfort to Fireball) produced no results which could be useful towards defining a clear treatment plan. From a client perspective, all of the expenditure going towards this initial diagnosis was a waste of money, since a “trial and error” approach was ultimately settled upon. In other words, it is problematic that we (the client) were never informed of the possibility that we would spend 4 thousand dollars with nothing to show for it.

Chef’s Case History (Aug 2020)
After Fireball’s death, her brother Chef soon became ill as well. Although his blood levels were normal in June, by July he was having problems seemingly-related to UTI. After our regular vet gave Chef an antibiotic shot, he continued to deteriorate, until one night he began discharging pools of bright red blood through his urethra. At BluePearl, Chef was given fluids and then an ultrasound the next day. The ultrasound revealed a mass in his bladder, as well as swelling of the bladder lining. A biopsy of the mass was taken by needle aspiration to determine if Chef had bladder cancer. While waiting for results, the internist ("Dr Y") prescribed a regimen of antibiotics, different than the one administered by our regular vet only 3 or 4 days before. The biopsy did not show any signs of cancer so it was suggested that Chef’s issue was an infection of some sort. Soon other problems cropped which were identified variously as an abnormal liver, spinal cord dysfunction, anemia, and advanced kidney failure. In any case, we were advised to euthanize Chef, which we did the next evening. Below are some of the troublesome issues encountered with BluePearl during this particular case.

9. Upon discharge, we were given 2 medications to administer to Chef (the antibiotic Clavamox and a painkiller). No instructions were given as to whether an at home dosage of either was required for that night. I was forced to call BluePearl to confirm his dosage instructions for that evening. At first the receptionist told me that no further dosage was needed for that day. One minute later he changed his mind and told me that Chef did require another dosage of both drugs that evening. Firstly, the discharge instructions were incomplete regarding the continuation of Chef’s dosing schedule at home. Secondly, it seems that the person I spoke to did not check Chef’s records before giving me his first answer, but then decided to “go the extra mile” and actually look up his chart and read the dosing schedule, after which he corrected his earlier response. As a premium hospital, BluePearl should not have such a confused/delinquent staff member.

10. The package of the antibiotic (ClavamoxDrops) contained a glass bottle with liquid inside. The instructions printed on the outside of the container indicated that that water should be added to the bottle’s contents before being administered. Just in case, I called BluePearl and they forgot to inform me that they had already added water to the bottle’s contents before resealing the package and giving it to me. If I had not called them to clarify their inpatient actions then the dosage would have been dramatically weakened by the additional water I would have added. The Clavamox also requires a syringe in order for it to be properly administered (as per the receptionist). No syringe was supplied with our home kit. We were forced to buy our own syringe from a pharmacy. This is clearly another example of faulty/misleading discharge instructions as well as an incomplete discharge kit.

11. While waiting for Chef to be brought to me so that I could take him home, BluePearl asked me to pay an additional $893.17 for services rendered beyond what I had already paid for the previous day ($3530 upon admission). I paid it immediately and received an online receipt. About 9 hours later I called BluePearl because I had requested an itemized bill to be emailed to me and had not yet received one. The receptionist claimed that I had not paid the additional $893.17 incurred overnight. I insisted that I had and read off the email confirming payment. The receptionist then rechecked her records and after a short hold period admitted that I had indeed paid the requested amount. She then told me that she would send me the itemized bill (which soon arrived). In this episode, BluePearl’s accounting was (again) found to be inaccurate, and required my prompting (twice) for this oversight to be corrected. Additionally, it was very irritating to experience a certain lack of respect from the receptionist - she readily assumed that my claim of a satisfied balance was a lie and would only investigate further upon verbal pressure.  

12. On the day of Chef’s discharge (Aug 3), Chef’s internist told us that if the biopsy showed negative for cancer cells, then another ultrasound should be scheduled 7 days later (Aug 10), with the expectation that the antibiotic would reduce the bladder mass. The next day (Aug 4), I was informed that no cancer cells were found in the biopsy sample. On Aug 5, I responded to a Customer Satisfaction Survey in which I expressed disappointment regarding the clarity of the discharge instructions (see #10).

On Aug 6, as per the doctor’s instructions, I called BluePearl to schedule an ultrasound for Aug 10. On the day of the appointment (Aug 10), I called with an unrelated question and it came to my attention that they had no record of an ultrasound appointment for Chef that day. Somehow the appointment I had scheduled on Aug 6th had been marked down for Aug 31. Because of this scheduling error, BluePearl were unable to see Chef that day. They rescheduled the ultrasound for the following day. Considering that it was found necessary to euthanize Chef on the morning of the 12th, it is not unreasonable to consider the possibility that had Chef’s appointment on the 10th not been fumbled, then Chef’s life might have been saved by an earlier intervention. Additionally, the negative feedback I gave BluePearl just prior to their mis-scheduling of Chef’s ultrasound was only followed up on in a consolatory email after Chef had already died.

