Cliff the C.Diff Dog
It turns out dogs can smell C. diff. In fact, one dog named Cliff can use his superior sense of smell to sniff out early signs of this problematic infection. A Dutch team spent two months using a reward-based training system to teach Cliff to pick up the unique odor of C. difficile, both in stool samples and among patients themselves. Cliff was successful in identifying C. difficile patients 83 percent of the time. I am not sure how feasible it is to have a dog on staff that will smell the asses of patients as they come in through the door, though. More importantly, however, there is a joke in here somewhere. Please list your one-liners in the comment section so we can see which one of you is the funniest. For example:
ER Receptionist: “Are you here for an illness or injury, sir?”
Patient: “Neither, I’m just here for the dog”.
“Okay, now if you would please roll over… No, not you, Cliff. I was talking to Mr Johnson”
New instruction on the Hemoccult card:
“Please do not place developer on sample until dog has sniffed it and given results”.
“I need your insurance card and photo ID, and then you need to let our practice’s dog “Buttster” greet you in the usual way dogs do that–please get on your hands and knees, facing away from the dog….”
Should be a Labrador Retriever so you can bill for the “lab” test.
Oooh… I like that! My Black Lab (Clyde) is an unrepentant butt sniffer.
Doug’s reference article called it a “pet scan”, so if you just happen to capitalize all the letters in the procedure note…
by the end of the year, your practice could afford to feed the dog (and yourself) some really good kibble.
A new take on the “whiff test”?
“whiff test” by Proxy (or whatever the dog’s name is)
Will the AMA have to append the CPT (Canine Procedural Terminology) manual?
Oh, there are so many more, but I’ll throw a bone and give others a chance to play…
Oooh… I like that! My Black Lab (Clyde) is an unrepentant butt sniffer.
Doug’s reference article called it a “pet scan”, so if you just happen to capitalize all the letters in the procedure note…
by the end of the year, your practice could afford to feed the dog (and yourself) some really good kibble.