Benefits of Our In-House Pharmacy
Knowledge – Our veterinarians and staff are trained and knowledgeable about the proper use, safety and benefits of any given veterinary pharmaceutical including extra-label use which is routine in veterinary medicine. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are not trained in veterinary pharmaceuticals nor veterinary medicine – limiting their knowledge and insight.
Flexibility - By filling your pet’s medication in house, we maintain a record of refills and can be more assured that your pet is receiving his/her medication on schedule as needed. This information can also allow us to be more flexible concerning exam and testing requirements. When prescriptions are filled at retail pharmacies, we have no access to refill information.
True Convenience - In most every pet prescription situation, there is no need to spend time waiting for your pets’ prescription to be authorized, filled and/or delivered by a third-party pharmacy. Call or text us with your refill request and it will be waiting for you or filled within minutes of you stepping into the office. In all honesty, we enjoy seeing you. Or consider our online Vetsource pharmacy for private home delivery which provides the same comprehensive services as our in-house pharmacy.
Product Guaranty – We stand behind our products. Furthermore, guaranties offered by manufacturers are often only supported if the medication is purchased through a veterinary clinic and the patient’s medical records support the product’s purchase and accurate administration.
Shop Local – By purchasing from our pharmacy you provide revenue to support the maintenance of our facility and equipment and help provide for the salaries our dedicated staff that truly care about and know your pet(s). With us, you are doing business with neighbors and friends, not a distant corporation.
Pharmacy Policy
At minimum a yearly comprehensive exam and appropriate lab (blood) work is necessary for prescriptions to insure that patients are in optimum health and receiving the proper medication at a safe and effective dosage.
Why Examination Every 12 Months?
It is the law. By law a pet must be examined by a veterinarian to establish and/or continue a valid VCPR. What is a VCPR? The VCPR is the veterinarian-client-patient relationship. Therefore, as previously stated, by law, veterinarians must examine patients at minimum once yearly to continue to prescribe and/or distribute prescription medications to their patients. Failure to do so risks the veterinarian’s license and career.
On a medical standpoint, we need to be assured that your pet continues to be in optimum health; medications are performing as expected; your pet is still in your possession and living in your household; your pet’s weight has not changed; and proper lab testing has been performed.
Written & Online Prescription Policies
Written Prescriptions Requested at Time of Exam
We respect the rights of our clients to obtain their pets’ medications from the pharmacy of their choice. At your request, we do not hesitate to call in prescriptions. If you prefer a written prescription, please state so and we will gladly provide it. However, know that depending on clinic patient care demands written prescriptions may be provided immediately or delayed 3 to 5 days.
NOTE: We cannot replace lost or misplaced prescriptions. Nor will we write new prescriptions if you choose to change pharmacies. In the event you must change pharmacies, you will need to contact the original pharmacy to have the prescription transferred. This policy, although inconvenient, is necessary to ensure excessive prescriptions are not acquired and to reserve staff time for caring for the pets we see daily.
Written Prescriptions Requested Outside of Exam
To process these requests requires staff review and subsequent doctor review of your pet’s records, approval of the prescription, preparation of the written prescription and notation of said prescription within your pet’s records. To partially recover the cost of preparation, there is a minimum $20.00 fee for written prescriptions. Additional fees may apply if multiple prescriptions per pet or multiple pets is requested.
NOTE: We cannot replace lost or misplaced prescriptions. We will not write new prescriptions if you choose to change pharmacies. In the event you must change pharmacies, you will need to contact the original pharmacy to have the prescription transferred. This policy, although inconvenient, is necessary to ensure excessive prescriptions are not acquired and to reserve staff time for caring for the pets we see daily.
Online Pharmacy Request Policy
We highly recommend that you limit your online pharmaceutical purchases to be solely from our own Vetsource online pharmacy. The products on this site have been “vetted”, provide a convenient delivery service and most importantly offer many of the same Benefits of Our In-House Pharmacy.
If you chose to purchase from another online pharmacy such as 1-800-PetMeds or Chewy, we will honor your request. However, know that 1) our Therapeutic Lab Testing Schedules as noted below will be strictly enforced 2) we will not stand behind any so purchased product’s integrity and/or claims 3) that authorizing online prescription requests is not our veterinarians’ nor staff members’ primary concern when it comes to both time and effort. Expect that approvals may be delayed as long as 5-7 days.