13. During Chef’s ultrasound on Aug 11, it was determined that Chef was in the late stages of kidney failure and needed to stay overnight again. Before departing, I complained to the desk person that our ultrasound appointment had been mis-scheduled and that this delay might have contributed towards Chef's fragile state. When I asked to be compensated for BluePearl’s mistake financially, I was referred to a supervisor. After a hold period, the supervisor told me that I was obligated to pay the full “estimated” price for Chef’s overnight care, but that the next day we could speak to the Practice Manager. The next day we heard that Chef needed to be euthanized. When we picked up Chef from BluePearl the technician told us that our “fee was refunded”. After Chef's death, I took a brief look at the bill that was sent to me from BluePearl and learned that no refund was given at all, only that the difference between the projected cost and what we overpaid the night before was refunded. In this case, my complaint was apparently never passed on to the Practice Manager, and my compensatory issues were defused through a misleading claim during our last office visit.

14. On Aug 12, Chef was taken home so that he could spend his last day in comfortable surroundings before being euthanized that night by a “house call” vet. In order to make the lethal injection more comfortable, BluePearl told us that they would leave Chef’s catheter in his leg so that the home vet would not have to cause Chef to suffer an additional needle puncture. During the procedure that night, the visiting vet told us that Chef would first be given a sedative as a precursor injection to the lethal one. When the doctor tried to inject the sedative into the catheter embedded in Chef’s leg, Chef reacted physically from pain. A second try produced the same result (a flinch from pain). The vet informed me that this was not a normal reaction, and was apparently caused by a fumbled catheter emplacement. Ultimately Chef was successfully euthanized when the vet found a secondary spot where he could access the catheter. It is upsetting that Chef’s final moments were preceded by distressing pain, the exact thing we were trying to avoid. Considering the visiting vet’s solid reputation, there is no reason to believe he was at fault in any way and I am firmly convinced that BluePearl fumbled yet again.

15. Moving backwards a few days, on the evening of Aug 4th I called with a question about the instructions given for Chef’s at-home care until his ultrasound (soon to be mis-scheduled from Aug 10 to Aug 31st, see #12). The receptionist said to call the next day when the internist would be in the office. On Aug 5th I called, but BluePearl informed me that the doctor who had prescribed the meds for Chef would not be in the office again until Mon (5 days later). I was unhappy with this answer and BluePearl stated that they would try to contact the doctor to get me an answer sooner. No answer ever came. It is unacceptable (especially at a premium care facility) that a patient cannot obtain guidance from a provider for almost a full week, simply because the patient’s internist is not scheduled to be on site for that period.

Conclusions
Obviously we would not seek Blue Pearl’s services ever again. Although we do not have enough evidence to support an outright accusation of medical malpractice, it’s clear from the 15 episodes described above that BluePearl is not nearly as professional as it would like to appear and therefore has no right to charge such outlandishly high fees for their services. For those still considering giving BluePearl a chance, it may be worthwhile to check the following online resources and then weigh your choice after reading the experiences of some other past clients of BluePearl. As pet owners ourselves, we understand the willingness to throw unreasonable amounts of money at a problem in order to make it go away, but at BluePearl there is a very good chance that an average expense of 10,000 dollars will be spent there, and you will still end up with a lost loved one.  

• The Better Business Bureau: https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/tampa/profile/veterinarian/bluepearl-specialty-emergency-pet-hospital-0653-62003917/customer-reviews
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bluepearl-downtown-new-york
• Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.bluepearlvet.com
• Reviews by current and former BluePearl staff members: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Bluepearl-Veterinary-Partners/reviews
• http://bluepearlvethorrorstories.com

 

Alternatives
Fortunately, in New York City there are several alternative emergency care clinics for pets which are open 24 hours a day. Like BluePearl, some of these charge some steep prices but in these clinics we have never experienced as great a disconnect between care and cost as we have at BluePearl.

• https://www.amcny.org/
• https://vcahospitals.com/manhattan-veterinary-group (also a corporate-driven pet hospital, but at least seemed OK based on our 1 ER visit)
• https://www.instavet.com/new-york-vet/
• https://bondvet.com/
• https://veterinaryemergencygroup.com/locations/ues-new-york-ny/

Note: As per BluePearl's request, we have redacted the names of the doctors who treated Fireball and Chef to "Dr X" and "Dr Y", especially as we do not believe they were at fault in any of their treatment therapies.

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