OUTSIDE/ONLINE PHARMACY POLICY
We understand that there are many reasons that our clients may want to purchase medications from online retailers or outside pharmacies instead of directly from us. To assist you in making the most informed decision for your pet, we want to be very clear that we recommend that you purchase products only from a properly accredited and certified veterinary pharmacy. However, if you choose to procure medications from another source we want to give you that option.
Starting November 1, 2020 we will no longer approve prescription requests from outside pharmacies by phone, email, or fax. This DOES NOT mean that you cannot get your pet’s medication from an outside pharmacy. We will issue you a hand written prescription. This prescription can then be taken or mailed to any pharmacy of your choosing. Each pharmacy has their own policies as to how they process written prescriptions. Make sure to check with the pharmacy you plan on using in advance so there won’t be any lapse in medications if they require you to mail in the hand written prescription. The only exception to this policy will be the prescriptions we contact the compounding pharmacy for specific medication formulations for your pet(s).
Why did we institute this policy? We did so for a few reasons listed below:
- First, we are choosing to spend our time focusing on taking care of patients and clients instead of answering faxes, emails, and phone requests from outside pharmacies.
- Second, managing outside prescriptions is costly in terms of staff time and effort and as a business we do not recoup these costs. It takes a significant amount of time to review medical records, ensure proper documentation of the medication request, and call/fax in the prescription. Outside pharmacies send the exact same request multiple times per day. It is not uncommon for us to receive the same request three times in one 8 hour period. That means in just 24- 48 hours our staff members have had to stop what they are doing to review, find, make sure a single outside prescription request is in process to be approved or denied six times or more.
- Third, it is better medicine with written documentation of a prescription that is filled outside of our hospital.
Our team is always working hard to meet you and your pets needs efficiently, and while a prescription may seem like a simple task, that simply is not the case. We receive so many prescription refill requests both in office and from outside pharmacies that the Veterinarians would be unable to perform daily tasks such as appointments and treating their patients if they took the time to address them as they arrive. It is for this reason that we require 48-72 hours for approval. This will not change with the policy change. It will still take up to 72 hours for your written prescription to be ready for pick up. Please keep in mind that your Veterinarian may not work every day of the week and if we are closed on weekends, this may increase the amount of time it takes to get approval.
As a small business we do our best to keep our costs as competitive as we can. If you want the convenience of ordering online and getting your medications shipped directly to you, but you want the peace of mind of knowing your pets medications are coming from a reputable source, we have an online pharmacy that works directly with veterinarians and the manufacturer of the medications. They offer competitive pricing, discounts for first time and repeated customers. The pharmacy is called Vetsource and can be found on our website or by click this link PAHVetsource.
As a small business we do our best to keep our costs as competitive as we can. If you want the convenience of ordering online and getting your medications shipped directly to you, but you want the peace of mind of knowing your pets medications are coming from a reputable source, we have an online pharmacy that works directly with veterinarians and the manufacturer of the medications. They offer competitive pricing, discounts for first time and repeated customers. The pharmacy is called Vetsource and can be found on our website or by click this link PAHVetsource.
