We understand that there are many reasons our clients may wish to purchase medications from online retailers or third party pharmacies instead of directly from us. To assist you in making the most informed decision for your pet, we would like to be very clear that we recommend that you purchase products only from a properly accredited and certified veterinary pharmacy. Should you choose to obtain medications from another source, we will, of course, continue to give you that option.

We absolutely support our client’s right to choose where they obtain their pet’s medications, and are happy to accommodate a client’s request to shop where they wish. Clients who opt to obtain their pet’s medication through third party vendors will simply need to pick up a written prescription at our hospital during normal business hours.

Why did we institute this policy?

Because as an animal hospital, we have chosen to spend our time focusing on providing the best care for our patients and clients instead of answering numerous faxes and calling pharmacies from Florida to Maine.

Managing outside prescriptions is costly in terms of staff time and effort and distracts from patient care. It takes a significant amount of time to review medical records, ensure proper documentation of the medication request, and then call/fax in the prescription. Therefore, we have decided to charge a small fee for the time it takes our staff to manage outside prescription requests and to do so only in writing.

The second reason for our policy update is that we consider it to be more in keeping with our best practices protocol to maintain proper written documentation of all prescriptions filled outside of our hospital. We have serious concerns with the possibility of prescription errors when relaying your pets medical information over the phone to pharmacists more accustomed to dealing with human dosages and compounds. However, we will be happy to provide you with a written prescription if you wish to use an outside pharmacy or online retailer to purchase the medication Dr Zuercher has prescribed for your pet for a condition that was diagnosed during a recent visit, or for a preventative medication for a pet that has been examined within the past 12 months. Just let us know!

Finally, we understand that cost is a consideration when our clients choose to purchase from third party pharmacies and online retailers. We do our very best to keep our medications and preventatives affordable, with either minimal margins or none at all. We also compare prices weekly with online providers to make sure that our prices remain competitive.

We encourage our clients to order medications and preventatives directly from us. Our hospital’s supply chain is 100% secure. From the time the medication you order is manufactured, all the way to when you administer it to your pet, it has been handled, stored, and packaged in compliance with manufacturer guidelines. The product you receive is guaranteed to be the name-brand medication in the proper dosage and packaging. Medications purchased directly from us are guaranteed by the product's manufacturer and most importantly by us, your pet's veterinarian.

If you have and further questions about our policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for entrusting us with your pet's medical care!

Sincerely

Dr Zuercher and the entire staff of the All Animal Care Clinic