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Prescription Policy
A complete exam and appropriate, current blood work, is necessary to fill most prescriptions.
Although retail pharmacies may offer veterinary-specific medications, oftentimes, processing and shipping cause significant delays in your pet receiving the medications they need.
Keep in Mind Retail Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians are not trained in Veterinary Pharmacology.
In order for us to provide you with a written prescription for a retail pharmacy, federal and state laws require a valid patient-client relationship. To comply with these regulations, the following will be required for us to provide you with a prescription to be filled by a retail pharmacy.
A complete physical exam of your pet by one of our staff veterinarians will be necessary every 6-12 months depending on the medication.
Antibiotics and anti-fungal medications will always require examination prior to refilling.
Prescriptions will be written with the number of refills your pet’s doctor deems appropriate.
Heartworm and Flea Preventives may be written for 1 year.
Appropriate monitoring blood work must be performed prior to refills
Benefits of Our Pharmacy and Our Online Pharmacy
Flexibility
By filling your pet’s medications in our pharmacy, we maintain a record of your refills, assuring your pet is getting the medication on schedule as needed. This can allow more flexibility on the exam and testing requirements since we are familiar with your circumstances. When you refill your pets' medications at a retail pharmacy, we have no record of the frequency of refills.
True Convenience
No need to spend time waiting for your pet’s prescription while you shop, or to send a written prescription to an online pharmacy just to wait days for the medications to arrive. Just call ahead, or e-mail us your refill request, and it will be waiting for you, or filled within minutes when you stop by.
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 routinely trained in veterinary pharmaceuticals, and can usually only explain the label claims of any given product.
Shop Local
By purchasing your pet’s preventive and chronic medications from our pharmacy you will be providing revenue to help support maintenance of our state-of-the-art facility and equipment that allows us to provide your pet with profoundly personalized care.
We Have an Online Store, Too!
Ordering through our online store allows for flawless transitions between medications dispensed directly and allows for access without requiring any written prescriptions. Many times shipping is included - especially for preventions and therapeutic diets which require routine delivery.
In addition, your purchases help provide for the salaries of the dedicated staff of The Paw Patch Place, that truly care about and know your pet. You and your pet are more than a transaction to us. We truly care about you and your pet’s health, unlike the retail pharmacies where you are just another transaction. With us, you are doing business with neighbors and friends, not a distant corporate office.
Product Guarantees
We stand behind our products! Guarantees offered by manufacturers are often only honored if the medication is purchased through a veterinary pharmacy. Generic heartworm medication available at retail pharmacies may not have a treatment guarantee in the event your pet contracts heartworms or intestinal parasites while receiving the product.
Fill Out Our Online Pharmacy Waiver
By authorizing solicited prescription requests, it transfers liabilities from our practice and doctors in the event the online pharmacy provides the wrong medication or instructions.
We do not communicate with outside online pharmacies by phone, email or fax, we simply do not have the staffing to manage the constant interruptions that online pharmacies place on veterinary practices.
